Dr Bryce Stewart is a marine ecologist and fisheries biologist, and is currently a lecturer for the Department of Environment and Geography at the University of York. His love for marine life began at the age of five, when he decided he wanted to be a “professional holiday man” after a trip to the beach. His father persuaded him to consider marine biology instead, and the rest is writing his phone number on lobsters! Bryce explains that his unnatural obsession with scallops ties into one of the best pieces of advice he’s ever received: that if you’re going to be a marine biologist, choose a study species that’s nice to eat, and a study site that you’d want to visit on holiday! In this gripping conversation, Bryce talks about his adventurous and free childhood, growing up in both Australia and Papua New Guinea, his work collecting the vomit of underwater predators, and how getting the bends was “not great” (what an understatement!). He even talks about his work with fishermen, the British government, and his ongoing mission to mitigate the environmental impact of Brexit. For more information on this podcast, including David's thoughts following this interview, head to: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/dr-bryce-stewart/ Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Catherine Barlow is project manager of the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, and previously worked on the ground-breaking Osprey Translocation Project at Rutland Water. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Open Book in Wigtown, Scotland. Hear how Catherine’s ‘forced’ love of birds in childhood led to a real passion through adulthood – particularly for the mighty birds of prey. In this episode she takes us through her first experience of a golden eagle – catching only a glimpse of a brown smudge in the sky – and, in describing its characteristics, it’s clear she’s come to see it as the most impressive and beautiful of creatures and is now devoted to increasing the British population of these magnificent birds. Among many intriguing anecdotes, find out why golden eagles are bigger, better and stronger than David Oakes, and how a murderous eagle called Beaky has caused difficulty for the conservation project. You’ll also get an insight into Catherine’s earlier work, like her time spent on the Otterburn military range, watching short-eared owls, kestrels and hen harriers. For more information on this podcast, including David's thoughts following this interview, head to: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/dr-catherine-barlow/ Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Carwardine is a zoologist, leading conservationist, broadcaster and photographer. He came to prominence through his book and BBC documentary series “Last Chance to See” which he created with Douglas Adams of “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” fame. One of Mark’s big passions is diving - he organises whale and dolphin trips in Baja California, Mexico. In this fascinating conversation dusted with the sounds of nearby Canada geese, coots and black-headed gulls, Mark describes his most moving experience, snorkeling with humpback whales, and admiring their five meter long flippers. He talks about his childhood, rescuing animals wherever he found them, and about creating his own mini zoo. He reminisces about an unforgettable moment from his youth; cramming his idols David Attenborough, David Bellamy, David Shepherd and Peter Scott into his old Hillman Imp, which catastrophically broke down on the way to the train station. From the green woodpecker that sits on his office window sill every day, to the narwhals in the high arctic that you absolutely ‘shouldn’t french kiss’, Mark describes the endless joy that nature brings him. For more information on this podcast, including David's thoughts following this interview, head to: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/mark-carwardine/ Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Lentini is an underwater photographer and adventurer. She runs ‘Deep Focus Images’, a company that organises trips for those interested in pursuing wildlife photography. She is also the COO of ocean education organisation ‘Oceans in Focus’. Her accolades include having her work exhibited at the 2015 Climate Change Conference in Paris, and featuring as a finalist in the 52nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards. In this bonus Christmas episode, Joanna gives us a frank and open insight into her life, her passions and her anxieties. She explains how she combats her fears by swimming with crocodiles and orcas, and the thrill in doing so, and details the problems humans will continue to face as we become even more disconnected from nature. In this episode, she reminisces about an amazing trip to Glacier National Park and recalls how the natural world affected her from a very early age, and has gone on to hold a special place in her heart. For more information on this podcast, including David's thoughts following this interview, head to: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/joanna-lentini Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victoria Bromley is a wildlife filmmaker and part of the BBC’s natural history unit. She has produced some of their most recognisable programmes, including Spring Watch, Planet Earth Live and Blue Planet II. She’s worked to highlight the plight of the Siberian Tiger and most recently of the little-known Pangolin. Growing up in Coventry, Victoria learnt much from her grandad - an encyclopedia on birds, who signed her up for the WWF (the World Wildlife Fund, not that Wrestling nonsense) at the age of 7. Governed by an agenda of authenticity, Victoria relishes the opportunity to change perspectives, move people and have them engage with nature through filmmaking. She explores what really goes on behind the scenes of a wildlife documentary, and the joy of going back to basics when camping out. She particularly focuses on fond memories of getting under the skin of Mexico whilst filming in the country. A new parent, Victoria has great optimism for the next generation and admits parenting is not unlike natural history filmmaking... trying to predict the behaviours of an animal that can’t understand you, always up when the sun rises, and forever carrying a lot of equipment! For more information on this podcast, including David's thoughts following this interview, head to: https://www.treesacrowd.fm/victoria-bromley Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Richard Benwell is the chief executive of England's largest environmental coalition. He has worked at the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and, most recently, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In a passionate and expressive interview, Richard explains how he once tried to engage with an MP by emulating the sound of screeching swifts – not the only time he’s been caught doing bird impressions! Exploring why he became involved in campaigning for the environment, Richard points out that the early adoption of climate legislation overshadowed the urgent need for action on the natural environment. But his work introducing a Nature and Wellbeing Act, agricultural reform and the Environment Bill has been instrumental in bringing the issue to the fore. In a Trees A Crowd first, politics is discussed; specifically how Richard managed to turn the risks of leaving the EU into a success for the natural world, before the discussion floats back towards the “alien, flip-flappy feet” of his favourite bird – the coot. Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Jo Elworthy is a botanist and the director of interpretation at the Eden Project in Cornwall. She’s been involved with Eden since its inception, and has spent a great deal of time researching plantlife as well as creating books and films specialising in botany and horticulture. A chance encounter with the man who dreamt up the Eden Project, Sir Tim Smit, led her to take the biggest risk of her career – and the best decision of her life. The sounds of robins frame this conversation as Dr Elworthy sets out to prove that we can leave the world better than we found it, armed with many captivating anecdotes about the trail that led her to paradise. Jo also talks about her collection of four-leaf clovers, how to make art inspired by cyanobacteria, filling her father’s Jaguar with winkles, and why moss is as spectacular as David has been telling people it is for the past 30 years! Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Sir John Lawton is a fellow of the Royal Society, president of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and chair of the Endangered Landscapes Programme. Previously a trustee of the WWF, head of the Natural Environment Research Council and the most recent chair of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, there are seemingly few environmental organisations that John hasn’t been involved with. That said, it is birds that have driven John’s lifelong obsession with the natural world. Sitting in John’s back garden amidst the sound of birdsong, this conversation flows from a childhood obsession of brilliant blue hedge sparrow eggs tucked away in his nan’s back garden to following in the shoes of Darwin with a (now frowned-upon) fascination for collecting specimens. John explains how he helped to set up nature protection areas across the world, how he visited Chernobyl in the hopes of persuading the Belarus government to turn the exclusion zone into a national park, and what he got up to with a dolphin in Durham with David Bellamy. Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amanda Owen is a farmer, known to readers and television viewers worldwide as the ‘Yorkshire Shepherdess’. With her husband Clive and their nine children, she looks after Ravenseat, Swaledale – one of the most exposed farms in the Dales. Alongside running the farm, she has found time to write a number of books, having come to public attention on ITV's ‘The Dales’. On a “glishy sort of day”, sitting by a brook, David and Amanda chat without the distraction of phones and technology in this stunning signal ‘not spot’, interrupted only by a passing heron. Amanda, having grown up in the city, admits finding inspiration to become a hill shepherd from reading James Heriot's All Creatures Great and Small, and the couple wax lyrical about how a place like this, open and wild, builds one’s character. Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trees have captured the imagination of some of Britain’s most important landscape painters, with artists including John Constable and Paul Nash inspired by their diversity of form, character and symbolic significance. Here, in discussion with David in his role as an Ambassador for the Woodland Trust, art historian Christiana Payne and artist Angela Summerfield celebrate the majestic beauty of our woodland and the role of trees in inspiring some of our greatest artworks. “The Art Of Trees” was recorded live at The Times and The Sunday Times 70th Cheltenham Literature Festival in October 2019 and was supported by The Woodland Trust. Why not become a "Subscription Squirrel" on our Patreon, and help support the production of this podcast? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.