Trees A Crowd is a nature podcast about wildlife, wild places and the people fighting for them, presented by actor and ecologist David Oakes.
- 2019on air since
- 150episodes and counting
- Podcast of the Weekin The Times and The Guardian
- No. 1nature podcast on Apple Podcasts, many times over
The podcast
David talks with scientists, conservationists, artists and campaigners about the natural world and what it means to them.
Many episodes are recorded in the field – from beside the painted dog packs of Hwange in Zimbabwe to puffin-strewn Lundy and the biodiversity haven of the Galápagos. Others are deliberately unrushed conversations with some of the most influential voices in contemporary conservation.
Alongside the conversations, the 56(ish) Trees series takes Britain’s native trees one at a time, with help from friends of the show.
The show remains a labour of love: any profit from our Patreon goes to the charities of the guests who appear on it.
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Press and awards
“Floods you with facts which you fear you’ll never remember, but actually do”
“Great, geekily informative entertainment”
“A treat for your ears”
- Nominated several times at the Independent Podcast Awards, and Highly Commended for Environment & Natural World in 2025
- Podcast of the Week in The Times and The Guardian
- No. 1 in Megan McCubbin’s top 10 podcasts for Radio Times
- Added to the British Library Sound Archive
- Featured on BBC Radio 4
- Recommended by BBC Wildlife Magazine and Geographical
- Praised in The Countryman and Metro
About the host
Actor on the outside, feral animal obsessive on the inside, I grew up in the New Forest and along the Jurassic Coast, never happier than when leaping into bracken, exploring rock pools or pretending to be a mole. Little has changed.
These days you might know me from period drama: Prince Ernest in Victoria, Godwin in Vikings: Valhalla or William Hamleigh in The Pillars of the Earth. Though, between us, playing “bad boys” in costume is really just an elaborate Heath Robinson-esque ploy to ride horses for free. If I’m AWOL on set when “Action!” is called, I’ll likely be found quizzing the ever-patient animal handlers, because the now less than secret-secret is that I’ve an MSc in Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology up my sleeve, and I’d much rather hang around animals than many of my bipedal co-stars.
Anyway… in 2018, I set out to meet people whose lives had also been shaped by the natural world, and, with that, Trees A Crowd was born. It’s fair to say the passion project has grown. As well as being an actor, podcaster and some-time researcher (I’m currently working on climate and species resilience for ARIA), I’m now also Vice President of The Wildlife Trusts and a Fellow of the Linnean Society, and I’m proud to formally support the Woodland Trust, the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, the Manta Trust and the Badger Trust.
I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoy making it.
Bestests,
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