Trees A Crowd

Sep 09 2024 139 ep. 598

Trees A Crowd Podcast artwork

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/
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M G Leonard: Storytelling and the power of Beetles! “Elytra Literature” from Shakespeare to Starship Troopers.

Sep 09 2024 60 mins

A writer concerned with wondrous beetles and beautiful birds, M G Leonard and her award-winning books, for the past decade, have been inspiring the entomologists and ornithologists of tomorrow. Here, Leonard joins Oakes on the banks of the river that inspired Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" for an episode about how Nature and Storytelling are vitally important in inspir

Dr Hannah Trayford & Rachel Bigsby: The State of the Badger, with the Badger Trust

Aug 12 2024 48 mins

Britain and its rural communities have been obsessed with Badgers for centuries. Sometimes cast as hero, sometimes as villain, tales of their behaviour can be found woven into the fabric of our nation's folk stories. They have since been immortalised in literature by the likes of Beatrix Potter and Kenneth Grahame. Their prominence in rural life continues into our modern Britain, w

Matthew Oates: A Paean to the Purple Emperor. One Man’s Passion-filled Past Devoted to Great British Butterflies

Jul 08 2024 52 mins

Matthew Oates is a naturalist, nature writer, and poet with a lifelong passion for butterflies. In the short sward of the Cotswolds, Matthew takes David Oakes on a journey through his fluttery past. They discuss the writers who have inspired him, from Tolkien to Wordsworth and W.H. Hudson, and share stories of other notable butterfly enthusiasts, such as Sir Winston Churchill. Matt

Tim Kendall & Fiona Mathews (PART TWO): Eye spy an eco-engineer! Deep in the Forest of Dean in search of the contentious Wild Boar...

Jun 17 2024 34 mins

In the second part of David Oakes' interview with Professors Fiona Mathews and Tim Kendall, the mammal-enthused trio head into the Forest of Dean in search of Wild Boar!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 Un

Fiona Mathews & Tim Kendall: Wild Mammals are far from 'Boar-ing'

Jun 10 2024 45 mins

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 wi

Rob Stoneman: Resurrecting Rainforests, Protecting Peat and Constructing Conservation Kingdoms along our Coastlines

May 13 2024 60 mins

Rob Stoneman wanted to make lots of money in the oil industry… and then he found peat! This episode is a deep dive into that blancmange-like substance that should be our saviour. Also, the Wildlife Trusts’ plans to grow a new rain forest in North Wales and Rob’s dream of having a mile deep nature reserve that circumnavigates the entirety of the British Isles coastline.A geolo

The Horstmann Trust: Vultures in the Valleys!

Apr 08 2024 70 mins

The Horstmann Trust is a brand new charity primarily focused upon breeding and ultimately releasing back into the wild four species of endangered vultures: the Bearded, Egyptian and Hooded Vultures, as well as the Andean Condor. But what makes the Horstmann Trust particularly interesting, is that these birds are Welsh Vultures! In this episode, David heads to Wales to meet Holly Ca

Andy & Peter Holden: A Filial History of Nest Building

Mar 11 2024 55 mins

At the launch of his latest video installation at the Tate St Ives, artist Andy Holden meets with David Oakes to discuss the creativity present within the bird world. But, whilst exploring avian aesthetics, Andy's artwork - "A Natural History of Nest Building" - also explores the roles of nature versus nurture at an additional level. This exhibition, one exploring how and why Birds

Dr David Hetherington: Reintroducing the Lynx lynx lynx to our Cairngorms (a cat so enigmatic that they named it thrice!)

Feb 12 2024 62 mins

Dr David Hetherington is an expert on the Eurasian Lynx and the beneficial links Lynx (Lynx lynx lynx) can manifest within our complicated British ecosystems. What he doesn’t know about the Lynx’s rich history across Europe is not worth knowing: Hear why Hildegard von Bingen thought drinking Lynx urine was highly beneficial; when exactly(ish) Lynx were wiped from British shores

Dr Ruth Tingay: From Birds in Boxes to Rivers of Raptors; One woman’s mission for Wild Justice against Raptor Persecution

Jan 08 2024 64 mins

Dr Ruth Tingay is a conservationist and campaigner who has spent her career primarily focused upon the world’s raptor population (that’s Birds of Prey, rather than Veloci-...) Her career was inadvertently kickstarted through working at Heathrow airport’s Animal Reception Centre. Here she welcomed back the UK’s Red Kite population for their reintroduction to our country, as