Wildlife presenter, broadcaster, comedian, writer, songwriter, and musician Bill Oddie OBE who died on Sunday had been an honorary patron of the Trust for over thirty-five years.

From being a member of the comic trio, The Goodies in the 1970s to hosting a raft of wildlife programmes for the BBC including Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Naturewatch, he was a household name inspiring generations to protect and respect the environment, a massive campaigner against the culling of badgers, and all-round wildlife campaigner and brilliant naturalist. 

In this region, Bill visited dozens of the wildlife charity’s nature reserves around Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside, watched otters in Wideopen, and helped launch a special wildlife labelled range of Newcastle Brown Ale and launched the first Druridge Bay project.

Mike Pratt, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Chief Executive says:

“Bill was a fantastic inspiration to my generation of young conservationists from the 1970s onwards who made being a naturalist fun and exciting and led me and many of my counterparts into campaigning and taking action to save wildlife which was a major concern even then. His work on Springwatch made him even more influential. 

“He had been a Northumberland Wildlife Trust honorary patron for over thirty-five years - opening nature reserves and encouraging our volunteers and young people to get outdoors and get involved. 

“I was lucky to spend time with Bill on the set of Springwatch on Brownsea Island in the early 2000s. He was a great birder and naturalist and entertaining both on and off screen. I recall his banter with a birdwatcher about a bird they were looking at - was it a normal redshank or a spotted version?! Bill made it into a comedy sketch there and then. 

“We will miss his support for what he genuinely cared about - life in all its forms.”