Tinuke Oyediran is on a mission to explore all of the UK’s temperate rainforests, so for our latest episode, we showed her around magical Bovey Valley Woods in Devon. Tinuke is an adventurer and former professional roller skater, and was a contestant on the BBC’s Survivor UK show. She’s really passionate about nature, pushing boundaries and sharing her experiences to educate and inspire online communities. As we take a riverside ramble through the rainforest, we hear Tinuke on her wild adventure...
Jul 04, 2025•22 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Our latest episode comes from a rather unexpected venue: a former Chelsea Flower Show garden! Now located in London’s Notting Hill, it’s where we meet Danny Clarke, garden designer, TV presenter, and self-confessed tree hugger. As we explore the public woodland-themed garden, Danny explains how it tells the stories of injustice against humans and nature. He created the garden as part of his work with Grow2Know, a charity dedicated to making nature more appealing and accessible to a wider audienc...
May 30, 2025•24 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Buckland Wood is no ordinary wood. This is magical temperate rainforest, a rare habitat not just in the UK but in the world. Cloaked in lush lichens and mosses, dotted with stone walls and bridges and with a beautiful river rambling through, it already looks and feels like a special place. But the Trust has big plans for its future. Join us to explore with rainforest guru Sam, who tells us about the bid to restore this globally important site and its huge potential to connect people with nature,...
Apr 30, 2025•27 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Spring is in the air! Join us at Londonthorpe Wood, Lincolnshire to enjoy the wellbeing benefits of woods while using all our senses to check for signs of spring. We seek out frogspawn, song thrushes and blackthorn blossom for Nature's Calendar, a citizen science phenology project which tracks the effects of weather and climate change on nature across the UK. Keeping your eyes and ears peeled to record for Nature’s Calendar doesn’t just support science. Discover new research that shows how engag...
Mar 17, 2025•29 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Grab your hot chocolate (or mulled wine!) and get into the festive spirit with our Christmas special as we meet some reindeer, talk Christmas trees and explore a small but mighty wood with huge value for nature in the snowy Cairngorms National Park. We discover fascinating reindeer facts with Tilly and friends at The Cairngorm Reindeer Centre, and step into a winter wonderland at nearby Glencharnoch Wood with site manager Ross. We learn what makes a good Christmas tree, how the wood is helping t...
Dec 18, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Join us for a woodland wander with adventurer, author and tree lover, Al Humphreys. The 2012 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year has cycled round the world, rowed the Atlantic and walked across India, but now focuses on pursuits closer to home. Pioneering the concept of microadventures, Al explains how exploring small pockets of nature in our neighbourhoods helps us to better connect with and care for the environment. He speaks of enabling young people to embrace wild places, and encourag...
Nov 25, 2024•20 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Step into the heart of an ancient woodland as we explore Ashenbank Wood, a Site of Special Scientific Interest rich in history and teeming with wildlife. Woodland has stood here for centuries, but this haven is under threat. A proposed tunnel project, the Lower Thames Crossing, could harm the irreplaceable ecosystem and ancient trees here. Jack, leader of our woods under threat team, explains what’s at stake and the challenges and strategies involved in trying to maintain a delicate balance betw...
Oct 31, 2024•30 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Did you know oak supports over 2,300 species of wildlife? Discover this and more fascinating facts in our episode dedicated to the nation’s favourite tree. We join Trust experts, Jules and Kate, at Londonthorpe Woods , near Grantham, to find some fascinating growths on oak trees, known as galls, and learn why hunks of deadwood are so important. We then visit the star of the show and 'Lincolnshire's best kept secret' - the astonishing 1,000-year-old Bowthorpe Oak. It's one of 12 amazing oaks in t...
Oct 01, 2024•27 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Accompanied by experts Adam and Louise and a 100-year-old-book, our latest episode takes us to Nottinghamshire's Sherwood Forest to visit two astonishing trees. The Parliament Oak and Major Oak have each stood through several centuries and have fascinating stories attached to them. Equally astonishing is the fact that magnificent oaks like these don't have legal protection like our built heritage. Join us as we learn the magical lifesaving strategy of ancient oaks that could make them immortal, ...
Sep 05, 2024•33 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Join us for a jam-packed visit to Frodsham Woods, Cheshire, where 80 volunteers were planting thousands of trees to help transform a former golf course into a fantastic new space for wildlife and people. We visit the neighbouring ancient woodland and admire hilltop views with site manager Neil and chat to Tim, supervisor of this army of tree planters, about how the new wood will develop. We also meet Esther, lead designer of the project, hear from comms guru Paul about the Trust's #plantmoretree...
Mar 28, 2024•36 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Our setting for this episode, Sheffield’s Endcliffe Park seems like many other popular green spaces, but it has a hidden history: its waterways once helped fuel the Industrial Revolution in the ‘Steel City’. We discover how Sheffield’s past intertwines with trees as local urban forester, Catherine Nuttgens, explains how nature and the city have shaped each other through the centuries, and why people here are so passionate about trees. We also meet Stella Bolam who works with community groups and...
Feb 22, 2024•30 min•Season 3Ep. 1
This was certainly an episode with a difference - we begin in a Natural History Museum packed with 4,000 taxidermy animals! The Woodland Trust site and museum now share space once owned by the famous Rothschild family who collected stuffed species, as well as live exotic animals that roamed the park. We tour Tring Park’s fascinating historic features, from the avenue named after visitor Charles II to the huge stone monument rumoured to be for his famous mistress. Beneath autumn-coloured boughs, ...
Nov 03, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Sheltering from the rain under a yew tree in a Shrewsbury churchyard, we chat to 'Tree Pilgrim' Martin Hügi, the Trust's outreach manager in the South East. He’s taken a four-month sabbatical to walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats and visit thousands of incredible trees along the way. Hear Martin on awe-inspiring trees that have rendered him speechless, the vital Ancient Tree Inventory that helped plan the route, the value of ‘plugging in’ to nature and what's in his kit bag! We also hear from...
Sep 27, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Discover the fascinating ancient art of coppicing as we visit Priory Grove in Wales' Wye Valley, where the technique is still practised on a small scale to benefit both people and wildlife. We meet site manager Rob and contractor Joe to learn more about the coppicing carried out here, and how this interaction between people and nature has enabled the two to develop and evolve in tandem. Also in this episode, find out how an unfortunate end for ash trees resulted in a fantastic sea of wild garlic...
Aug 25, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Join us as presenter, author and farmer Kate Humble guides us through magical ancient woodland near her remote Wales home in the Wye Valley. With infectious enthusiasm and occasional impressions, she tells us about the plants and animals along our route as well as the story of her accidental career, becoming host of nation’s favourite Springwatch having never wanted to be a TV presenter! Kate also talks worldwide travels, access to nature and planting trees with the Woodland Trust on her smallho...
Jul 04, 2023•59 min•Season 2Ep. 17
I met the Yonder Oak Wood team back in March to discover how this landscape will be transformed for people and wildlife, and what designing a new wood involves. The vision is to attract plentiful wildlife with healthy habitat that offers refuge from weather extremes and fights climate change. The local community has been involved from the off - volunteer Sally Burton joins us to explain what she gets up to, how excited everyone is about the future and what volunteering means to her. We also hear...
May 26, 2023•28 min•Season 2Ep. 16
You'll never look at a tree in the same way again after this episode. Our guest, Tristan Gooley, is known as the natural navigator and gives us fascinating insight into the stories nature is telling us and how they can help us find our way. At Eartham Wood, West Sussex, he teaches us how each part of a tree can tell us about the land, water and animals around us. I put his skills to the test as we read the captivating clues of brown leaves, leaning trunks, lichens, yew, blackthorn and more. Find...
Apr 21, 2023•35 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Did you know we have rainforest right here in the UK? Visit magical Bovey Valley Woods in Devon with us as we walk alongside a babbling brook and over a Tolkien-esque stone bridge among trees dripping with lichens and mosses and learn all about it. Site manager David Rickwood describes the features of UK rainforest, some of the fantastic species that live here and why this habitat is so important as he takes us on a lichen hunt, shows us an otter holt and much more. Find out what a rapid rainfor...
Mar 17, 2023•29 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Londonthorpe Wood has been a haven for wildlife and people for 30 years. Colourful meadows and lush grassland open out amidst trees both old and new, where butterflies, grass snakes, wildflowers and woodpeckers all live. Now the Woodland Trust and National Trust are working together to make it even more appealing and accessible. Project manager Heather Cook tells us all about it, including what’s been achieved so far, how local people have been involved, prioritising nature, history and visitors...
Jan 24, 2023•19 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Join us for an episode of virtual time travel to visit Hatfield Forest, Essex and explore over 2,000 years of rich history. As we journey through this outdoor museum, we chat to Tom Reed, a Woodland Trust ancient tree expert, and Ian Pease, a National Trust ranger, who explain why the wildlife and cultural value of these trees makes them irreplaceable. Discover why ancient trees are so important, what makes a tree ancient, how people have lived and worked with them through the centuries and the ...
Dec 02, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Much as I love a woodland walk, my tree identification skills leave a lot to be desired, so I travelled to Londonthorpe Wood, Grantham for a lesson from the experts. We join tree ID guru Sally to learn how to recognise common trees from their leaves, catkins, bark and berries. From apple and ash to hawthorn and hazel, she also tells us more about the trees’ value for wildlife. I learned so much during this episode, and I hope you do too. Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about th...
Nov 04, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Charity Wakefield’s passion for the natural world shone through when we caught up at her local green space. I met the actor, environmentalist and Woodland Trust ambassador at Peckham Rye Park to talk about trees, wildlife and acting. Charity explains how nature has made her happy since the tree-climbing, den-building days of her childhood. She is concerned that people have lost their connection with the environment, but is hopeful for the future and encourages us to recognise that we can all mak...
Aug 08, 2022•25 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Langley Vale Wood is a really special place. Created as part of the Trust’s First World War Centenary Woods project, it’s a natural living legacy for the fallen that symbolises peace and hope. Memorials offer space to remember in an evocative and moving tribute. As well as these important reflections on the past, the site has a bright future. Previously an arable farm that became non-viable, nature is now thriving, with butterfly, bird and rare plant numbers all up. Join site manager Guy Kent an...
Jul 08, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Join us at Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Wood, Leics to discover a thriving 10-year-old wood, chat royal trees and celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. We meet with site manager David Logan to explore the site's connections with the royal family, its special art features and some of the wildlife, sights and sounds you might encounter on a visit. Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk . Transcript Voiceover: You are listening to Woodland Wa...
May 27, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Lying next to the River Avon just inside the Cotswolds, Avoncliff Wood is no ordinary wood. The site hosts one of the biggest trials in the UK to find biodegradable alternatives to plastic tree guards. As if that wasn’t enough, it’s also a living laboratory, revealing how ash dieback will really affect nature. Site manager Joe gives us a special behind the scenes tour to learn more. We also meet volunteer wardens Kay and James, and catch up with TV presenter Alice Beer who lives nearby. Don't fo...
May 17, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 7
On a delightful spring morning at Marden Park, just inside the M25 in East Surrey, we enjoy a walk with expert site manager Nick. He fills us in on how nature and people are benefiting from this special place and explains some of the challenges here too, including dealing with the effects of ash dieback and climate change. Wildlife is thriving here thanks to the mix of woodland both young and old, veteran trees, rare chalk grassland and more. We see butterflies and signs of badgers during our vi...
Mar 31, 2022•25 min•Season 2Ep. 6
We join Elaine Paige, award winning actress, singer, producer and radio presenter, as she plants trees at London's Hainault Forest. Known as the First Lady of Musical Theatre with roles in Evita , Cats and many more, Elaine chats with us about nature, the theatre and her hopes for the future. She gives us insight into her years on stage, from the origins of her love of music to her rise to stardom in Evita in 1978, a role that changed her life forever. We also talk about why nature is important ...
Feb 25, 2022•25 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Close to London, this urban oasis has a long and important history. It has provided wood to fire the capital’s bread ovens and venison for the king’s table, and is where the British conservation movement began. We join the Trust’s Jonathan Jukes and George Lewis for a tour of this special place, a remnant of the Forest of Essex once protected by the crown. Among stately hornbeams and oaks, you can almost imagine highwaymen charging through, Roman legions marching and local people managing the tr...
Jan 27, 2022•25 min•Season 2Ep. 4
How do trees communicate? Which species' bark was used as a kind of antiseptic chewing gum in the Stone Age? These and other fascinating facts and stories came up during my chat with author, environmentalist and Trust ambassador, Jon Drori CBE. Jon's love of nature grew from childhood visits to Kew Gardens and parents who encouraged him to view nature scientifically and also for its beauty. Both perspectives shine through in his books, Around the World in 80 Trees and Around the World in 80 Plan...
Dec 21, 2021•27 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Mya-Rose Craig is extraordinary. Known to many as Birdgirl, she travelled far and wide on a quest to see half the world's bird species before her 18th birthday. She's also an environmentalist, diversity activist, writer, speaker and broadcaster - and has an honorary doctorate in science from the University of Bristol. As well as her birding achievements, we chat about her passion for nature and encouraging young people and under-represented communities to connect with it. She also talks us throu...
Oct 06, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 2
