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48 Facts About Mary-Ann Ochota

1.

Mary-Ann Ochota is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

2.

Mary-Ann Ochota studied at the sixth-form college of Sir John Deane's College.

3.

Mary-Ann Ochota represented her college in the 2013 University Challenge Christmas Special, reaching the final, against Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.

4.

Mary-Ann Ochota reported for Channel 4's foreign affairs documentary strand, Unreported World.

5.

Mary-Ann Ochota presented the three-part series, Raised Wild for Animal Planet, investigating cases of 'feral' children, defined as children either raised by or with animals, or children who had survived for a significant period in the wild.

6.

Mary-Ann Ochota was the co-presenter for Series 19 of Channel 4's archaeology show Time Team with Tony Robinson.

7.

In 2016, Mary-Ann Ochota presented the series "Best of Enemies" for German television, in which she travelled around Britain to find out what the British really think about the Germans.

8.

In 2017, Mary-Ann Ochota presented a six part BBC series called Britain Afloat traveling the waterways of Britain, discovering how boats have shaped our lives and exploring the regional distinctiveness of boat design and the floating way of life.

9.

Mary-Ann Ochota was co-presenter on the Smithsonian Channel archaeology and history series Mystic Britain.

10.

In 2023 Mary-Ann Ochota featured on BBC1's flagship outdoors show Countryfile, talking about her passion for landscape archaeology and the Ridgeway trail.

11.

Mary-Ann Ochota is a regular reviewer on the Sky News weekend paper review.

12.

Mary-Ann Ochota was a regular presenter of episodes for the long-running World Service anthropology series The Why Factor exploring aspects of human life including surrogacy, pet ownership, dark tourism, the appeal of dinosaurs, veganism, restaurants and a special episode on The World's Marriage Story, on the eve of Price Harry's marriage to Meghan Markle in 2018.

13.

For BBC Radio 4 Mary-Ann Ochota has featured as a correspondent on long-running strand From Our Own Correspondent and has presented radio documentaries including The Lost Sounds Orchestra about sound in the past, and Open Country Exercise Shallow Grave about how archaeology can help military personnel recover from trauma.

14.

Mary-Ann Ochota produced and presented Open Country Highlands With Horses, joining a group travelling with horses on a modern pilgrimage along St Columba's Way to Iona in west Scotland.

15.

Mary-Ann Ochota co-hosted the Audible podcast series Happiness and How to Get It with comedian Charlie George.

16.

Mary-Ann Ochota was co-host of Wiley Science Communication podcast This Study Shows, with physicist Professor Danielle George.

17.

Mary-Ann Ochota was a guest on Clive Anderson's interview series, My Seven Wonders where interviewees are invited to select their personal list of Seven Wonders.

18.

Mary-Ann Ochota's selection included a chocolate bar, a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Taj Mahal.

19.

Mary-Ann Ochota has been interviewed by Sarah Williams for the Tough Girl podcast and featured on Private Passions on BBC Radio 3.

20.

Mary-Ann Ochota writes regularly for newspapers including The Guardian, The Observer and The Daily Telegraph on countryside issues and outdoor activities.

21.

In 2021 Mary-Ann Ochota was shortlisted for the 'Outdoor Personality of the Year' Award hosted by TGO magazine.

22.

Mary-Ann Ochota has argued that UK deer populations must be heavily managed, that the UK has low levels of 'ecological literacy' and better inclusion in the outdoors must include increasing size ranges of outdoor clothing.

23.

Mary-Ann Ochota has called for a 'land justice revolution' by expanding the Right to Roam in England and Wales.

24.

In 2023 Mary-Ann Ochota won the Outdoor Feature of the Year at the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild Awards for a feature on walking the Trotternish Ridge in Skye and recovering confidence after childbirth.

25.

Mary-Ann Ochota joined the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in 2012 on Leg 8, racing Edinburgh Inspiring Capital from Qingdao, China to San Francisco, USA.

26.

Mary-Ann Ochota sailed as a fully active crew member, and blogged for international adventure magazines whilst at sea.

27.

Mary-Ann Ochota was part of an expedition exploring Australia's Simpson Desert in 2015, joining a team of archaeologists, botanists and zoologists looking for evidence of human settlement and influence.

28.

Mary-Ann Ochota has written about her love of the outdoors and adventure activities, including wild camping, orienteering and UK scuba diving.

29.

Mary-Ann Ochota served as the British Mountaineering Council Hill Walking Ambassador from 2016 - 2024.

30.

Mary-Ann Ochota featured in a short film as she climbed the Inaccessible Pinnacle on Skye and presented a series of walking guides to the Lake District, Great Walks.

31.

Mary-Ann Ochota is a member of the Natural England Landscape Advisory Panel, serving as one of the independent experts advising the board.

32.

Mary-Ann Ochota was one of the founders of the local campaign to protect free access to Hatfield Park in Hertfordshire.

33.

Mary-Ann Ochota wrote about her battle against the 'paywalling' of green space.

34.

In July 2024 Mary-Ann Ochota was elected President of CPRE, the Countryside Charity.

35.

Mary-Ann Ochota was previously interviewed by CPRE and described time spent in green space as 'a wonder drug'.

36.

Mary-Ann Ochota served as a trustee of wild places charity John Muir Trust from 2022 - 2023.

37.

Mary-Ann Ochota wrote about the importance of inclusion and diversity in the outdoors and environment sectors.

38.

Mary-Ann Ochota is the patron of the Ridgeway National Trail, which runs between Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire and Avebury in Wiltshire.

39.

Mary-Ann Ochota is a life member of the Open Spaces Society.

40.

Mary-Ann Ochota is a patron of The Tony Trust, a small grant-giving charity that helps young people afford the cost of Outdoor Activity courses.

41.

Mary-Ann Ochota served as a 'Loo-Minary' for charity appeal Toilet Twinning, which is run by charity Tearfund.

42.

Mary-Ann Ochota travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to learn more about their work.

43.

Mary-Ann Ochota wrote about the visit for the BBC website.

44.

Mary-Ann Ochota has been chair and interviewer at the Institute of Art and Ideas philosophy festival How The Light Gets In in Hay on Wye, and hosted events for British Museum, Science Museum, Royal Institution, British Library and CBI.

45.

Mary-Ann Ochota has hosted business programmes for ITN including Cities of the Future and More Than Skin Deep with the British Skin Foundation.

46.

Mary-Ann Ochota hosted the ITN Business podcast Business Extra reflecting on the outcomes of COP28.

47.

Mary-Ann Ochota has developed and performed 'archaeological storytelling' shows with professional storyteller Jason Buck, telling stories that build on archaeological science, then take a 'leap of imagination'.

48.

Mary-Ann Ochota gave her winnings to The Tony Trust, of which she is a patron.