Dorset Eye interviewed Nick Wadham a founder and curator of ‘Bugfest’ an organisation aimed at opening up the aspect of nature that includes bugs, spiders and snakes to the public in an educational environment. Nick is also currently writing two novels that he hopes to have published within the next 12 months.
DE. Your philosophy is very much along the lines of ‘chase your own dreams; don’t work for others to help them achieve theirs’. Who/what was responsible for instilling this into your approach?
NK. I think this is something I have stumbled upon accidentally when I discovered the likes of Tony Robinson and other “motivational gurus” I got well into NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) a few years back, and began to look at successful people and see what it was that set them apart. I found they were no different. Except “it can’t be done” does not figure in their meta model. Their approach and thoughts are always, “Okay, so how can I do this?” I’m also motivated by Lucas’s character Yoda. “There is no try, only do or do not.” Lucas is right. I also believe there is no such thing as failure, there is only success. You can create a successful outcome that is good, or, you create a successful outcome that is not so good (often seen as failure) – it all depends on how you think and what you look for. I would recommend people reading this to get themselves a little book called the secret.
DE. You have played a key role in creating Bugfest. Can you tell us about its genesis and who else has been or is influential to its development?
Initially, my ex-wife played the key role. For years I had been taking my elder daughters to the big bug shows up in London and decided she wanted something like it nearby that my young son (at the time) could go to. She asked me how to go about setting one up. Naturally, knowing lots of the traders by name I was able to give her a list of emails. What to call it? All the other shows were excitingly named, this entomological fair, that entomological fair – we needed something to attract the younger family and I suggested Bugfest. Kara took that and added the suffix SW, and so it was born as Bugfest SW (south west). We hired a local church hall – Holy Trinity – though I had serious misgivings about the size of the venue. I knew we would attract a lot of people and was worried it wouldn’t cope with the volume of visitors. I was right. We ended up pulling in about 1000 visitors according to the hand clickers, but they are not too reliable in the hands of teenage helpers at the best of times. Following that we moved to Stanchester School, but from the outset we were faced with halls not being ready on the day of opening, and for the following event the school decided to hike the prices for hire. We never went back. Presently we found Bucklers Mead Sports Hall. It was perfect, large, lots of room and good on-site parking, friendly and helpful staff – brilliant staff to be honest! And this was to be the home for Bugfest until 1012. In 2011 Kara, my now ex-wife decided to step back from organising the events with 2011 being her last time heading up the fair, and I assumed the reins for the 2012 show. It was at that time I decided I wasn’t happy with the name either. I started a new company and registered it as a non-profit community interest company and re-branded it at simply Bugfest – my initial suggestion as I felt the SW element limited the scope and regionalised it and made it sound small-time. The last show at Bucklers was the busiest so far (at that time). Sadly, in the summer of 2012 my 17 year marriage came to an end. Undaunted I carried on, relocated the business, and made contact with a new venue as I had decided that Bugfest had regrettably outgrown Bucklers Mead. We moved into Qestlands Leisure Centre. It was the best decision ever to be made in the history of the company. Last year we attracted 1500 visitors, and this was the catalyst needed to get the company financially fit enough to support me and enable me to work on it near enough full time.
DE. What role does Bugfest play within the local communities and what plans have you for extending it?
Bugfest has a vital role in the community. Bugfest visits pre-schools, primary schools, secondary schools, voluntary, youth and charitable organisations with its collection of amazing exotic creatures. At the heart of everything is the underlying messages of conservation and bio-diversity defence. I find an old Native American Indian quote particularly relevant nowadays:
“When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money.”
DE. What do you consider to be the fascination that people have with insects and reptiles?
Bugs and reptiles are the perfect pet. They are reasonably cheap to acquire. In the case of reptiles research is more important. Always know what you are getting into. They can be expensive to keep properly and grow much bigger than you anticipated – responsibility is so important.
DE. Why do you believe there is so much fear or phobia of them amongst so many?
Many people I help with phobias feel stupid. In fact it is not stupid. In evolutionary terms we have only been on the planet for a very short space of time – about a million years. The planet is about 4.5 billion years old, so compared to the likes of the dinosaurs who roamed the surface for hundreds of millions of years, we should, even now still be living in caves. Our intelligence and ability to shape our surroundings has catapulted us forwards way beyond where we should be as a species, but the primitive survival instincts we once had sometimes come to the fore. Once we used to have to be scared to survive, now we don’t but sometimes those old fears still follow us behind, but they are very easy to deal with…if you know the right people.
DE. Apart from Bugfest you are also on the verge of having a children’s book published and a novel for young adults hot on its tail. Tell us about both books and what inspires you as an author.
Children have always been an inspiration. They see the world in such a different way from boring grownups. The first book to come out is a bit of edufiction if you like. The Adventures of Henry Owl./ An anthropomorphised character. He is an eight year old snowy owl, he has a family – who mainly remain back stage, and he discovers the natural world around him through his adventures with a magic dinosaur tooth. There are historical stories too. The trick has been to wind the natural history in. Rather than being a beautiful nature book (which I could easily write) which won’t appeal to every child, instead I have elected for this approach in the hope that it might appeal to more children.
The second book is a fantasy novel aimed at the young adult reader, but it has appeal for adults too. It is based around a schoolgirl: Maya, who inadvertently discovers a world of fairies, magic, mystery and danger, where all the people in her life turn out to be something else altogether.
DE. Do you envisage a role for the local communities in your enterprises and what advice would you offer if asked?
The role for the community is to make use of what Bugfest does. Bugfest is a community interest company and is there for the community it serves. If the company is to continue the community needs to get involved by attending our events and supporting our activities. During February 2014 we opened Bugfest Insect and Spider Show in Yeovil. Our aim is to to raise enough money to provide free visits to all the primary schools in Yeovil, and to reduce the price of a visit to any other schools outside of Yeovil yet again. We have already taken some bookings from a number of schools in Dorset this year and with a committee member resident in Dorset, who I have been training, we are looking to do more work in the area.
There are other things we want to give to the area. We are hoping one day to open a conservation park between Somerset and Dorset, where we can generate tourism, employment opportunities and contribute to community regeneration and personal growth.
An exciting future lies ahead for Bugfest!
