0:00:02 > 0:00:04Britain was once an island of trees.
0:00:04 > 0:00:09For 10,000 years, they have shaped our landscapes.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11And we were once a woodland people.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15We managed our forests carefully - cutting and coppicing -
0:00:15 > 0:00:18and they thrived under our care.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23But forestry has changed.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27In the last century, plantations have replaced many of our woods.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Others have been deemed unprofitable and abandoned.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Can they survive in the 21st century?
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Writer and woodsman Rob Penn believes so.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Here we go!
0:00:44 > 0:00:45And for the next year,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48he is taking over part of Strawberry Cottage Wood -
0:00:48 > 0:00:5150 acres of unmanaged woodland in South Wales.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Oh, my God. I feel like I'm going into the jungle.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00Can he bring this forgotten forest back to life again?
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Spring has arrived in Wales,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10providing new challenges to Rob's work.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13He must decide which trees he wants to plant.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17A tray of young oak trees and the future of this woodland.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20And find a way of keeping them alive.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24I don't believe it. Two squirrels. Two out of two.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28He gets a surprise visit from a conservation expert.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33To be perfectly honest, I'm nervous about showing it to you in case I've done something terribly wrong.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38And can he make enough money to keep the whole show on the road?
0:01:38 > 0:01:41You couldn't put that on the market as a commercial product.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43- The world is full of that.- OK.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56The seasons are turning in South Wales.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01The days are getting longer and new life is starting to stir.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05With the leaves opening, Rob has made camp in the wood
0:02:05 > 0:02:09to see what species have returned after winter.
0:02:17 > 0:02:23Dawn...on my first morning camping in the wood.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29It's spring. And the birds are in full song.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Rob is now halfway through his management of the wood.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Throughout the year, he has had experts come in to advise him.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42One of them - biodiversity officer Gareth Ellis -
0:02:42 > 0:02:44has returned to check up on his work.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49So, Gareth, this is the area that I've extensively cleared,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52it's where I've been coppicing the hazel through the winter,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54it's where I've done most of the work.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57I am, to be perfectly honest, a little nervous about showing it to you
0:02:57 > 0:03:00just in case I've done something terribly wrong.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Really don't be. You've done a tremendous amount of work here
0:03:03 > 0:03:05and this is exactly what I'd want to see
0:03:05 > 0:03:07in this type of old coppice woodland.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Throughout the winter,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12Rob has cleared a large number of hazel trees
0:03:12 > 0:03:13in the top part of the wood.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Clearing these trees allows sunlight back onto the woodland floor
0:03:17 > 0:03:20and enables new plants and seeds to germinate.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23There's young ash trees coming through here.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25These have been triggered into germination
0:03:25 > 0:03:27by having the warmth and having the sunlight.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31This wouldn't have happened if we still had that heavy shade from all this dense coppice around us.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34So these have got a really good chance now.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Big open space above us, loads of light coming in,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40they don't have to fight for the light or grow out,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43and it's a tree that can last hundreds and hundreds of years -
0:03:43 > 0:03:44- all beginning now.- Great!
0:03:48 > 0:03:52The changing seasons from winter to spring,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55that's probably the most exciting time to be in the wood
0:03:55 > 0:03:58because there's so much change going on.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00And at the heart of all of that change
0:04:00 > 0:04:03is the fact that the sap is rising.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07And that manifests itself in an explosion of greenery,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09which is just wonderful.
0:04:09 > 0:04:15I suspect that, as humans, we're irresistibly attracted to
0:04:15 > 0:04:19places where nature is still a force,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23places where it's not passive,
0:04:23 > 0:04:28and that is most obvious in the woodlands in spring.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50This is great to see, Rob. All the ground flora are coming out.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51You've got the bluebells there -
0:04:51 > 0:04:54I'm sure you're very familiar with those. You've got wood anemones,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57you've got celandines - all coming out early before the canopy
0:04:57 > 0:05:00closes over the woodland, before all the leaves come out on the trees.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04The flowers are here to advertise their presence to insects -
0:05:04 > 0:05:06they can't do that unless the insects can find them.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09That's why all of our spring flowers come out early in the woodlands -
0:05:09 > 0:05:13they want to get their flowering done, attract those early insects
0:05:13 > 0:05:16and do it before the canopy closes over us
0:05:16 > 0:05:18in the next month or six weeks.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Having a well-developed flora like this across the woodland
0:05:21 > 0:05:24tells me that this is a long-established woodland
0:05:24 > 0:05:26and also that it's in quite a healthy condition.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30This is what you want to see on the ground flora in a woodland at this time of year.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35Gareth is able to read the history of the wood through its flowers.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38And in the area of bracken and brambles that the pigs cleared,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41he can also help Rob shape the future of Strawberry Cottage Wood
0:05:41 > 0:05:44with a new planting scheme.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47This was the patch last year where we were up to our necks in bracken.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50- Exactly.- Well, the pigs have made a massive difference.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52They've cleaned all that bracken out.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54They've turned all the ground over.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57They've grubbed out all the root system
0:05:57 > 0:05:58of the bracken and the brambles.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02What we can see now is all these new seedlings and shoots
0:06:02 > 0:06:04and plants are coming through.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07So what can I be doing with this area now?
0:06:07 > 0:06:10You've got a great opportunity here now to put some new plantings in of your own.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12You've cleared all that rubbish out of the way,
0:06:12 > 0:06:17you've got a nice, soft nutriful soil all turned over,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19great for planting in, easy to dig in.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22If you put some trees in an area like this, they've got plenty of sunlight,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25but they're a bit sheltered from the trees that remain around them.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28I reckon some new plantings would go really well here.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Having Gareth here in the wood for the day has been really great.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38It's been a bit like having a school report in one sense,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42and it's very gratifying to know that largely I am on the right track.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45But, of course, spring brings new life back to the woods
0:06:45 > 0:06:48and new life means new responsibilities -
0:06:48 > 0:06:51more tasks, more work.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57For the next three weeks,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Rob must work hard to keep up with the changes of spring.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Gareth has left him four bird boxes
0:07:02 > 0:07:05to encourage more songbirds into the wood.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12Going to tie this up without falling out of the tree.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18There we go.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21The bird box is up.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25If Rob is to plant new trees, he needs to generate money to buy them.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28His woodland must pay for itself.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Over the winter, he cut down a large ash tree.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Now it's time to take the logs to the sawmill
0:07:36 > 0:07:38and find out whether it has any value at all.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43It's been a huge effort and a significant cost
0:07:43 > 0:07:46to get the ash that we felled here to the saw mill.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48And really this is a focal point.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Now is the time when we're going to cut the timber up
0:07:52 > 0:07:55and see whether or not it's really got any value.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Three buyers expressed an interest in the wood before it was cut up.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04But the quality of timber lies beneath the bark.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07It could all still be worthless.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Sawmill owners like Will Bullough
0:08:12 > 0:08:16spend years learning how to separate good timber from firewood.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Right, Rob, so what I've done here is
0:08:18 > 0:08:20I've divided these logs into two stacks.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23These are the ones which we hope to put on the saw,
0:08:23 > 0:08:25we think are worth it.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28These are the ones we don't think are worth it at all.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- So, OK, what's that for? - That's firewood.- That's firewood?
0:08:32 > 0:08:36In my book, that's firewood. They're mostly crooked, small,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39they've got lots of little branches and knots
0:08:39 > 0:08:40that were growing out of them.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44You couldn't put that on the market as a commercial product.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46The world is full of that.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50This we'll put on the saw for you and mill it
0:08:50 > 0:08:52and we'll see basically what we get.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56But I'll have to say that we may find it a bit limiting.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58- Really?- Here's a sort of scar
0:08:58 > 0:09:02which is a remnant of the healing of where there used to be a branch.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Here you can see what remains of the knot
0:09:06 > 0:09:11which is where the tree was when that branch died.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16That limits like mad the long, clean, straight grain timber
0:09:16 > 0:09:19we were hoping to get out of this.
0:09:19 > 0:09:20OK, yeah, yeah.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Decades of neglect in Rob's wood
0:09:22 > 0:09:26has left the timber in exceptionally poor health.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Limbs that should have been pruned were left hanging,
0:09:28 > 0:09:32and trunks that could have grown straight were allowed to branch.
0:09:33 > 0:09:40So at least 50% of the timber that I had several nightmares
0:09:40 > 0:09:43getting down and out of the woods and over here
0:09:43 > 0:09:46is basically no good for anything but firewood.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50That's a major disappointment. I mean, I should have left the bloody stuff in the wood
0:09:50 > 0:09:55and just chopped it up and taken it home and burnt it on the burner, you know.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59An investment of energy, time
0:09:59 > 0:10:04and to some extent money which was all wasted. Great.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Until it's cut,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Rob won't know whether the timber has any use at all.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15David Colwell, who three weeks ago bought some of the tree
0:10:15 > 0:10:16to make into ash furniture,
0:10:16 > 0:10:21has arrived to check on the quality of his purchase.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26Will has decided he's going to cut David's timber first
0:10:26 > 0:10:28and then this is obviously fairly important now
0:10:28 > 0:10:32because the rest of it is not much good for anything.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36So I'm praying that David's timber is going to meet his requirements,
0:10:36 > 0:10:38he's going to be happy with it.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45If you remember, what I was after was this fast grown stuff
0:10:45 > 0:10:50and clean white. And it's definitely clean. When we look at it,
0:10:50 > 0:10:55you'll see it's actually a little less fast grown than would be ideal.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57- OK.- But it's nice and clean.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01- We'll have a quick look, shall we, and see?- Great.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03This is lovely and straight and clean.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06There's a little bit of knots in the middle here,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09but that's from when it was a much younger tree.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11Despite that, you're happy?
0:11:11 > 0:11:16This is going to be prototype chairs, this is going to be, and tables.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20- Great.- Yep, it's absolutely fine. - So you'll take it away with you?
0:11:20 > 0:11:23- I shall take it away with me. - Fantastic.- I shall definitely do that, yep.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27With David satisfied, the other logs can get loaded.
0:11:29 > 0:11:35The sawing process starts to reveal new secrets about Rob's trees.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39OK, look, Rob. Here's a bit of something quite interesting.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44This is the characteristic scar that's made by shotgun pellets
0:11:44 > 0:11:46when they hit a tree,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48rather than whatever it was they were aimed at.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52- How extraordinary.- And you can see there's a very straight line.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55And just in there, which you can't really see very easily,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58is a sort of corroded flattened little pellet.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01And that took place, judging by the counting of the rings,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03around about something like 25 years ago
0:12:03 > 0:12:07- when the tree was about 20 years old.- How extraordinary.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Isn't that lovely? A bit of history buried in...
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Yeah, it's a little bit of interest.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Will's sawmill is different from most.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17For over 20 years,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20he's been promoting the use of British hardwoods
0:12:20 > 0:12:24- sycamore, poplar and chestnut - as competition to foreign imports.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Trying to do this job out of native timber,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32we are kind of up against it
0:12:32 > 0:12:35because we have got to measure up against standards of
0:12:35 > 0:12:40the same species that come in from the continent, often very cheaply,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42beautifully grown.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Sometimes benefiting from exchange rates, sometimes not.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Both Will and Rob are on the same mission -
0:12:48 > 0:12:50to try and find a way for our woods
0:12:50 > 0:12:54to become a sustainable economic resource.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59What might one do to revive interest in local wood for local people
0:12:59 > 0:13:02and local timber markets?
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I think the biggest challenge is going to be finding the people
0:13:05 > 0:13:10with the knowledge to produce the end product.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13There's a lot to know, needless to say.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18And there are very few places where you can now learn that
0:13:18 > 0:13:22because the milling business and so much of the British timber business
0:13:22 > 0:13:27has faded away. But there are all sorts of different aspects
0:13:27 > 0:13:30of British timbers which can be as good
0:13:30 > 0:13:34and in some respects more interesting.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38And we've got to try and get our trees up to the standard
0:13:38 > 0:13:42where they compete with the imported trees for quality of management.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45It can be done and hopefully it will be done.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48It'd be a great shame if it wasn't because so much relies on it.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Britain has the second lowest woodland cover
0:13:53 > 0:13:56of any country in the EU.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Only 12% of our island is forested.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Germany and France have around 30% cover.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Finland has 73%.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Today, we import nine-tenths of our timber,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15a staggering 40 million tonnes each year.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18We're never going to be able to supply
0:14:18 > 0:14:21all of Britain's demand for timber with native timber.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25We are the third largest importer of timber in the world.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30We've been importing timber in vast quantities for at least 500 years.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Now that's a simple matter of geography.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38We just don't have the land mass available to grow enough trees,
0:14:38 > 0:14:43but we still need to find a market for British timber.
0:14:43 > 0:14:50We need to find a place for that market alongside imported timber.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55And, really, a British timber industry is fundamental
0:14:55 > 0:14:59to the life and the health of our woodlands.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02Back at the mill,
0:15:02 > 0:15:06the quality of the timber has limited how much Will can cut.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Only nine logs make the grade.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Rob has earned £100 from his entire tree.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16It's the end of the day. They've finished milling.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18David has gone away happy with his timber,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22but what's left is, to be honest, rather disappointing.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25And that's because this ash tree wasn't well managed,
0:15:25 > 0:15:29and that means that there's a certain amount of wood in here
0:15:29 > 0:15:31which is just dead and useless.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35And I was rather hoping there would be a lot more.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46To rejuvenate Strawberry Cottage Wood,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Rob must do more than just clear out the old timber.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56A new generation of trees can be planted,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59helping create a diverse canopy.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02This is the area where I've decided to plant.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05And planting trees is something that
0:16:05 > 0:16:08I'm going to think very carefully about
0:16:08 > 0:16:12because what I plant could fundamentally change the nature of the wood.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17When you're planting trees, you have to take a long view.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19And like most of the human race,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22it's something I'm not particularly good at.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28More broadleaf trees are being planted now
0:16:28 > 0:16:30than at any time this century.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34People are beginning to realise their importance
0:16:34 > 0:16:36for the British landscape and native wildlife.
0:16:36 > 0:16:37In the last five years,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41we have planted enough trees to cover the whole of London.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45But how do we know which species are right for the woodlands of tomorrow?
0:16:46 > 0:16:50To find this out, Rob is off to Oxfordshire
0:16:50 > 0:16:54to get a tour around one of Britain's most guarded woodlands.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Normally, the public aren't allowed in here, Rob,
0:16:57 > 0:17:01but come on in and welcome to Paradise Wood.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06Jo Clark is senior researcher at Paradise Wood.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09For 25 years, scientists here have been exploring
0:17:09 > 0:17:12how our trees cope with the dramatic changes
0:17:12 > 0:17:14that are predicted in our climate.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19You're stood in the middle of an oak trial here, Rob.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Climate scientists have got a range of predictions that they use
0:17:22 > 0:17:25that our climate is likely to be in the future.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28So, by 2080, they're saying that our climate here is going to be
0:17:28 > 0:17:31like that of Bordeaux in the south of France.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33- And that's quite different.- Yup.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36But, for the trees, the biggest problem there
0:17:36 > 0:17:37is going to be lack of water.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41So, if by 2080, we're not getting that rainfall, we have to think,
0:17:41 > 0:17:45"How are our trees actually going to cope with that different climate?"
0:17:45 > 0:17:47What the work here has shown
0:17:47 > 0:17:51is that trees currently found in southern and central Europe
0:17:51 > 0:17:54are better adapted to our future climate.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57French ash will grow much stronger than ash from Yorkshire.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01But climate change could also provide an opportunity
0:18:01 > 0:18:03for new species to thrive.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06So, what we've got here is a walnut.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10And we like walnuts because it grows quite quickly.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13You can get a veneer butt of walnut in 50 years,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16as opposed to oak, which is 150 years.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20And, if you grow it well, it's worth three times that of your oak butt.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23So the markets are there for the walnut,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26but at present nearly all our walnut does come from overseas
0:18:26 > 0:18:30because it's a very picky tree, it likes deep fertile soils,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34and actually the British climate is a bit too cold to grow quality walnut.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36So, I think maybe in 50 years' time
0:18:36 > 0:18:39when the climate's that little bit warmer
0:18:39 > 0:18:43we're going to be seeing much more walnut being planted successfully
0:18:43 > 0:18:45to give a quality product.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49But to have profitable timber in Strawberry Cottage Wood
0:18:49 > 0:18:53will require Rob to think about more than just climate change.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56What you don't know when you're planting your woodland
0:18:56 > 0:18:58is what are your markets going to be in 50 years' time.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01And forestry is like anything else. There are fashions.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04What sells today may not sell in 50 years' time.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Dramatic swings in the timber market
0:19:07 > 0:19:11have created some of our most iconic woodlands.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14The great oaks in the Forest of Dean were planted for ship building,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16but remained standing
0:19:16 > 0:19:20when steel became the shipyard's material of choice.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22In the 1950s, a thriving matchstick industry
0:19:22 > 0:19:26led to vast areas of Norfolk being planted with poplar.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29But this market disappeared almost overnight
0:19:29 > 0:19:32when timber from Canada flooded our ports.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36Our remaining poplar woods show how demand can shift
0:19:36 > 0:19:38much faster than trees can grow.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44The day after seeing Jo,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Rob picks up his trees from a local garden centre.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50The choices he has made will determine the health
0:19:50 > 0:19:53and productivity of the wood for the next generation.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57It's planting day.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59Really, this is a job for winter,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02but I've spent a lot of time taking advice on what to plant
0:20:02 > 0:20:05and I've got a wide variety of trees -
0:20:05 > 0:20:09some which I hope will make for good timber in the future
0:20:09 > 0:20:11and others which are just personal preferences.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15And I'm very excited about getting them in the ground.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19Rob is trying to future-proof Strawberry Cottage Wood.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Ensuring that it can provide useful timber and a thriving ecosystem,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27despite the inevitable shifts in the market and climate.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31So we've got 50 oaks, we've got some ash which we're transplanting
0:20:31 > 0:20:36just from the wood next door, we've got some lovely grey alder
0:20:36 > 0:20:39and some walnut which are trees which I happen to love,
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and something a little bit different. And we've got some sweet chestnut.
0:20:42 > 0:20:48Hopefully, it'll all be a very beautiful woodland in 50 years.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07First tree planted.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Very exciting.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14Rob has chosen to plant oaks as his main timber tree.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Ash will provide a ready supply of firewood,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20and he has planted grey alder, walnut and sweet chestnut
0:21:20 > 0:21:23for each of his three children.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26So, following Jo Clark's advice,
0:21:26 > 0:21:31we've got trees from diverse locations.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36These oaks are from Somerset and Yorkshire.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40The alder and the sweet chestnut are from the West Country.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44The walnut trees are from South East Asia,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48and so what that means is that
0:21:48 > 0:21:53we are making at least an attempt to future-proof the wood.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58By choosing trees from different locations,
0:21:58 > 0:22:02Rob hopes to make this wood more resistant to disease and pests.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06But he is unlikely to be around when they finally reach maturity.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09It strikes me, planting trees here
0:22:09 > 0:22:14that maybe someone will walk through this wood in 100 years
0:22:14 > 0:22:16and think well of me,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19even though they have no idea who I am.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23And there aren't many things in this life
0:22:23 > 0:22:29that offer such a prospect, which is...really nice.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42So, I'm done for the day.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44I've planted 75 trees.
0:22:44 > 0:22:52Probably the most satisfying day in this wood so far this year.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56And I just have to hope
0:22:56 > 0:22:58they will survive.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08Not all of Rob's trees will grow to their full height.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11He will have to thin some out as part of his management.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15But they will also be vulnerable to natural predators.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18And in this part of the country one animal is the sworn enemy
0:23:18 > 0:23:22of all woodsmen - the grey squirrel.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Jo Binns, who owns the wood Rob is working in,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32has been battling grey squirrels for the last decade.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39- Grey squirrels will decimate the trees.- Really? What will they do?
0:23:39 > 0:23:42They'll take half, three quarters of them out. They do serious damage.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47I've seen oak stands where, you know, half the trees are dead,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50totally destroyed. And without controlling the squirrels,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52you're going to have a lot of damage.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56I mean, I've been trapping for nearly four years now.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59289, I think I've had. I caught 13 this week.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01They just keep coming in as you trap them,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03come in from surrounding woodland.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07Over half of Jo's farm has been planted with native British species.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12They have become a magnet for the local squirrel population.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16OK, here's a classic example, Rob, of squirrel damage.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19This is a birch tree, it's 14 years old.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Here we can see how the squirrel's taken the bark off
0:24:22 > 0:24:23all the way around the tree,
0:24:23 > 0:24:27and in doing so has cut off the supply of nutrients and water
0:24:27 > 0:24:29to the rest of the tree, and it's died.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33They take the bark off, get at the sap underneath it.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35It's just food for them?
0:24:35 > 0:24:39It's just food and it's very sweet - whether that's something to do with it.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42And by taking the bark off, that tree is now dead.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Nearly every single birch has been damaged by squirrels.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50I can see it here, here, here.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53I reckon more than 95% of the birch got damaged.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Grey squirrels were introduced by the Victorians as a curiosity.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Originally from America, they have no natural predators in Britain.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Populations have exploded.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09There are now over 2.5 million in our woodlands.
0:25:09 > 0:25:10OK, Rob, this is the best way
0:25:10 > 0:25:13of controlling squirrels in your woodland.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18Live trapping of them in these cage traps.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Bait it with maize. That's set at the moment, so squirrel goes in,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26treads on that plate and the door shuts, and the squirrel is in there.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34There's a hint of the marmite effect about the grey squirrel.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38I suspect for the majority of the population of Britain,
0:25:38 > 0:25:42the grey squirrel is a garden or parkland animal,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45an approachable part of wildlife.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50But, for Jo and for, really, anybody who works close to woods,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53the grey squirrel is public enemy number one,
0:25:53 > 0:25:55which is why we're going to do this.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14That's it. Two traps set.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Now we just have to wait.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Squirrels are most active at dawn,
0:26:31 > 0:26:35and Rob rises early the next day.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38It's the day after we set the traps, and I've got my air rifle,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41I've come to see if we've caught anything.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51We've caught a squirrel.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55We've got TWO squirrels.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00I don't believe it. Two squirrels - two out of two.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Leave it. Sit down.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15I'm not an instinctive killer
0:27:15 > 0:27:18and this is not something that comes naturally to me,
0:27:18 > 0:27:23but I'm certain from what I've read that it's the right course of action.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Squirrel dead.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43For the next four weeks,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45Jo and Rob lay traps on a daily basis.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48Squirrel number 25.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56But spring is marching quickly into summer.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00The new season brings its own responsibilities.
0:28:04 > 0:28:09I'm making headway, but there's no doubt about it, it's very hard work.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Next time at Strawberry Cottage Wood,
0:28:11 > 0:28:13it's time for Rob to make profit
0:28:13 > 0:28:16from the timber he coppiced in the winter.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Strawberry Wood charcoal!
0:28:18 > 0:28:22He explores other ways to bring people into his woodland.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24- Awesome. - Love it, love it, love it.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26It's good, man. Good effort.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30And even gets the family involved in some hard work.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Oh, no! Oh, stop it.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd