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The People's Countryside Environmental Debate PodcastAuthor: The People's Countryside Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Digital Tree Regulation
Sunday, 8 March, 2026
If you’re looking for the experts, you may be in the wrong place.This week, Stuart “The Wildman” Mabbutt and William Mankelow dive headfirst into two BIG listener questions’ that ask whether we are putting too much faith in the systems around us.First up, Paula from Norfolk, England asks: “I’m seeing companies are being advised to keep hard copies of records and not just digital. We’re being told to back up and not have too much data in our phones. Has the online bubble burst? Are we realising it's not perfect, better or quicker after all, and that we shouldn’t constantly be walking around publicly with headphones in? Have we worked out what social media and online recommendations really are, and that the internet isn’t really regulated and nor will AI be really? Scary when you consider anything on the internet is on there somewhere forever”It is a big question. Has our faith in all things digital started to wobble?Stuart reflects on the quiet return to paper records in some settings, and argues for adaptability. Do not put all your eggs in one digital basket.William adds nuance. Technology can deepen our connection with the natural world, from identifying birds to understanding plants. But the phone should be a servant, not a master.Then the conversation shifts from the digital world to the physical one.Richard from Oxford writes in after witnessing someone deliberately damaging a large tree in a public space, because it cast shade over a private garden. What should you do in that moment? Confront? Report? Walk away? Here is a link to Richard’s question in full: Richard’s questionThe discussion explores personal responsibility, community action and the psychology behind why a tree can feel like more than just a tree. Sometimes it is not about shade. It is about perception. About control. About what it feels like if somethings looming over us.Stuart shares practical ways to report local environmental damage. William reflects on why even a trimmed tree can still feel “too much” for some people.So this week we ask:Are we over reliant on the digital world?And when we see damage happening in the real one, how should we respond?As always, the questions come from you. The exploration… Well, that is where things get interesting.What do you make of this discussion? Do you have a question that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by sending an email to thepeoplescountryside@gmail.comSign the Petition - Improve The Oxfordshire Countryside Accessibility For All Disabilities And Abilities: change.org/ImproveTheOxfordshireCountrysideAccessibilityForAllDisabilitiesAndAbilitiesWe like to give you an ad free experience. We also like our audience to be relatively small and engaged, we’re not after numbers.This podcast's overall themes are nature, philosophy, climate, the human condition, sustainability, and social justice. Help us to spread the impact of the podcast by sharing this link with 5 friends podfollow.com/ThePeoplesCountrysideEnvironmentalDebatePodcast , support our work through Patreon patreon.com/thepeoplescountryside. Find out all about the podcast via this one simple link: linktr.ee/thepeoplescountryside
