Watching the wild
How was your summer? Are you in a drought-hit area, or did you escape the worst of the heat? As autumn gets underway there's been some welcome respite from the high temperatures, but it'll be next year before we start to see the full impact of 2026's extreme weather on wildlife, from insect eggs and larvae to creatures that eat ground and soil-dwelling invertebrates, like badgers and hedgehogs. Until then, the best thing we can do is to watch and wait, and keep caring for our nearby wild.
Here at Encounter we're extremely proud to announce that we're now working with NatureSpy, a not-for-profit conservation research organisation. NatureSpy sells a huge range of wildlife cameras, from Browning to Bushnell and other leading brands, and including their great value own-brand cameras, with profits going to conservation projects worldwide. A social enterprise, NatureSpy's values align perfectly with Encounter's, from connecting people to nature to ensuring minimal impact on habitats and putting money into doing good rather than making a quick buck. And if you buy a wildlife camera via any of the links in this email, you'll be helping to support Encounter, too: how good is that?!
Finding out what visits your garden when you're not looking is incredibly exciting, and it helps you better support your wild neighbours, too. I can't recommend it enough, not least as a way of staying connected to nature during the colder months. I bought my first wildlife camera from NatureSpy many years ago, and I've been raving about them in my books and on social media ever since; the image of badgers, above, is a screengrab from a video I shot with a camera I chose with the help of their excellent camera picker feature. I recently bought their Ursus model, which is waterproof and (importantly for me) takes special rechargeable batteries. I'm using it to try and track down our local hedgehogs, as I'm worried that they haven't survived the drought.
I'm so excited to partner with NatureSpy, as they are such a natural fit with everything I believe in and am trying to do. Look out for trailcam content in the Encounter app and on our socials in the coming months – and hopefully, some hedgehogs!
I'm so grateful to the 4% of users who support Encounter with a monthly or one-off donation. We want the app to remain free of banner adverts and pop-ups, and I'm proud to have kept it that way so far. If we're to build the long-awaited search function we need more of you to help out, and you can do that here. Thank you so much!
Our partners Meaningful Planet continue to support the restoration of nature via several projects across Britain. They run off the vast (and fast!) EE network and you can check your coverage here. If you switch to them using our link you get 10% off your bills for life, and we earn money too. They offer free EU roaming, and you can keep your existing number. Please do consider switching to Meaningful Planet when your contract renews.
