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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In season three of Trees A Crowd, David Oakes uproots the secrets and stories beneath the native tree species of the British Isles.

Each week for the next few months, Oakes is going to be exploring our trees - from Scots Pine to Privet; Box, Beech and the Buckthorns; Wild cherries, wild pears and wild apples; Ash, Aspen, Alder, Elder and Elm... and many more (56 of them to be precise-ish!)

But what is a Native Tree? Firstly, by 'tree' he means a woody plant that can, in the wild, reach at least 5m in height, and; secondly, by 'Native', he means a plant that has arrived naturally in Great Britain and Ireland since the last ice age - 11,700(ish) years ago.

A new episode will be dropped each tuesday throughout 2021... (ish).

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I love YEW all, YEW're wonderful - thank YEW for supporting "Trees A Crowd" through your Patreon givings!

Here a week before the public launch of the new series, is a taste of what is to come. My journey through the 56(ish) native trees of the British Isles. It's a little different to our usual format - but, it is temporary, and hopefully YEW'll enjoy it just as much...

...oh, and we're doing an episode WEEKLY!!! So, lots to look forward to.

So, until next week, where YEW'll have two more conifers to add to this tree, thank yew, thank yew, thank yew!

From David and all at TAC!

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In part two of this conversation with Dr George McGavin, we find out that he has not one, but five bugs named after him - one of which was given to him by the ‘world cockroach expert’! If there’s a better measure for knowing how influential you’ve been in your field, we haven’t heard of it. George and David go on to discuss the human flesh-eating larvae of the botfly, and the memory of cutting open the poisoned insides of a dead harbour porpoise, alongside other poignant thoughts about man’s impact on nature. Indeed, George reflects on the biggest issue facing wildlife - that there are just too many humans, and that, with that, money seems to trump nature every single time. But, make sure you stay tuned in until the end to hear about spider penises, George’s uncanny David Attenborough impression, and the incomprehensible, destructive power of Tibbles the cat - who single-paw-edly wiped out an entire species!

For further information on this and other episodes, visit: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/dr-george-mcgavin/

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Dr George McGavin is a zoologist, entomologist and broadcaster, and currently serves as President for the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Best known for hosting documentaries including ‘Lost Land of the Volcano’, ‘Oak Tree: Nature’s Greatest Survivor’ and, most recently, ‘Ocean Autopsy: The Secret Story of Our Seas’, he is also well known to television viewers for his frequent appearances on BBC One’s ‘The One Show’. Sitting down to chat in post-lockdown June, in the heart of Windsor Great Park, David Oakes and George enjoy one of the first in-person meetups they’ve each had in months! George discusses how his stammer impacted his early life, how he was inspired by the likes of Aubrey Manning, and how he quit his much-sought-after tenured Oxford University position to chase a wildlife documentary making dream… (without telling his wife!) Covering insect biodiversity, mankind’s stubbornness to change, exploration of rainforests, and more, the topics covered here are as wide ranging as George’s documentaries, all shared with gleeful anecdotes, including his hope to delve deeper into the world’s faeces - but you’ll have to wait until the end for that particular ‘nugget’!

For further information on this and other episodes, visit: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/dr-george-mcgavin/

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Happy World Manta Day! To celebrate the wonders of our ocean’s Flappiest Friends, this special episode explores the experiences and encounters of Manta Trust patron and legendary explorer-cameraman, Doug Allan. Described by Sir David Attenborough as one of the world’s greatest natural history cameramen, Doug Allan’s work speaks for itself. In fact, head to our website now to see some footage of both Doug and Manta Rays in action. In this discussion, David Oakes discovers how, although training to become a marine biologist, Doug truly learned to dive by harvesting fresh-water pearls. Doug has spent roughly a decade living in the Antarctic, readjusting his internal thermostat suitably to openly profess that his “ideal temperature” is a barmy -18℃! As well as Manta Rays, Doug has had close encounters with Polar Bears, Orcas, Narwhals, Emperor Penguins and more (indeed he almost had his brains sucked out by a Walrus), but it was life on Everest that truly struck him to the core. Doug’s lengthy experiences in the most extreme of environments, and at our planet’s poles, make him the perfect witness of Earth’s changing climate. All this and an introduction from Dr Guy Stevens, CEO of the Manta Trust, to tell us how Manta Rays are getting on at the moment.

For further information on this and other episodes, visit: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/doug-allan-world-manta-day/

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