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PODCAST

Trees A Crowd

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

science nature

All Episodes

57:08

Paul Vorster: The Secrets of Sanbona, or: “Hippos!”...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/10/03

Located in the southwestern corner of South Africa's Little Karoo, the Sanbona Nature and Wilderness Reserve is an area of ex-farmland about the size of the Isle of Wight. Over the past 21 years, it has been transformed into a protected haven for a rich and varied tapestry of African flora and fauna. Seated on the ground by the edge of a Sanbona’s main lake, David Oakes is joined by Paul Vorster, the reserve's Director and General Manager - oh, and by six increasingly inquisitive hippopotamuses

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34:36

Nardstar*: Illuminating Cape Town's Evolving Streets,...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/09/05

Nardstar, the creative alias of Nadia Fisher, is a captivating wall-art and mural virtuoso hailing from the vibrant cityscape of Cape Town. Through bold lines and distinctive colour palettes she uses local flora and fauna both as a tribute to her local milieu and a catalyst for thought-provoking social discourse. Her urban landscape becomes a canvas for contemplation: How do we reclaim our city spaces? What boundaries should exist between land and ownership? Can nature's boundless beauty be a

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1:03:13

Chris Fallows: The flight and plight of the Great...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/08/01

Bridging the gap between wildlife naturalist and dedicated photographer, Chris Fallows was the first person to photograph the now famous breaching Great White Sharks of South Africa. Since then, he has been the human face for Great White Sharks on the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, the BBC and almost everywhere else you can imagine. Chris has devoted his life to demonstrating the gentler side of “…the last animal on earth that can catch, kill, bite us in half and consume us!” In this in

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50:31

Piet Beytell & Tommy Hall: Two very different...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/07/11

Two additional Rhino-related conversations: The first is with Piet Beytell, the Chief Conservation Scientist at the Namibian Government's Ministry of Environment Forestry and Tourism, and the National Rhino Coordinator for Namibia; the second is with Tommy Hall who works as a Wildlife Intelligence Officer, running a number of informer networks that assist both the Namibian Government and the Save the Rhino Trust in their anti-poaching endeavours. These two conversations serve as an addendum to last

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55:51

Save the Rhino Trust Namibia: Desert days with the...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/07/04

This episode is about Rhinos; desert-adapted free-ranging Black Rhinoceroses and the men and women who devote their lives to protect them - to be precise. Save the Rhino Trust Nambia has existed for over 40 years, their mission is to monitor and conduct research on the Black Rhinos of the North-Western part of Namibia known as the Kunene desert region. An incredibly hostile environment, the Black Rhinos have adapted to live here thanks to a tolerance for an extremely toxic plant that even White

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49:18

Sophie Pavelle: Ten Remarkable British Species and...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/06/06

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,

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47:41

Tan Twan Eng: The Master of the Nature Metaphor with...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/05/16

Tan Twan Eng was the first Malay writer to win a number of key literary prizes including the Man Asia Prize and the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. David Oakes and Twan Eng first met whilst in Malaysia shooting the film adaptation of his Booker prize nominated “The Garden of Evening Mists”, and on the eve of publication for Twan Eng’s new novel, “The House of Doors”, David seeks to find the secret behind the novelist’s skill at crafting pitch-perfect nature metaphors - despite the truth

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58:52

Dr Brian Briggs: The Return of the Marsh Warbler and...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/05/02

Dr Brian Briggs is a man of two halves; by day he is the Nature Reserve Manager at the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust’s Llanelli reserve, but by night he is the lead singer and songwriter for the Glastonbury-playing, Later-with-Jools-Holland-appearing, Silver-record-selling, “Rural existentialist orni-folk-band”, Stornoway. Reforming after a 10 year hiatus for a new tour and a new album, on a walk around the Llanelli reserve, Brian details how being immersed in nature during the pandemic is what has

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49:45

Emma Marsh: Feathers and Feminism with the Royal...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/04/04

Emma Marsh sits on the Executive Board at The RSPB, and was until recently the Director of RSPB England. But, despite working for the nation’s largest bird charity (the RSPB is actually Europe’s largest conservation charity!), she says that she is not a twitcher, rather that“…being in nature just feels right. Everything is right in the world when nature’s right.”Raised on a farm, yet having studied International Relations at University, it is no surprise that Emma is well placed to discuss the

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37:41

Chris Packham (Part Two): Through sand and snow with...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/03/14

In the second half of David's interview with Chris Packham, we hear how Chris originally wished to pursue a career as a wildlife cameraman, but a twist of fate thrust him into the arms of the Really Wild Show (or perhaps it was Chris who twisted their arms to let him in!) And from there, his TV career exploded! Chris clarifies exactly how his co-star, Terry Nutkins, lost his fingers, and how Chris himself was partially eaten by a vulture – you know, all the important stuff – and you’ll learn how

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41:26

Chris Packham (Part One): Deep in the New Forest with...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/03/07

Chris Packham is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable faces on British Television. He’s been a mainstay of the BBC’s Natural History programming for nearly 40 years. Alongside this commitment he also currently serves as President for the Bat Conservation Trust and Vice President for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, Butterfly Conservation, and the RSPCA. In this two-part discussion, David and Chris walk through the New Forest (the site of both their

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55:18

Bison Whisperers: The Return of the Native

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/02/07

To celebrate one of the scarily rare “Good Environmental News Stories” of this and last year, David heads out to Kent Wildlife Trust and the Wildwood Trust’s “Wilder Blean” project just outside of Canterbury. He is there to mark the return of the European Bison to Britain, and the birth of the first bison born in the UK in a free roaming herd since the species went extinct in the wild. In the safe hands of Britain’s first “Bison Rangers”, Donovan Wright and Tom Gibbs, David hears about the knowns

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45:44

Dr Trevor Dines (Part Two): Mapping “The Trevor Dines...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/01/17

In this, the second part of David Oakes’ interview with botanist Dr Trevor Dines, Trevor goes into detail about the sheer power of community science when documenting our nation’s flowers. Our understanding of British Flora - and indeed that of the BSBI (Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland) - would be nowhere without keen amateur volunteers. Spotlights are shone upon plants like the “Meadow Maker”, Yellow Rattle; upon different “wild” habitats like Knepp and the New Forest; and also upon lichens

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44:48

Dr Trevor Dines (Part One): Nobody ties themselves to...

Trees A Crowd ·

2023/01/10

Despite being raised in the fields of England and having slept upon the Rainforest Canopies of Cameroon, Dr Trevor Dines’ heart is intertwined with the flora of Wales. Recorded in his own personal Wildflower Meadow in North Wales’ Conwy Valley, this interview charts Trevor’s journey from the youngest member of the Wessex Orchid Society (when still only aged in single digits) to one of the inspirational forces behind the UK’s largest botanical charity, Plantlife. Trevor has written books, presented a

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1:05:51

Sarah Gillespie: Of Moths and Mezzotints - an...

Trees A Crowd ·

2022/12/06

Working from her Devonshire studio and the surrounding natural habitats, artist and printmaker Sarah Gillespie, in looking carefully at our wild world, can’t help but sense the sentience of nature looking right back at her. Raised by two artist parents, and having been blessed with at least one truly inspirational teacher, it’s perhaps not surprising that Sarah is now an acclaimed Royal West of England Academician, and most recently was asked to collaborate with Cambridge University’s Conservation

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1:02:54

Dan "Swampy" Hooper: The power of protest and...

Trees A Crowd ·

2022/11/01

In 1996, having spent 7 days living underground, Dan Hooper was forcibly evicted from a protest tunnel and thrust into the spotlight of the waiting media. From that day forward, Dan Hooper was known by most of the British population simply as “Swampy”. 26 years on from that high-profile eviction, Dan remains a committed environmental activist. In this month’s episode, David Oakes travels to South Wales to meet Dan to hear how his environmental protests have changed over 30 years, and to garner how

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1:14:29

Leigh Morris: Sexy carrots & feral wallabies - the...

Trees A Crowd ·

2022/10/04

Midway through the Isle of Man’s Manx TT motor-racing festival lies a day (terrifyingly aptly) branded as “Mad Sunday”. David Oakes chose this bacchanalian festival, one filled with inebriated petrol-heads and super-charged exhaust eruptions, to talk with the Manx Wildlife Trust’s CEO, Leigh Morris. Recorded in perhaps the only two quiet enclaves the island possessed that Mad Sunday, Leigh expands upon a journey that took him from horticultural nurseryman to the head of a Wildlife Trust that

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53:36

Dr Amy-Jane Beer: The 3 R’s of Nature Writing -...

Trees A Crowd ·

2022/09/06

Upon Salisbury Plain - nestled amongst exploding ordnance and dim-witted Tawny Owl fledgelings - the child that would become Dr Amy-Jane Beer found both a love for nature and a love for adventure. Training originally as a biologist, Amy grew into one of Britain’s best loved nature writers. Whether articles in British Wildlife, diary entires for the Guardian’s ‘Country Diary’, or her latest book “The Flow” (which explores our relationships with Britain’s numerous wild water ways), Amy’s writing

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57:10

Dr Gavin Broad: Broadening horizons with Darwin's...

Trees A Crowd ·

2022/08/02

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

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42:44

Lost on Lundy: The hidden treasures of a wildlife...

Trees A Crowd ·

2022/07/05

Since the late 1960s, Lundy Island - just off the north coast of Devon and measuring only half a mile wide at its widest point - has been owned and operated by two British charities; the National Trust and the Landmark Trust. Prior to this, Lundy was owned by wealthy megalomaniacs, pirates, gamblers, revolutionaries, neolithic fisher-people, and a whole array of wildlife. In this week's episode, David Oakes visits Lundy to speak with the island's current wildlife wardens, Rosie Ellis and Stuart

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