Jessica Blackburn
Final
Project
From February-May 2023 I worked on my final project - the culmination of my three years at Salford University!
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Titled 'Neighbours', my three-part radio documentary series focuses on urban widlife and the people that look after it.
Hedgehogs: vulnerable to extinction
​Hedgehogs are one of Britain’s most recognisable mammals. Despite this, they’re on Britain’s Red List, a list that shows which animals are likely to go extinct. In the first episode of our new series ‘Neighbours’, which explores our relationship with urban wildlife, our reporter Jessica Blackburn discovers why hedgehogs are declining while meeting the people determined to help them.
Urban Foxes: a complicated relationship
Foxes have been seen in our towns and cities since the 1930s, but they remain a divisive subject – some people welcome them into their gardens, while others try and deter them. In the second episode of our series ‘Neighbours’, which explores our relationship with urban wildlife, our reporter Jessica Blackburn finds out how foxes sometimes struggle in urban environments and why they remain a divisive subject.
Birds of Prey: from rolling hills to endless roads
If you live in a town or city you might think that seeing birds other than pigeons is impossible. But, over the past 30 years, birds of prey have slowly been moving into towns and cities across the UK thanks to legal protection and some reintroduction programmes. In the last episode of our series ‘Neighbours’, which explores our relationship with urban wildlife, our reporter Jessica Blackburn discovers how a pair of peregrine falcons have nested in an unlikely place.
