Trees A Crowd
42 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 41 ratingsEver 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 and actor 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/
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Episodes
"Curlew" by Bella Hardy
April 22, 2020 08:00 - 7 minutes - 9.59 MBThe uninterrupted world premiere of Bella Hardy's song "Curlew", as featured in our "World Curlew Day" episode - https://www.treesacrowd.fm/world-curlew-day/ This release also includes an introduction from Bella, atop Kinder Scout. Many thanks to Bella for agreeing to create this song for the podcast - it's hypnotically beautiful. Hopefully, the song will soon be available to purchase from https://www.bellahardy.com/ as soon as it's back from being professionally mastered. Thanks too to Si Ho...
CURL-EW-PHORIA!
April 21, 2020 07:00 - 49 minutes - 68.1 MBWhy 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 wr...
Alastair Gunn: Roses, wildflowers and tending ‘to the manor’s thorn’
April 17, 2020 08:00 - 25 minutes - 35.5 MBIn the third and final episode of the Castle Howard trilogy, you’re introduced to head of gardens and landscapes, Alastair Gunn. Starting in one of the estate’s rose gardens, we meet a stunning, rare, white china rose, thought to be a devoniensis, planted over 40 years ago. Alastair has been on the team for just over two years, coming from managing the gardens at Hatfield House, but he’s very much committed to bringing life back to the gardens with a mandate to renovate, restore and ‘zhuzh th...
Nick Cooke: Beneath the boughs with bluebells and brambles
April 15, 2020 08:00 - 25 minutes - 35.1 MBIn the second episode of the Castle Howard trilogy, meet the head of forestry, Nick Cooke. Nick has been part of the team looking after the estate since 1975, and over the years has had to figure out how to maintain the extensive forests, all-in-all covering over 60 miles of pathways. Arriving in the ‘70s to take up a placement at the castle’s Ray Wood, Nick stood open-mouthed as he faced the estate’s obelisk and knew that he would be here for a long, long time. On a walking tour through blue...
Nick Howard: Heritage, home and honing the Howard’s way
April 13, 2020 08:00 - 31 minutes - 42.7 MBWe begin this trilogy of episodes at Castle Howard, with Nick Howard himself. Most recognisable to the public from the television show “Brideshead Revisited”, but for Nick the Castle Howard estate was his childhood home, a place where he felt such a distinct sense of freedom roaming around its gardens - at least until the cowbell was rung to call him back in for lunch. Nick now oversees care for its grounds with a desire to better connect the caretaking practises with the will of nature. As h...
Luci Ryan: A hidden battle against HS2 to preserve five ancient woodlands
March 31, 2020 08:00 - 17 minutes - 12.5 MBDavid, speaking here as an Ambassador for the Woodland Trust, is joined in conversation by Luci Ryan, an ecologist and Lead Policy Advocate for conservation on behalf of the Woodland Trust. HS2 ltd - the company behind the Government's highspeed rail project - is quietly about to start moving the soil from five ancient woodlands. The move goes against both conservation principles and guidance from Natural England. With this in mind, David talks to Luci about the complex communities found in a...
Dr Helen Pheby: Sculpture for sheep, and rhubarb trains; the place ‘Extraordinary’ can happen
March 30, 2020 08:00 - 58 minutes - 88.2 MBDr Helen Pheby is the head of curatorial programmes at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Set in 500 acres of historic parkland, the park has provided a “gallery without walls” for artists such as Elisabeth Frink, Auguste Rodin, Giuseppe Penone, and local legends such as Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. Helen has collaborated on projects in Iraqi Kurdistan, South Africa, India, and even Barnsley! Born in the so-called ‘rhubarb triangle’, Helen reminisces over “the rhubarb express”, a train which ran ...
Edward Davey: Learning how to feed the planet in response to COVID-19
March 26, 2020 16:00 - 17 minutes - 13.6 MBEdward Davey is the Director of Geographic Deep Dives for the World Resources Institute and the Food and Land Use Coalition. Here, David and Ed speak briefly in direct response to the state of the global COVID-19 pandemic and how we might feed the people of the world moving forward. Ed and David discuss the agricultural concerns both in Britain and abroad, how the environment and economy are interlinked and how now is a time for compassion and careful consideration. This epsiode was released ...
Tim Pears: Foraging fables from the hedgerows of the West Country
March 16, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 41.5 MBTim 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 outdoo...
Rob Rose & Nat Stoppard: Food as a by-product of conservation at Rosewood Farm
March 02, 2020 08:00 - 57 minutes - 39.4 MBRosewood Farm makes its home in the Lower Derwent Valley, deep in the Yorkshire Ings. Here, Rob Rose, his partner Natalie Stoppard, and their award-winning herd of 160 Irish Dexters – Europe’s smallest native cattle breed – place conservation, environmentally friendly farming methods, and the highest standards of animal welfare at the forefront of their practice. Rob’s story is one of inspiration, dedication and stubbornness. He started keeping Dexters at the age of 14, and despite being told...
Ingrid Newkirk: One woman and ‘Animalkind’; the tale of PETA’s rabbits
February 17, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 47.6 MBIngrid Newkirk is an animal rights activist, author, and the president of PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – and after 40 years of activism, her passion remains infectiously captivating. Ingrid was born in Britain, raised in India, and spent much of her life in America. As a citizen of the world – in fact, her location globally has been dictated by the Vietnam War as much as veganism – Ingrid has been witness to many social and cultural uses and misuses of the animal king...
Dr Bryce Stewart: The man who writes his phone number on lobsters
February 03, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 43.1 MBDr 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 t...
Dr Catherine Barlow: No puffins were harmed in the making of this golden eagle podcast
January 20, 2020 07:00 - 56 minutes - 39 MBDr Catherine Barlow is project manager of the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, and previously worked on the ground-breaking Osprey Translocation Project at Rutland Water. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Open Book in Wigtown, Scotland. Hear how Catherine’s ‘forced’ love of birds in childhood led to a real passion through adulthood – particularly for the mighty birds of prey. In this episode she takes us through her first experience of a golden eagle – catchi...
Mark Carwardine: "Don’t ever french-kiss a Narwhal”... and other words of wisdom
January 03, 2020 17:00 - 53 minutes - 37 MBMark Carwardine is a zoologist, leading conservationist, broadcaster and photographer. He came to prominence through his book and BBC documentary series “Last Chance to See” which he created with Douglas Adams of “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” fame. One of Mark’s big passions is diving - he organises whale and dolphin trips in Baja California, Mexico. In this fascinating conversation dusted with the sounds of nearby Canada geese, coots and black-headed gulls, Mark describes his most m...
Joanna Lentini: Swimming with crocodiles to photograph her fears
December 16, 2019 13:00 - 24 minutes - 16.7 MBJoanna Lentini is an underwater photographer and adventurer. She runs ‘Deep Focus Images’, a company that organises trips for those interested in pursuing wildlife photography. She is also the COO of ocean education organisation ‘Oceans in Focus’. Her accolades include having her work exhibited at the 2015 Climate Change Conference in Paris, and featuring as a finalist in the 52nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards. In this bonus Christmas episode, Joanna gives us a frank and open insig...
Victoria Bromley: Producing wildlife documentaries and inspiring the next generation
December 13, 2019 14:00 - 48 minutes - 33.5 MBVictoria Bromley is a wildlife filmmaker and part of the BBC’s natural history unit. She has produced some of their most recognisable programmes, including Spring Watch, Planet Earth Live and Blue Planet II. She’s worked to highlight the plight of the Siberian Tiger and most recently of the little-known Pangolin. Growing up in Coventry, Victoria learnt much from her grandad - an encyclopedia on birds, who signed her up for the WWF (the World Wildlife Fund, not that Wrestling nonsense) at the ...
Dr Richard Benwell: Carbon footprints and coots’ feet; the Greenman running in Wantage
November 22, 2019 09:00 - 53 minutes - 36.5 MBDr Richard Benwell is the chief executive of England's largest environmental coalition. He has worked at the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and, most recently, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In a passionate and expressive interview, Richard explains how he once tried to engage with an MP by emulating the sound of screeching swifts – not the only time he’s been caught doing bird impressions! Exploring why he became involved in...
Dr Jo Elworthy: Living in Eden – how to leave the world better than you found it
November 14, 2019 13:00 - 1 hour - 47.1 MBDr Jo Elworthy is a botanist and the director of interpretation at the Eden Project in Cornwall. She’s been involved with Eden since its inception, and has spent a great deal of time researching plantlife as well as creating books and films specialising in botany and horticulture. A chance encounter with the man who dreamt up the Eden Project, Sir Tim Smit, led her to take the biggest risk of her career – and the best decision of her life. The sounds of robins frame this conversation as Dr El...
Sir John Lawton: The wit, wisdom and winged omens of the man who would re-wild Chernobyl
November 04, 2019 09:00 - 59 minutes - 41 MBProfessor 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. Sittin...
Sir John Lawton: The wit, wisdom and winged omens of the man who would re-wild Chernobyl
November 04, 2019 09:00 - 59 minutes - 41 MBProfessor 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. Sitti...
Amanda Owen: Deep in the Dales with the Yorkshire Shepherdess
October 18, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 45 MBAmanda Owen is a farmer, known to readers and television viewers worldwide as the ‘Yorkshire Shepherdess’. With her husband Clive and their nine children, she looks after Ravenseat, Swaledale – one of the most exposed farms in the Dales. Alongside running the farm, she has found time to write a number of books, having come to public attention on ITV's ‘The Dales’. On a “glishy sort of day”, sitting by a brook, David and Amanda chat without the distraction of phones and technology in this stun...
The Art of Trees: Live from the Cheltenham Literature Festival and the Woodland Trust
October 10, 2019 08:00 - 52 minutes - 35.8 MBTrees have captured the imagination of some of Britain’s most important landscape painters, with artists including John Constable and Paul Nash inspired by their diversity of form, character and symbolic significance. Here, in discussion with David in his role as an Ambassador for the Woodland Trust, art historian Christiana Payne and artist Angela Summerfield celebrate the majestic beauty of our woodland and the role of trees in inspiring some of our greatest artworks. “The Art Of Trees” was...
Harry Barton: Balancing Wildlife in Devon and a Vision of Natural Justice
October 02, 2019 15:00 - 1 hour - 45.4 MBHarry Barton is the chief executive of the Devon Wildlife Trust. He has worked for nearly 25 years in the environmental sector, including spells at the Earth Trust, the Council for National Parks, Kew Gardens, CPRE and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Amidst extolling the virtues of Devon and it’s newfound beaver population, Harry explains the Trust's mission to preserve, protect and enhance the county's areas of natural wildlife. This conversation addresses the differing roles of the wildlife t...
Tannis Davidson: Bulletproof elephants, 3D-printing a quagga and cloning thylacines
September 12, 2019 16:00 - 1 hour - 48.2 MBTannis Davidson is the curator of the Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy at University College London. From unearthing the dismembered arms of mummies at archaeological digs in Egypt to searching for fossils in Beijing, Tannis has a rich history in researching and examining the stories of the once living. As one of the few people in the world who takes care of animals only once they've died, Tannis' work has her looking after 68,000 specimens. One of the museum’s many accolades i...
Chris Watson (Part Two): If a podcast is recorded in a forest, and no one is around to hear it…
August 21, 2019 09:00 - 59 minutes - 41 MBThis is the second part of the conversation with Chris Watson, following on from the recordings made during the dawn chorus. Chris is a legendary sound recordist and president of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society. He’s worked on a whole host of documentaries, including David Attenborough’s Life of Birds, talks about the time in his band, Cabaret Voltaire, and how he has since collaborated with the likes of Bjork and beyond. His passion for music and nature are brought together as he guides...
Chris Watson (Part One): The winds catching the conifers – and the secrets of the dawn chorus
August 20, 2019 12:00 - 47 minutes - 32.8 MBChris Watson is the president of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society. He’s worked on a range of television and radio documentaries, alongside the likes of Sir David Attenborough. In this serene example of ‘slow radio’, Chris takes David to Stonehaugh, part of the Kielder Forest, in the early hours of the morning. As he sets up his microphones, he explains what goes into capturing each intricate sound. The pair relax as they listen to the epic build up of the dawn chorus, beginning with the n...
Dr Jess French: Two legs, good – six legs, better! One woman and her many minibeasts
August 09, 2019 12:00 - 51 minutes - 35.4 MBDr Jess French is a veterinary surgeon, writer and television presenter. She fronts the CBeebies show Minibeast Adventureand has recently published the book, How to Help a Hedgehog and Protect a Polar Bear, both aimed at getting our younger generations excited by the world they have a part share in. Unflinching when it comes to handling insects, as a child she didn’t realise her love of tiny creatures was unusual – but it eventually earned her the nickname ‘the bug girl’, and ultimately a car...
Dr Terry Gough: Sowing seeds in the flowerbeds of Kings and Queens
July 29, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 46.5 MBDr Terry Gough is the head of gardens and estates at Hampton Court Palace. For nearly three decades, he's followed in the footsteps of the likes of Lancelot Capability Brown, and has made the palace look and smell fit for a king. On a private walking tour through the heart of these historic gardens, Terry shares how his horticultural roots, bedded at the age of 16 by working as a boy in a Battersea Garden Centre, have grown to include working at Buckingham Palace and Historic Royal Palaces. H...
Rebecca Speight: The Overstory and Understory of the Woodland Trust
July 11, 2019 13:00 - 51 minutes - 35.2 MBRebecca Speight is currently the CEO of the Woodland Trust and will shortly be taking over the reigns of the RSPB. Beccy began her foray into the Natural World to satisfy her “sense of connectivity”. Following years working for the National Trust she was ultimately appointed to her current role in 2014, where she heads up the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK (for which David has proudly become an ambassador.) In this in-depth conversation, she discusses the devastating decline ...
Wolfgang Buttress and Dr Martin Bencsik: Hive minds waxing lyrical
June 26, 2019 11:00 - 1 hour - 41.8 MBWolfgang Buttress is an award-winning artist who creates multi-sensory artworks that draw inspiration from our evolving relationship with nature, and Dr Martin Bencsik is an associate professor in the School of Science and Technology at Nottingham Trent University. Together they have become a unique creative force! Here, talking to David, they discuss their initial collaboration, HIVE. At 17 metres tall and now based at Kew Gardens, the sculpture represents the intrinsic relationship between ...
Bella Hardy: Singing in the Shadows of Mountains
June 13, 2019 12:00 - 53 minutes - 36.6 MBIn 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 – ...
Maldives Underwater Initiative: Diving with Pearls
May 30, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 34 MBIn this episode, David speaks to members of the Maldives Underwater Initiative based at the Six Senses resort in Laamu Atoll. The initiative includes members of The Manta Trust, Blue Marine Foundation, The Olive Ridley Project and other marine specialists. The team have a shared vision for preserving the marine environment in the Maldives and beyond, and have been monitoring the health of the reefs there since 2012. Their research and conservation work includes nurturing seagrass, turtles, ma...
Dr Guy Stevens: Guarding the Big Blue’s Gentle Giant
May 16, 2019 12:00 - 49 minutes - 22.7 MBDr Guy Stevens is the CEO and co-founder of The Manta Trust. An experienced marine biologist and expert in conservation, he set up the Maldivian Manta Ray Project in 2005. Working closely with the Maldivian government to establish protective measures and educate against targeted fishing, his project eventually grew and now stretches across the oceans. In this episode, Guy explains how his hobby turned into a reality; from breeding tropical fish in his sister’s fish tank to swimming alongside ...
Dr Fay Clark: Ring-tails, Killer Whales and the history of the British Zoo.
May 06, 2019 08:00 - 57 minutes - 26.3 MBDr Fay Clark is an animal welfare scientist. A self-confessed “zoo geek”, she specialises in the assessment and enhancement of captive animal welfare in traditional zoos, safari parks, sanctuaries and aquariums. She is currently based at Bristol Zoo where she examines how the welfare of large-brained mammals can be enhanced through cognitively challenging activities. In this in-depth conversation, she reflects on how zoos have transformed from a victorian spectacle with “poking sticks” to edu...
Dr Ellinor Michel: Snail shells and concrete dinosaurs in deep time
April 25, 2019 11:00 - 1 hour - 27.6 MBDr Ellinor Michel is a molluscan systemetist and ecologist at the Natural History Museum and chair of the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. Her work focuses on malacology (the study of molluscs), taxonomy and nomenclature, and the ecology of the Great Rift Lakes of Africa. In this in-depth conversation, she describes how a snail’s spiral shell is a “magical world” etched with secrets of our past, discusses the “important yet painful” process of the human appetite for knowledge, and explain...
Dr Steve Etches: Plumbing the prehistoric depths of the Kimmeridge Clay
April 22, 2019 07:00 - 55 minutes - 25.4 MBDr Steve Etches MBE is a renowned fossil expert. His collection of over 2,000 pieces from the Kimmeridge Clay include remains of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, pterosaurs and a whole host of Jurassic marine life. Once housed in his garage, the collection is now on display at the Etches Collection in Dorset. In this in-depth conversation, he describes how he stumbled across the world's first ammonite eggs, shares how his discoveries still give him “that same childhood thrill” that he first experie...
Dr Katherine Brent: Morris dancing, bees and badger cull protestors
April 11, 2019 23:00 - 31 minutes - 14.3 MBDr Katherine Brent from Wotton-Under-Edge has danced the Morris since she was 18 years old for sides including Red Stags, Winterbourne Down, Rag Morris and Madcap Morris. She also teaches beekeeping for Rory’s Well, a charity dedicated to regenerating the local economy of an area in Sierra Leone. In this conversation, she describes the history and traditions behind morris dancing and the origin of the colourful rag coat. She explains why she is passionate about the introduction of Inga alley ...
Astrid Goldsmith: Puppets, politics, and The Wind in the Willows with extra Wombles
April 04, 2019 09:00 - 52 minutes - 24.1 MBAstrid Goldsmith is an award-winning stop-motion animator. After tuition from Great Uncle Bulgaria and 12 years of hand-making models for other people - including Garth Jennings (for “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”), the boy band Blue and the unrelenting Duracell Bunny - she made her debut solo film, “Squirrel Island”. Astrid’s animations question the impact of human policy on the natural world, and her latest commissioned film, “Quarantine”, was nominated for the Debut Director Award ...
Astrid Goldsmith: Puppets, politics, and The Wind in the Willows with extra Wombles
April 04, 2019 09:00 - 52 minutes - 24.1 MBAstrid Goldsmith is an award-winning stop-motion animator. After tuition from Great Uncle Bulgaria and 12 years of hand-making models for other people - including Garth Jennings (for “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”), the boy band Blue and the unrelenting Duracell Bunny - she made her debut solo film, “Squirrel Island”. Astrid’s animations question the impact of human policy on the natural world, and her latest commissioned film, “Quarantine”, was nominated for the Debut Director Award...
David Fettes: Going against the crowd - and the best moment to press the button
March 25, 2019 00:00 - 48 minutes - 22.2 MBDavid Fettes is technically a wildlife photographer but is far better described as a force – and primarily a part – of nature. Growing up in India and in England, surrounded by snakes, langur monkeys and even more baleful creatures, he has stretched the definition of “self-taught”. An initial career in curiosity led to a mandatory career in management and insurance, before he landed, feet-firm, in what proved to be his destined vocation. His work has featured in the Natural History Museum’s W...
Polly Morgan: Form and colour rather than life and death
March 07, 2019 00:00 - 43 minutes - 20.2 MBPolly Morgan is a modern artist known for her sculptural taxidermy. Growing up in pastoral Oxfordshire, she’s been surrounded by animals from an early age. After moving to London to read English literature at university, she took a one-day course in avian taxidermy in a bid to decorate her new home. Polly’s interest accelerated from hobby to career when one of her pieces - “Rest a Little on the Lap of Life”, a white rat curled up inside a champagne glass - was sold to Vanessa Branson. Since t...
Mark Frith: a legacy of Britain's ancient oaks
February 21, 2019 00:00 - 47 minutes - 22 MBMark Frith is an artist and film-maker. His documentaries include “The War on Love”, “Hotel Splendide”, and BAFTA award-winning documentary “The Lie of the Land”. In 2011, he began a project which was commissioned by the late publisher and poet Felix Dennis to draw 20 large scale, intricate portraits of Britain’s ancient oak trees. His series of graphite drawings, which took the best part of a decade to complete, were gifted to the Royal Botanical Society’s permanent collection at Kew and to...