Trees A Crowd

By David OakesScience Arts Nature Earth Sciences

Trees A Crowd episodes

May 10, 2020 Éanna Ní Lamhna (Part 1): The force of nature teaching teachers about the Emerald Isle
Éanna Ní Lamhna is undoubtedly Ireland’s favourite naturalist and broadcaster. She has served as the president of the Tree Council of Ireland, secretary for the Irish part of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, and as president of An Taisce, the Irish National Trust. She’s worked on the radio show ‘Mooney Goes Wild’ since 1995, and has published a number of books about wildlife and education. During part one of this incredible conversation (recorded in early 2020), hear how an endless emphasis on daisies, daffodils and dandelions led her to writing a book determined to broaden the floral vocabulary and knowledge of young people - “how can you appreciate the exotic, when you don’t know the ordinary?” This conversation heads into a favourite topic for the show - climbing trees, and how children are doing it less and less, and it also explores Ireland’s many links to the natural world, through poetry, stories and in particular place names. You’ll hear quite quickly that with a wealth of knowledge and an unmistakable passion comes modesty, as Éanna charts her success down to “an accident”... but we know the truth! For further information on this and other episodes, visit: http://www.treesacrowd.fm/eanna-ni-lamhna/
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36 min
April 26, 2020 Alastair Humphreys: Living adventurously, yet learning how to love home
Alastair Humphreys, named as one of National Geographic’s adventurers of the year, has walked, cycled and climbed over seemingly every surface of the planet. He began his adventures in his early 20s, and since then has cycled more than 46,000 miles around the globe. Unusually for a professional adventurer, Alastair is now cutting down on his flights, and finds himself falling in love with Britain’s landscape. As such, we meet him two weeks into his month-long cycle around Yorkshire, where his only goal is to “see what happens”. Although he would quite like it all to himself, Alastair believes the outdoors are something we should all share and explore - that we shouldn’t worry so much about getting out there, living minimalistically and challenging ourselves. Find out how 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan came in the midst of his four year long travels, and how those events, incredibly, almost passed him by. Alastair explains how he’s constantly pulled between wanting to be a hobo, a vagabond, and wanting to find a place he can truly call home - and then once he’s done that, head north to take a selfie on the moon! For further information on this and other episodes, visit: http://www.treesacrowd.fm/alastair-humphreys/
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58 min
April 22, 2020 "Curlew" by Bella Hardy
The 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 Homfray for providing the artwork to accompany this episode - prints can be purchased here: https://www.peakdistrictdesign.co.uk/
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8 min
April 21, 2020 CURL-EW-PHORIA!

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/
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50 min
April 17, 2020 Alastair Gunn: Roses, wildflowers and tending ‘to the manor’s thorn’
In 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 things up’ - a challenge he’s clearly than risen to. Alastair explains the challenges of working in a different parts of the country, with different soil and vastly differing seasons and conditions. From roses to rhubarb and Read Dead Redemption 2, this conversation is full of interesting and funny moments, including an idea to pioneer Japanese Knotweed Gin, or crumble (for the under 18’s). For further information on this and other episodes, visit: http://www.treesacrowd.fm/alastair-gunn/
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26 min
April 15, 2020 Nick Cooke: Beneath the boughs with bluebells and brambles
In 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 bluebells and briars, Nick points out the oakwoods that call the castle home, the rhododendrons remaining from an ornamental garden, and gestures towards the mixed woodlands where wildflowers are thriving. Of the 816 hectares of land, 550 are designated ancient woodland sites - but they are much more than that now, under Nick’s care, the 300-year old site has been transformed into a stunning botanical collection, a producer of timber, a tree nursery and an area rich with biodiversity. This conversation takes so many paths, from hornbeams, to sowing seeds and contraception for squirrels - you won’t be disappointed! For further information on this and other episodes, visit: http://www.treesacrowd.fm/nick-cooke/
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26 min
April 13, 2020 Nick Howard: Heritage, home and honing the Howard’s way
We 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 he guides you around each of the estate’s stunning features, from The Temple of the Four Winds, to the Mausoleum and Pyramid, Nick gives an insight into the estate’s history, and how it links back to his ancestors who made the castle a reality. Stay tuned for the story of Ferdinand and Imelda, two extremely territorial swans who’ve taken ownership of a large stretch of water in the grounds, who join the 3rd Earl of Carlisle, Lord William Howard, and many others in calling Caste Howard their home. For further information on this and other episodes, visit: http://www.treesacrowd.fm/nick-howard/
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32 min
March 31, 2020 Luci Ryan: A hidden battle against HS2 to preserve five ancient woodlands
David, 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 ancient woodlands, how this project seems to be going ahead despite the ongoing pandemic and associated government advice, and how this is a time to preserve our unique British habitats, not destroy them. For further information on this and other episodes, visit: http://www.treesacrowd.fm/woodland-trust-hs2
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18 min
March 30, 2020 Dr Helen Pheby: Sculpture for sheep, and rhubarb trains; the place ‘Extraordinary’ can happen
Dr 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 from her village in Yorkshire to London, and muses over how magical it was being able to see the contrast between rural and urban environments. In this insightful conversation, Helen explains how she believes creativity and art is a human right, how the YSP was visited by Henry VIII, and how another Henry, Henry Moore, believed it was the job of artists to show people the natural world and subsequently designed artwork for sheep. She explains how the Sculpture Park aims to be inclusive, free from the barriers of social standing, wealth and a gender imbalance that art is often associated with. Subsequently, the YSP is now home to brain-controlled helicopters, women on horseback steeplechasing through the landscapes of the First World War, and all of this second to the migratory routes of the Great Crested Newt. In her own words: “We are places the extraordinary can happen.” For more information on this podcast, including David's thoughts following this interview, head to: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/dr-helen-pheby/
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59 min
March 26, 2020 Edward Davey: Learning how to feed the planet in response to COVID-19
Edward 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 as part of the London Climate Change Festival 2020. For further information on this and other episodes, visit: http://www.treesacrowd.fm/edward-davey/
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18 min

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