| Trees A Crowd | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | David Oakes |
| Genre | Natural History |
| Language | English |
| Updates |
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| Production | |
| Production | David Oakes |
| Opening theme | "The Oak and the Ivy" by Bella Hardy |
| Audio format | Podcast (via streaming or downloadable MP3) |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 138 |
| Publication | |
| Original release | 25 February 2019 |
| Related | |
| Website | www |
Trees A Crowd is a natural history podcast presented by actor David Oakes.
Oakes, as an environmentalist and an ambassador for the Woodland Trust and The Wildlife Trusts, started Trees A Crowd as a series of informal conversations with artists, scientists and enthusiasts.[ citation needed ]
Speaking on the Dominic King show on BBC Radio Kent on 19 July 2019, David said in regards to why he started the podcast:
If we live in a world of identity politics where personality trumps any viable policy or common sense, then maybe we can use that for betterment too. So, if we can get someone who is fascinating who can take you through their life story and their idiosyncratic interests and pastimes and accidental encounters with griffins or narwhals or fantastical or factual beasts across time, then maybe we can then be seduced into fewer plastic bottles or driving your car a little less often. [1]
Each episode explores how the countryside has inspired different career trajectories. Speaking to Countryman Magazine in June 2019, Oakes said:
I decided to seek out others who, like me, have a meaningful connection with the rolling hills, misty moors, babbling brooks, and dappled woodlands of our glorious Great Britain. I wanted to discover how the countryside — and its many-legged inhabitants — inspired their careers, and how growing up within the natural world became working for the natural world. [2]
Jenny Perrone, writing for The Guardian , described the podcast as “a treat for your ears” [3] and the Geographical Magazine praised the podcast: "In a world of high-energy, jingle-ridden podcasts and antagonistic radio shows Trees a Crowd makes for a pleasantly gentle listen. Both nostalgic and forward looking it covers some of the biggest issues facing the natural world through the medium of relaxed, informal conversation." [4]
As of 28 May 2021, Trees a Crowd is to be added to the British Library Sound Archive (formerly the National Sound Archive) for its value as part of the nation's audio and cultural heritage. And, as of August 2021, it is ranked as the #1 Nature podcast in Great Britain on Apple podcasts.
The third series took on a different format (see below), but it did include three interviews in keeping with the original format of the podcast.
As a result of restrictions put in place in response to the COVID pandemic of 2020/21, the third series of Trees a Crowd temporarily took on a different format. Instead of interviews, it provided short narrative accounts - scripted and produced by Oakes - of 'the secrets and stories beneath the native tree species to the British Isles'. The series explored the folklore, history, botany, art, music and literature associated with each tree, and was illuminated by anecdotes from Oakes' personal experience. The episodes also featured soundbites from previous guests of the show, and poetry and song recitals performed by acquaintances from across Oakes' theatrical career.
An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities". An environmentalist is engaged in or believes in the philosophy of environmentalism or one of the related philosophies.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment through public awareness campaigns, petitions and through the operation of nature reserves throughout the United Kingdom.
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. As of 2021, it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
David James Bellamy was an English botanist, television presenter, author and environmental campaigner.
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologism combines the ideology of social ecology and environmentalism. Ecologism is more commonly used in continental European languages, while environmentalism is more commonly used in English but the words have slightly different connotations.
Wildlife management is the management process influencing interactions among and between wildlife, its habitats and people to achieve predefined impacts. It attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife management can include wildlife conservation, gamekeeping and pest control. Wildlife management draws on disciplines such as mathematics, chemistry, biology, ecology, climatology and geography to gain the best results.
Sir John Hartley Lawton is a British ecologist, RSPB Vice President, President of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, President of The Institution of Environmental Sciences, Chairman of York Museums Trust and President of the York Ornithological Club.
The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and 30 individuals working in any field who have shown "extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction" and are citizens or residents of the United States.
Rowan David Oakes is a British actor and environmentalist. He is best known for his roles in the series The Pillars of the Earth, The Borgias, The White Queen, Victoria, Vikings: Valhalla, and for his discursive Natural History podcast, Trees A Crowd.
Driven grouse shooting is a field sport in the United Kingdom involving the shooting of red grouse. It is one of two forms of the sport, the other is walked-up shooting. Driven grouse shooting involves grouse being driven to fly over people with shotguns in fixed positions. In walked-up shooting the participants walk forward in a line and flush the birds as they go. Walked-up shooting is more physically demanding than a driven shoot and typically involves fewer birds being shot.
Knobs State Forest and Wildlife Management Area is a 2,035 acre state forest located in Bullitt County, Kentucky, United States. The forest is located about 28 miles south of Louisville, Kentucky. It is managed for sustainable timber production.
Dymock Woods is a 53-hectare (130-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1990. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).
Distinguished Professor David Lindenmayer,, is an Australian scientist and academic. His research focuses on the adoption of nature conservation practices in agricultural production areas, developing ways to improve integration of native forest harvesting and biodiversity conservation, new approaches to enhance biodiversity conservation in plantations, and improved fire management practices in Australia. He specialises in large-scale, long-term research monitoring programs in south-eastern Australia, primarily in forests, reserves, national parks, plantations, and on farm land.
Alan Watson Featherstone is a Scottish ecologist, natural history photographer, inspirational speaker and the founder of the conservation charity Trees for Life.
Dr.George Richard Potts, known as Dick, was an internationally renowned ecologist and conservationist. He was a specialist in the partridge. He is primarily associated with the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust for which he started many successful conservation projects. He was director of the Game Conservation Trust from 1993 to 2001. He is the author of many scientific papers and some books. The focus of his research for which his most well-known is on the relationship between modern agriculture and game birds and animals.
Mary Colwell is an English environmentalist author and producer. She previously worked for the BBC Natural History Unit. She is founder and director of the charity Curlew Action and Chair of the Curlew Recovery Partnership England, a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs initiated roundtable dedicated to reversing the decline of the Eurasian Curlew.
Dr Frans Vera is a Dutch biologist and conservationist. He has played a key part in devising the current ecological strategy for the Netherlands. He has hypothesised that Western European primeval forests at the end of the Pleistocene epoch did not consist only of "closed-canopy" high-forest conditions, but also included pastures combined with forests, a hypothesis variously addressed as the Vera hypothesis or the wood-pasture hypothesis.
Lee Schofield is a British naturalist and nature writer. He wrote Wild Fell: Fighting for Nature on a Lake District Hill Farm, which describes his work as site manager for the RSPB at Haweswater in the Lake District National Park.