Adders, Shetland ponies and the future of the human race: Tom Hilder on the Country Life Podcast

Adders, Shetland ponies and the future of the human race: Tom Hilder on the Country Life Podcast

Published: January 27, 2026

Duration: 32:22

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 Fis...