Trees A Crowd
David Oakes
Ever wondered what happens when you fill a cello with bees? Or how robins have successfully colonised the outer-reaches of our universe? Or why the world is destined to be populated purely by female turtles? This podcast celebrates nature and the stories of those who care deeply for it. Join artist, actor and Woodland Trust & Wildlife Trusts ambassador David Oakes, for a series of informal, relaxed conversations with artists, scientists, creatives and environmentalists as they celebrate the beauty of the natural world and how it inspires us as human beings. All episodes available at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/ Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast?
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Top 10 Trees A Crowd Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Trees A Crowd episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Trees A Crowd for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Trees A Crowd episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Sir John Lawton: The wit, wisdom and winged omens of the man who would re-wild Chernobyl
Trees A Crowd
11/04/19 • 59 min
Professor Sir John Lawton is a fellow of the Royal Society, president of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and chair of the Endangered Landscapes Programme. Previously a trustee of the WWF, head of the Natural Environment Research Council and the most recent chair of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, there are seemingly few environmental organisations that John hasn’t been involved with. That said, it is birds that have driven John’s lifelong obsession with the natural world. Sitting in John’s back garden amidst the sound of birdsong, this conversation flows from a childhood obsession of brilliant blue hedge sparrow eggs tucked away in his nan’s back garden to following in the shoes of Darwin with a (now frowned-upon) fascination for collecting specimens. John explains how he helped to set up nature protection areas across the world, how he visited Chernobyl in the hopes of persuading the Belarus government to turn the exclusion zone into a national park, and what he got up to with a dolphin in Durham with David Bellamy. Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast?
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12/21/21 • 32 min
Our fifty-sixth (and final!) tree, Holly (Ilex aquifolium). Released to coincide with the Winter Solstice, aka the end of the rule of the Holly King, this episode celebrates a tree that is rooted in the winter celebrations of Celts, Romans, Christians, and even Cretaceous Dinosaurs! For centuries it has also fed the cattle that feeds us, it has supported generations of over-wintering birds (such as the greedy Mistle Thrush) and it has kept Goblins, Witches and arson-obsessed Cumbrian villagers at bay. Illuminated by the words of Emily Bronte, Thomas Hardy, Robert Southey and a whole collective known of historical botanists, this episode celebrates one of our undeniably great trees. There is also a VERY special Christmas present to you all, courtesy of the stunning Leisure Society. (Special thanks to Richard Hollis and Holly Newell for adding their voices, and to Bella Hardy and the Leisure Society for their musical meliflosities.) More from David Oakes as he uproots the secrets and stories beneath the 56(ish) Native Trees of the British Isles can be found at: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/56Trees/ Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast?
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03/16/20 • 60 min
Tim Pears is a multi-award-winning author. His novel ‘In a Land of Plenty’ was made into a 10-part drama series for the BBC, and he’s just published the final book in his ‘West Country Trilogy’. Compared to Balzac and Hardy and inspired by Cormac McCarthy and Annie Proulx, Tim draws on his experiences of growing up in Devon and around nature to create the depth behind his fictional worlds. His love of nature came from a sort of “benign neglect” as his parents allowed him to explore the outdoors freely, without restraint. Growing up, he’s always appreciated the natural world, from being captivated by the sight of badgers in a sett, to feeling “closest to the divine” picking blackberries in his local park. As the son of a clergyman, he explains his respect for spirituality, and why religion features so prominently in his work. In this episode, he explores his writing and inspiration, including the difficulty of watching his work being acted out on screen and his love of writing about people and the landscapes they inhabit. For more information on this podcast, including David's thoughts following this interview, head to: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/tim-pears/ Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast?
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02/03/20 • 62 min
Dr Bryce Stewart is a marine ecologist and fisheries biologist, and is currently a lecturer for the Department of Environment and Geography at the University of York. His love for marine life began at the age of five, when he decided he wanted to be a “professional holiday man” after a trip to the beach. His father persuaded him to consider marine biology instead, and the rest is writing his phone number on lobsters! Bryce explains that his unnatural obsession with scallops ties into one of the best pieces of advice he’s ever received: that if you’re going to be a marine biologist, choose a study species that’s nice to eat, and a study site that you’d want to visit on holiday! In this gripping conversation, Bryce talks about his adventurous and free childhood, growing up in both Australia and Papua New Guinea, his work collecting the vomit of underwater predators, and how getting the bends was “not great” (what an understatement!). He even talks about his work with fishermen, the British government, and his ongoing mission to mitigate the environmental impact of Brexit. For more information on this podcast, including David's thoughts following this interview, head to: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/dr-bryce-stewart/ Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast?
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Bella Hardy: Singing in the Shadows of Mountains
Trees A Crowd
06/13/19 • 53 min
In this episode, David speaks to award-winning folk musician Bella Hardy. A fiddle-singer and songwriter from Edale in the Peak District, she has performed at festivals worldwide and on the UK folk circuit since she was 13. In 2007, she released her debut solo album Night Visiting, for which she was nominated for the Horizon award at the BBC Folk Awards. She has since won at the Folk Awards for original song, for ‘The Herring Girl’ in 2012, and was named BBC Folk Singer of the year in 2014 – but most importantly, earlier this year, she composed the theme tune for this very podcast! David and Bella discuss how folk music has been redefined over the years, deviating from its once rural beginnings, and Bella reflects on her musical influences and inspirations from nature – from hiding in dens with fox cubs, to using “the joy of folk music” as merely a hyper-convoluted way to become branded as “Patron of the Bog”! Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast?
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Dr Gavin Broad: Broadening horizons with Darwin's wasps and other tales of cannibalism, incest and zombies
Trees A Crowd
08/02/22 • 57 min
Dr Gavin Broad’s love of nature was initially inspired by the birdlife of the Wirral. However, the summer lull in avian activity lead the 15-year-old Broad towards an interest in moths, and from there it was only a zombie caterpillar away from the creatures that were to inspire his professional identity and take him as far afield as Chile; Parasitoid wasps! “Darwin Wasps” account for 10% of all British insects - that’s over 7000 distinct wasps - and Broad insists that everyone can easily “admire them, if not like them.” What’s not to like about an insect that can inject its eggs through the bark of a tree and into another insect? Or one that can actively dictate the gender of its offspring to specifically regulate the extant population? Or one that can easily defeat a tarantula?! Quite. David heads to the Natural History Museum to talk Wasps, and to discuss Gavin’s involvement in sequencing the genomes of 70,000 British species - everything from Deep Sea Squid to Pine Marten - his appreciation for the work of Damien Hirst and the similarities it bears to the NHM’s hidden insect archives, and how we would all be far better off if we possessed the curiosity of bored Victorian clergymen. For further information on this and other episodes, visit: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/dr-gavin-broad Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast?
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Sophie Pavelle: Ten Remarkable British Species and the Fable of Janet who fondly found their Faeces
Trees A Crowd
06/06/23 • 49 min
Sophie Pavelle spearheads the new breed of science communicators. She is a nature writer, the communications co-ordinator for the Beaver Trust and an ambassador for the Wildlife Trusts. Recorded in front of a live audience in November 2022, this interview chronicles the journey she undertook to write her award-winning book, “Forget Me Not”. Hear about her encounters with “salt and vinegar chipsticks”, “bald men in hot tubs” and “that guy in the office who trails a 10 metre wake of paco rabane” (aka, Marsh Fritillary Butterflies, Seals and Bottle-nosed Dolphins - did we mention she’s from the new breed?) Hear about her low carbon journey across the British Isles to encounter ten of Britain’s nearly forgotten endangered species, and how when putting pen to paper she set out to blame human beings for climate change... but in a happy way! She meets the Bat Conservation Trust, visits the Rewildling project at Knepp, and heads to the north of England in search of Britain’s smallest bird of prey - and her take home from this? Sadly few encounters with her chosen ten species, but fortunately lots of stories about poo...! Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast?
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CURL-EW-PHORIA!
Trees A Crowd
04/21/20 • 49 min
Why the duck is everyone wacky about this wonderful wader? In this special episode of Trees A Crowd, David Oakes calls on friends in lockdown to discuss the wonders of an incredible bird, the Curlew. Featuring field recordings from sound-recordist Chris Watson, a world premier of original music by folk-singer Bella Hardy and poetry recitals by Natalie Dormer and Sam West, this is more than just affectionate “waffle about a wader”. David Lindo, aka “The Urban Birder”, environmentalist and writer Mary Colwell, farmer and conservationist Patrick Lawrie, the CEO of Wader Quest, Rick Simpson, Jennifer Smart from the RSPB, and Lucy Walker from Britten Pears Arts will tell you why they love this bird and what needs to be done to save it. You will also hear from several previous Trees A Crowd guests; namely, Sir John Lawton, the President of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Dr Richard Benwell, the CEO of the Wildlife and Countryside Link and Amanda Owen, the Yorkshire Shepherdess. For further information on this and other episodes, visit: http://www.treesacrowd.fm/world-curlew-day/
Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast?Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
05/24/22 • 72 min
George Monbiot is a prolific writer and journalist, known particularly for his environmental and political activism. But, this episode - not simply about his being beaten or arrested for his political views, or indeed about the time he was stung into a coma by hornets or when he actually died (according to a Brazilian newspaper) - is about fixing our follies and feeding our future. Over a glass of George’s home-brewed cider, David and George discuss the possibility of a 'regenesis' - a revolution in understanding how our food is made, how our planet's population is fed, and how reimagining “the most destructive industry in the World” could help re-wild our countryside too in the process. Could the bacterias in our soil help feed the planet twice over, in two dynamically different ways? Do we truly know what's going on beneath our feet? For further information on this and other episodes, visit: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/george-monbiot/ Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast?
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06/11/24 • 45 min
Fiona Mathews is a professor of Environmental Biology at the University of Sussex and the founding Chair of Mammal Conservation Europe; Tim Kendall is a professor of English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Exeter, and; their dog Charlie Brown is an especially trained labrador with the talent for locating the bodies of bats that have been killed or injured by wind turbines, all in the name of conservation science. Together, they wrote the Wainwright award-nominated book “Black Ops & Beaver Bombing: Adventures with Britain’s Wild Mammals”. In this two part interview, hear how Fiona’s construction of the Red List for British Mammals informs our Government and has lead to cutting edge mammal conservation projects. They discuss the British Coypu population that caused concern in the 1980s, the effectiveness of the mysterious “Beaver Bombers” secretly releasing animals across Europe, and the tale of the lone Scottish Pine Marten that ended up in Georgia, USA (a fate subjectively worse than the Beech Marten who got stuck in the Large Hadron Collider!) The trio of Fiona, Tim and David (alas without Charlie Brown) then head into the Forest of Dean to locate the most contentious of Britain’s mammals – the Wild Boar! Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast?
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FAQ
How many episodes does Trees A Crowd have?
Trees A Crowd currently has 139 episodes available.
What topics does Trees A Crowd cover?
The podcast is about Animals, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife, Podcasts, Science and Arts.
What is the most popular episode on Trees A Crowd?
The episode title 'Norwegian Spruce: Our Viking Christmas Tree; aka ‘The Return of the Native’' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Trees A Crowd?
The average episode length on Trees A Crowd is 39 minutes.
How often are episodes of Trees A Crowd released?
Episodes of Trees A Crowd are typically released every 7 days, 14 hours.
When was the first episode of Trees A Crowd?
The first episode of Trees A Crowd was released on Feb 21, 2019.
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