The Willow Gallery, Oswestry, in conjunction with the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, present the first Oswestry Festival of Nature. The idea is to bring to Oswestry over the summer months some of the finest naturalists in the world to hear first hand their stories and insights of the natural world.

The series of six talks will conclude with a debate about the state of nature today to which Owen Patterson, MP, former environment secretary has been invited.

“We live in in one of the most beautiful places in Britain, but how much do we really know about the natural world beyond what we see on television?” said John Vidal, former Guardian environment editor who directs the Willow Gallery.

“We hope these talks will both entertain, inform, and encourage people to appreciate and defend what is most valuable”,

PAUL EVANS, JIM PERRIN: FRIDAY JULY 5

PAUL Evans is one of Britain’s greatest observers of Nature, a poet, musician, Radio 4 natural history broadcaster, and the author of a new book How To See Nature. His weekly Guardian country diary from Wenlock Edge has achieved cult status and has put Shropshire on the map. He will be in conversation with legendary rock climber, wilderness writer, and fellow country diarist Jim Perrin whose observations of Snowdonia and north Wales and talks on the beauty and importance of wild places are famed for their insights. Expect a thought-provoking start to Oswestry’s first Festival of Nature.

IOLO WILLIAMS: TUESDAY, JULY 16

IOLO Williams is Wales’ best known naturalist, a regular presenter of BBC’s Spring, Autumn and Winter Watch TV series and an outspoken conservationist and powerful campaigner for wildlife. He lives near Newtown and his talk will be about his early days working as a species officer for the RSPB – from the farmer who held an egg collector over a 40-foot cliff, to a colleague who kept half a village awake with his snoring, and an oyster catcher that briefly held up Prince Charles’ train.

DOUG ALLAN: SATURDAY, JULY 27

DOUG Allan is David Attenborough’s favourite Arctic cameraman, famous for his films of polar bears, seals and ice. He has been to both poles. had close encounters with a walrus and spent five winters and eight summers in Antarctica with the British Antarctic Survey. “He is not as other men”, says Attenborough. “He cheerfully endures conditions more uncomfortable and for longer periods than anyone I know. He has an uncanny understanding of animals.

KEITH OFFORD: FRIDAY, AUGUST 2

Tucked away in the Welsh borders not far from Oswestry there is a beautiful, ancient 13-acre wood, once long inhabited by a hermit. Massive stands of beech, oak, ash and cherry, dating back hundreds of years provide the perfect habitat for a wide variety of species. Ornithologist Keith Offord , who travels the world leading wildlife tours and monitoring birds of prey, will tell the inspiring story of this secret place. Against the backdrop of disappearing habitats, he will show how good things really are happening all around us.

PENNY METAL AND ALISION BENJAMIN: FRIDAY, AUGUST 9

What life is there in a small inner-city park? PENNY METAL spent five years observing a small patch in South London and identified a remarkable 555 species of bug, beetle and other insects. She will introduce us to her remarkable neighbours, including homeless bees, solitary wasps, spiders who jump, harlequin ladybirds and snail-killing flies. She will talk with urban beekeeper and author Alison Benjamin who has documented the decline of pollinators around the world and whose three books have helped transform the way we think about wildlife in urban areas.

PATRICK BARKHAM: FRIDAY, AUGUST 16

What happens when a lifelong love of butterflies becomes a complete obsession? For journalist and naturalist Patrick Barkham it meant spending a year trying to find all 59 species that are known to breed in the British Isles. Out of it came an extraordinary book, The Butterfly Isles. Patrick is the Guardian’s resident nature writer, and he has travelled the world, observing and celebrating animal life both in the wild and in danger. His other books include Badgerland and Islander, a Journey Round Our Archipelago.