{"podcast":{"title":"Country Life","slug":"country-life-6695406","podcast_index_feed_id":6695406,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6530ec9c7a90ab0012193f16","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/country-life","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6530ec9c7a90ab0012193f16/1697731438192-3c9f32484a53ec2e9c5811bea8572777.jpeg","author":"Toby Keel","episode_count":117,"summary":"Country Life magazine has been celebrating the best of life in Britain for over 126 years, from the castles and cottages that dot the land to the beautiful countryside around us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-17T00:19:08.930880+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/country-life-6695406"},"episode":{"title":"Adders, Shetland ponies and the future of the human race: Tom Hilder on the Country Life Podcast","slug":"adders-shetland-ponies-and-the-future-of-the-human-race-tom-hilder-on-the-country-life-podcast","published_at":"2026-01-27T13:30:41+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/country-life-6695406/adders-shetland-ponies-and-the-future-of-the-human-race-tom-hilder-on-the-country-life-podcast","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/country-life-6695406","url":"https://www.countrylife.co.uk/podcast","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6530ec9c7a90ab0012193f16/e/6978be01f36557dcbfd0900b/media.mp3","summary":"Tom Hilder was born to a life in the country. Born in rural Scotland but raised in Hampshire, he went through school always thinking – and being told — that he needed to find a life, and a career, out in the countryside, working with his hands. A chance meeting with a lecturer at Sparsholt College changed his life for good, and put him on a pathway to become (deep breath) the 'Senior Nature-Based Solutions Officer — Practical Delivery' at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust . It's comfortably the longest job title of anyone who's yet joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast, but the aim is clear: to make the world around us a better, greener place. Tom talks to James about his life, how he ended up working in the field (literally), and the challenges he's faced — from Shetland ponies and landowners suspicious of his tender years to the 'charismatic adders' found on Hook Common, in north Hampshire. You can find out more about the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust here , and to nominate someone for the 2026 edition of the award Tom won, visit the Schoffel Countryside Awards website . Episode credits Host: James Fisher Guest: Tom Hilder Editor and producer: Toby Keel Music: JuliusH via Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Tom Hilder was born to a life in the country. Born in rural Scotland but raised in Hampshire, he went through school always thinking – and being told…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1942,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/country-life-6695406/episodes/adders-shetland-ponies-and-the-future-of-the-human-race-tom-hilder-on-the-country-life-podcast/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/country-life-6695406/adders-shetland-ponies-and-the-future-of-the-human-race-tom-hilder-on-the-country-life-podcast.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}