The team at Devon Wildlife Trust is deeply saddened to hear of the death of Bill Oddie, who was a Vice President of The Wildlife Trusts since 2000 and inspired countless people to discover the joy and wonder of nature through programmes such as Birding with Bill Oddie, Bill Oddie Goes Wild, Springwatch, and more.

Devon Wildlife Trust projects and people featured several times on his long running Bill Oddie Goes Wild series, but more significantly, Devon Wildlife Trust helped find Springwatch its first home when researchers came looking for a base from which to transmit a pioneering new live nature series, which has now been a staple of British TV for over 20 years. For its first few years, the series broadcast from a mid-Devon farm which had been part of DWT’s Green Gateway project, which worked with local landowners to make more space for wildlife in the county’s farmed landscapes.

Nick Bruce-White, CEO of Devon Wildlife Trust, said:

“As a lifelong lover of birds, so much of what I’ve learnt and enjoyed about the natural world was inspired by Bill Oddie. Whilst I never crossed paths with Bill during my time at Devon Wildlife Trust, I first met Bill at the grand opening of the RSPB’s Rainham Marshes nature reserve. On what was one of the most important and nerve-wracking days of my career, Bill’s inimitable manner put me straight at ease. He had campaigned passionately to protect this amazing site on which I worked - nestled alongside the Thames on the London-Essex border - from being covered in theme parks. Thanks to people like Bill, it is now full of water voles and lapwings, not roads and concrete. 

Bill told it like it was and stood up for his beliefs, yet was so humble in sharing the gift of his knowledge with those around him. Millions of people of my generation have grown up caring about and for nature, thanks to Bill. We shall miss him, and his sense of humour, dearly”. 

Steve Hussey, Communications Officer at DWT, met Bill when DWT assisted on the location for Springwatch in 2005. He added:

“I found Bill to be a funny, opinionated and deeply knowledgeable person. I remember when Springwatch started, Bill and Kate Humble broadcast live from a barn on a mid-Devon farm that we had worked with, and they had cameras stationed all across the valley looking for local wildlife. A few of us staff members appeared on the programme as well, which was great fun, albeit intense too. It was a special memory when Bill also came to my family’s home to watch and film hedgehogs one evening.”

In a letter Bill wrote for The Wildlife Trusts’ centenary, reflecting on the changes he had witnessed in the natural world during his life, he recalled that for many naturalists, ‘their hobby became instead a crusade’. Through his own lifelong love of wildlife, Bill helped millions of people understand, value and protect nature, writing: ‘At least we realised what we’d got, and maybe just in time.’ 

Our thoughts are with Bill’s family, friends and all who knew him.