0:00:26 > 0:00:29'The humble bee is in decline.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33'According to some, their numbers have fallen by half in the UK
0:00:33 > 0:00:35'since the 1980s.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37'And it's not just a sad loss for our gardens.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41'It's a potential disaster for British agriculture
0:00:41 > 0:00:43'and further afield, too.'
0:00:43 > 0:00:47So, right across the world, scientists have been searching
0:00:47 > 0:00:50for the cause of their mysterious decline.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55And in Europe they think they might have found a culprit.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58'The European Commission believes the blame lies
0:00:58 > 0:01:02'with some of the world's most widely-used agricultural pesticides,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04'neonicotinoids.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07'It wants to ban them from 1st July.'
0:01:07 > 0:01:09But not everyone is convinced
0:01:09 > 0:01:13and Britain is now one of a number of countries resisting a ban,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17not least because of its impact on farming.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20'I've come to Kent to meet farmer Andy Barr.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24'Like many, his crop is already suffering a slow start,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26'thanks to the cold spring weather.'
0:01:26 > 0:01:29It's not quite what you'd expect for mid-April, is it?
0:01:29 > 0:01:30No, it's horrible.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33It's really having an effect on these oilseed rape plants.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36'Rather than spraying his fields,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39'Andy uses seeds treated with neonicotinoids.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43'But he's worried that a ban would make a bad year even worse.'
0:01:43 > 0:01:47You had me bring this bag of seed with us in order to show
0:01:47 > 0:01:50how the neonicotinoids work, but talk me through it.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53- What are the stages?- Right, well this is the seed we would plant
0:01:53 > 0:01:56in the autumn, basically.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Each one of those seeds will produce one plant.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03- This seed is already treated with the neonicotinoids?- It is.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Do you think there could be something in there, hidden,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10that's killing our bees? Because that's what's being suggested.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12To me, as a farmer,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16there is a very tiny amount of neonicotinoid on there.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20That tiny seed, one of them, grows into a plant taller than me
0:02:20 > 0:02:22and about this wide.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26And I plant it one August and it's flowering in the next May.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Is there enough there, in real field situation,
0:02:30 > 0:02:31to have an effect on the bees?
0:02:31 > 0:02:35At the moment, the scientists don't have an answer for me.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38No-one has said there is a definitive,
0:02:38 > 0:02:40real field situation effect on bees.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44So, what did you do before you had neonicotinoids?
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Before we had them, we had to come through very soon after planting,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50when the plants were very small,
0:02:50 > 0:02:52and spray the whole field two or three times.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55And did you feel that had other collateral damage?
0:02:55 > 0:02:57That's why I was so pleased when they came along.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00I felt it was a good thing cos we weren't spraying everything,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03we were just treating the seed and the plants.
0:03:03 > 0:03:04So it was much more targeted.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09'Neonicotinoids protect around a third of our crops
0:03:09 > 0:03:11'from being eaten by insects.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14'It's claimed banning them would leave farmers relying
0:03:14 > 0:03:18'on less efficient methods that would cost them millions.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23'But farmers need bees, too.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26'They play a vital role in pollinating many crops,
0:03:26 > 0:03:31'like oilseed rape. 'Losing them would slash yields.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33'So, to keep a healthy supply on Andy's farm,
0:03:33 > 0:03:38'he leaves space for wild flowers and even has his own beekeeper.'
0:03:38 > 0:03:42So, if I can just take the top off there.
0:03:42 > 0:03:43And again.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47'Alistair Wormsley has kept hives here for five years.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49'I'm helping him prepare for the warmer weather.'
0:03:49 > 0:03:55Because it's so cold, are the bees pretty unlikely to venture out?
0:03:56 > 0:04:00I would think the bees are unlikely to venture out
0:04:00 > 0:04:02at much below eight degrees centigrade.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05'It seems we spoke too soon.'
0:04:05 > 0:04:08The bees are basically wild animals, so even when we expect them
0:04:08 > 0:04:11to do one thing and stay in the snow,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13they've actually decided to come out.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16So I'll leave Alistair there with his veil to do the work.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21'Those supporting a ban on neonicotinoids
0:04:21 > 0:04:23'claim they disorientate bees.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27'So much so that many never find their way home.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31'Alistair says he's seen evidence of that confusion for himself.'
0:04:31 > 0:04:37The symptoms were very much like the bees were being given Alzheimer's.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39They were, if you like...
0:04:39 > 0:04:44There was 30-40,000 bees in the colony one week, going strong.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46You come back the next week,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49and there'll be a couple of hundred bees there with the queen
0:04:49 > 0:04:52and all the working bees had deserted.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55'Yet, despite seeing some of the symptoms,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58'Alistair says he's not seen enough to convince him yet
0:04:58 > 0:05:01'it's time to take drastic action.'
0:05:01 > 0:05:04- So, would you want to see a ban? - No. No, no, no.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08What I want to see is the work done to prove the situation
0:05:08 > 0:05:09one way or the other.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15'The search for that proof is still going on and beekeepers,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19'farmers and even governments are all looking to the world of science
0:05:19 > 0:05:21'to give them a definitive answer.'
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Hundreds of scientists from right across the world
0:05:25 > 0:05:28are working on the great mystery of what's killing our bees
0:05:28 > 0:05:32and that includes at least a dozen projects from the UK.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Hi, Chris, how's it going?
0:05:37 > 0:05:40'Dr Adam Vanbergen is from the Insect Pollinators Initiative,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43'which oversees nine UK research projects.'
0:05:43 > 0:05:45OK, I'll do the lights.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50See if we can just collect one to take a sample. Back towards me.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57'Like many other scientists, he's yet to be convinced
0:05:57 > 0:06:00'that neonicotinoids are such a menace
0:06:00 > 0:06:03'that they should be banned right now.'
0:06:03 > 0:06:08This lab here has actually shown some effect of neonicotinoids
0:06:08 > 0:06:12- on bees' brains, so is it time for a ban?- Yeah, I think...
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Well, it's interesting you say that.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17The results coming out of this lab and others are extremely concerning.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19They're showing impacts on the brain function.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22What I think we need to do is to increase
0:06:22 > 0:06:24the complexity of those experiments,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26to mimic what goes on in the real world
0:06:26 > 0:06:29and perhaps also carry out field experiments in the real world too.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Shouldn't we apply the precautionary principal here?
0:06:31 > 0:06:34We're talking about something as vital and sensitive as bees.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37A lot of people think there's a single smoking gun
0:06:37 > 0:06:39with respect to pollinator decline,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42but the reality is that pollinators and other biodiversities
0:06:42 > 0:06:44have been declining over a much longer period of time
0:06:44 > 0:06:47and there is a whole suite of factors threatening them,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49including the intensification of the landscape,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51which leads to loss of resources,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55so I think we need to consider things in a much more holistic way,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57so I'm a bit concerned about treating pesticides
0:06:57 > 0:07:00as a single issue that we need to react suddenly upon.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06With many scientists, farmers and even beekeepers
0:07:06 > 0:07:10saying a ban is premature, the UK government has been trying
0:07:10 > 0:07:13to block attempts to get neonicotinoids restricted.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17But many on the European mainland, including the European Commission,
0:07:17 > 0:07:19are convinced that a ban is the way forward.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22So, do they know something that we don't?
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Well, it's all based on this 58-page report
0:07:26 > 0:07:28prepared for the European Commission.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31So does this contain the definitive proof
0:07:31 > 0:07:34that neonicotinoids are killing our bees?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37I'll be taking a closer look later in the programme.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Lying in the heart of Calderdale is Todmorden,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45a small town with big ambitions.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52It straddles the ancient border between Yorkshire and Lancashire.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58And what's happened in this town is having repercussions
0:07:58 > 0:08:00right across the world.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Here, they're bringing the countryside
0:08:02 > 0:08:06into the heart of the town by growing food in public places.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09It's part of a movement known as Incredible Edible.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Pam Warhurst is the powerhouse behind it.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16So, Pam, what's the idea behind this? What is the goal?
0:08:16 > 0:08:20The goal is to help people be more self-reliant,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24the goal is to get people thinking of themselves, about their future,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26and to use food as the driving force,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28so you start with what we call propaganda gardens.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30All over the town, there's spaces
0:08:30 > 0:08:32where you could grow food, you just don't see them.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Very public - railway station, front of the police station,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38along the towpath here, where people can see what can grow.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40And they can taste it.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Everything we plant in these propaganda gardens is food for free.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46So everybody who lives here is entitled
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- to come down to the towpath and harvest?- Absolutely.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52It starts conversations and once you do that,
0:08:52 > 0:08:53it becomes part of your life,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56so you want to grown more of your own food in your own garden,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59you want to go to your market and support more local growers
0:08:59 > 0:09:01and your farmers, you want to get your kids
0:09:01 > 0:09:03learning how to grow and process food.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07All this because you've started to plant propaganda gardens
0:09:07 > 0:09:10and just shown people what local food looks like.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16This seed of an idea began just six years ago and now it's spread
0:09:16 > 0:09:21to more than 30 towns across the UK and even around the world.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25There's not a continent that isn't doing Incredible Edible.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26Isn't that totally fantastic?
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Who'd have thought ordinary people saying, "I want a bit of that,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31"let's do it, we'll never stop it,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33"we'll be doing this till the day we die,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37"and there's nothing better in the world that we'd rather do."
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Even at the school, they've caught the passion
0:09:39 > 0:09:41for producing their own food.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45They've got a remarkable way of growing fruit and veg indoors
0:09:45 > 0:09:48and I hear it involves fish.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51What's happening here could revolutionise
0:09:51 > 0:09:53the local schools' food supply.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59- Now then, Steve, how are you? - Hello, Matt. I'm fine, thank you.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Right then, sir, as we're in a watery classroom,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04you'd better give me a lesson. What's going on here?
0:10:04 > 0:10:06- Welcome to the world of aquaponics... - Thank you!
0:10:06 > 0:10:09..where fish feed vegetables. So do you want to find out how that works?
0:10:09 > 0:10:13- Yes, please, yes!- We've got a little diagram over here.- Over to the board.
0:10:13 > 0:10:14Very good. Right, OK.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18So, if you're paying attention, aquaponics is a system
0:10:18 > 0:10:23of three tanks with water flowing in between all of them.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25So, in the first tank, we have fish.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Fish do what comes naturally - they poo and they pee.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30The ammonia from the fish poo and pee
0:10:30 > 0:10:34goes into the tank with the bacteria in it
0:10:34 > 0:10:36where the ammonia is changed into nitrates
0:10:36 > 0:10:38by the action of friendly bacteria.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40So the nitrates are then pumped
0:10:40 > 0:10:43into the tank where the vegetables are growing
0:10:43 > 0:10:46and vegetables need nitrates to grow
0:10:46 > 0:10:48and then the water goes back into the fish tank
0:10:48 > 0:10:50and the whole process starts again.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52- Feeding time at the zoo!- Yeah!
0:10:52 > 0:10:55So we've got a big tank here full of 400 goldfish
0:10:55 > 0:10:57and we know all their names, Matt.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59- Really?! - Yeah, Fred 1, Fred 2, Fred 3...
0:10:59 > 0:11:01MATT LAUGHS
0:11:01 > 0:11:04So what's the connection between this project and Incredible Edible?
0:11:04 > 0:11:06This project grew out of Incredible Edible
0:11:06 > 0:11:09and its aim is to produce fish and vegetables for the local schools,
0:11:09 > 0:11:11so we'll be feeding the school kiddies.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15We're learning on goldfish and then we will move onto edible carp.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18How many fish do you actually need for a large quantity of vegetables?
0:11:18 > 0:11:20That's where the maths comes in and it helps with the kiddies,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23so what it is, is there's a ratio - one kilogram of fish waste
0:11:23 > 0:11:26produces sufficient poo and pee
0:11:26 > 0:11:29to feed three square metres of vegetables.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32- So this is the floating vegetable patch?- Absolutely, Matt.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Do you want to have a look here?
0:11:34 > 0:11:37If you move one of the floating beds down slightly, you can see
0:11:37 > 0:11:41the water underneath and the roots of the vegetables go into the water.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- You can see this from the garlic. - Oh, my word!
0:11:44 > 0:11:45There's no soil then?
0:11:45 > 0:11:48It's amazing, there is no soil whatsoever in this whole process.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Is it better than growing in soil?
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Because we can control all the temperatures and the nutrients,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55we can produce all year round.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57What we're finding at the moment
0:11:57 > 0:11:59is some plants are growing quite quickly.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03This mint, for instance, has come up a centimetre a day.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05And I can only attribute that to the fact
0:12:05 > 0:12:07that there's a huge amount of nitrates in this water.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10I guess the proof is in the pudding. Is it all right to eat it?
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Well, you've got a big table here in front of you.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15- What would you recommend? - Well, what shall we have a look at?
0:12:15 > 0:12:20There's a bit of lettuce here, Matt. Go for that? Aquaponic lettuce.
0:12:20 > 0:12:21That's a first.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Well...
0:12:23 > 0:12:25- It tastes lovely, yeah.- Good man.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27I'm convinced, absolutely.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30I tell you what, you lot down there, you've done some good work!
0:12:30 > 0:12:31It's lovely, this lettuce.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43The hills of Calderdale - most are more than 1,300 feet high,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45so they catch the prevailing weather.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Often, that's rain, more recently, snow.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53But this landscape also has a more unexpected look -
0:12:53 > 0:12:55water, water everywhere.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01It's believed that this area has the highest concentration
0:13:01 > 0:13:02of reservoirs in the UK.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06Now, if you look at this satellite image, you can see you can see why.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10It's absolutely peppered with blue dots and those dots are reservoirs.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14But why build so many just here?
0:13:14 > 0:13:16I'm meeting up with Robin Gray to find out.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21It's all down to the Industrial Revolution.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23You had a lot of cotton mills.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26In fact, you could say that Manchester was the powerhouse
0:13:26 > 0:13:31of the Industrial Revolution and one of the main ingredients was water.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33You had mill owners - they wanted water.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38You had the canals - they needed water for transportation.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40But also, drinking water.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42You've got to remember, in the 19th century,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45they described drinking water as "as black as ink".
0:13:45 > 0:13:47So without this water,
0:13:47 > 0:13:49that Industrial Revolution might not have happened?
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Everyone knows about coal, but it was actually water that was
0:13:52 > 0:13:55the vital ingredient that powered the Industrial Revolution.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01Many of those reservoirs still remain.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05This is one of them, now known as Hollingworth Lake,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09built more than 200 years ago to supply the Rochdale canals.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16It might have been built for industry,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18but it was soon held in deep affection
0:14:18 > 0:14:20by the Victorian day-trippers
0:14:20 > 0:14:22who came here to enjoy paddle steamer rides
0:14:22 > 0:14:24and the rowing club.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27It became the Rochdale Riviera of its day -
0:14:27 > 0:14:30an escape from the grime of industry.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Today, this lasting legacy of our industrial past is no lifeless relic.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37On the contrary, it's buzzing with activity.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38I've never tried windsurfing.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42I've always wanted to and apparently this is the perfect place to start.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Instructor Alistair Pitman reckons he can get me surfing in no time,
0:14:52 > 0:14:56but first I need to learn a few of the basics on dry land.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Right, Al, where do we start?
0:14:58 > 0:15:00I want you to get both knees up here,
0:15:00 > 0:15:02then I want you to reach around the mast
0:15:02 > 0:15:04and there should be an uphaul there, so if you grab hold of that
0:15:04 > 0:15:07with both hands, it'll help you balance when you stand up.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09So I want you to stand up
0:15:09 > 0:15:11and get your feet one either side of the mast.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Then I want you to crouch down,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15reach as far as you can down that uphaul and then hand over hand,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17pull it up and then put your hands onto the mast.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Hands onto the mast, OK.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21If you lean the sail towards the back of the boat,
0:15:21 > 0:15:22you'll find the boat turns one way.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24HELEN GIGGLES Sorry!
0:15:24 > 0:15:26And if you lean it towards the front of the boat,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28you'll find it turns the other way.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31OK, well, that seems straightforward enough. Shall we take it to water?
0:15:31 > 0:15:35- Yep, why not? I think we're good, I think we're ready.- Yeah?
0:15:35 > 0:15:37'It's now or never.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40'I really hope I'm not in for a soaking.'
0:15:40 > 0:15:42- It is quite cold, isn't it? - Just a little chilly.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45It's probably about minus seven with the wind chill,
0:15:45 > 0:15:47but the water temperature's about one degree.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50So we're just going to get you up into that sailing position.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- So grab hold of your mast, remember? - Oh, yeah, the mast.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55I'm practically signing up for the Olympics now, aren't I?
0:15:55 > 0:15:57- Oh, yes, definitely.- Yeah.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00And you're off!
0:16:00 > 0:16:03That's it, Helen. Well done. Keep your front leg straight.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Pull in with your back hand a little.
0:16:05 > 0:16:06Whoa!
0:16:06 > 0:16:10I'm not setting any world records just yet.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Oh, I'm actually moving, aren't I?
0:16:14 > 0:16:17- Whoops!- I'm on! I'm still on!
0:16:17 > 0:16:18Pull it back up.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Whoa! There we go! There's a little gust!
0:16:26 > 0:16:29- Woo-hoo! I'm doing it, yeah? - Yeah. Well done.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33'I can see why people get a kick out of this
0:16:33 > 0:16:35'and I'll definitely be back to give it another go.'
0:16:35 > 0:16:37You've done really well today.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39You've still got dry hair, which is impressive!
0:16:41 > 0:16:45Hollingworth Lake is easy to get to, so it's well used
0:16:45 > 0:16:49and well looked after, but how do the more remote reservoirs fare?
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Gaddings Dam is perched around 500 feet higher.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56It's a lung-burning hike up a steep hill,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59but I'm assured it's well worth it.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02- Hello, gang.- Hiya.- Hi.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04'There were plans to drain the reservoir,
0:17:04 > 0:17:07'but people here loved it so much, they clubbed together to buy it
0:17:07 > 0:17:10'and that means they have to keep an eye on it.'
0:17:10 > 0:17:12What is it about this place that's so special?
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Well, you'll have to see when we get up there, Helen,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18but it's got a unique quality.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20It's on nearly 1,200 feet elevation,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23it's a very popular spot with swimmers
0:17:23 > 0:17:27and with people from the town coming up for picnics and so on.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29It's a real wonderful place.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Toby, you keep sort of burying your neck into your coat. It is cold.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37- But you've been up there. Is it worth the walk?- Yeah.- Definitely?- Yeah.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50- Can you remember coming up here as a little girl, Margaret?- Yes, I do.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53We just used to come up here all the time in the summer.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55At that time there were a lot of mills in the valley,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57so it was quite polluted.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Places like this were a way of getting away from the smoke.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Do you come up here to clear your head and gather your thoughts?
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Definitely. It's a steep hill, but within a short period of time,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08you're just on top of the world.
0:18:15 > 0:18:16Wow!
0:18:17 > 0:18:20- Oh, my word! That is a lot of water!- It is a lot.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22This doesn't feel like Northern England,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25it feels a bit like...Russia when you look over there!
0:18:29 > 0:18:30Hello, chaps.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33This is part of the essential ongoing maintenance
0:18:33 > 0:18:36that we have to go through to keep the dam walls in good shape.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40They're lifting stones that have fallen down near the water's edge
0:18:40 > 0:18:43to replace them along the top of the wall.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47'As a final treat, Tim wants to share his favourite spot with me.'
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Here we are, Helen, this is our beach.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55I don't think I've ever sat on a beach surrounded by ice and snow.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58It is stunning, though. I can see why people love it.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02You're a world away from everyone and everything, aren't you, up here?
0:19:02 > 0:19:03Oh, completely, completely.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07We've always claimed it was the highest sandy beach in England
0:19:07 > 0:19:09and nobody's challenged that yet.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12If you came back here on a summer's day, you'd see people swimming,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15you'd see people from Todmorden up here having picnics,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19people walking their dogs around, it really is a playground for people.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20I want to say that I'm disappointed
0:19:20 > 0:19:22I haven't brought my swimming costume...
0:19:22 > 0:19:25but that would be a complete lie! Cheers.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30Now, as we heard earlier, Europe is on the verge of banning
0:19:30 > 0:19:33pesticides vital to many British farmers
0:19:33 > 0:19:36because they're being blamed for the dramatic decline of bees,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39but are they doing too much too soon?
0:19:39 > 0:19:40Here's Tom.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47Earlier, we heard from a farmer, a scientist and even a beekeeper,
0:19:47 > 0:19:51who were all currently against the ban,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54but not everyone in the UK feels the same way.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Some British environmental groups,
0:19:58 > 0:20:01including the RSPB and the Soil Association,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04say evidence is mounting of a danger to bees.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09Vanessa Amaral-Rogers from the charity Buglife wants action now.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13How worried are you about the pesticides and the neonicotinoids?
0:20:13 > 0:20:15We're really worried.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19We've been doing a lot of work on neonicotinoids back in 2009
0:20:19 > 0:20:21when we sort of found that there was
0:20:21 > 0:20:23a lot of scientific research around at the time
0:20:23 > 0:20:27which showed that there was an effect on neonics in pollinators.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30A small amount of the chemical can affect in different ways,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33so making honeybees forage less
0:20:33 > 0:20:36or not return back to the hive because they get lost.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38It's something that Buglife
0:20:38 > 0:20:40have been campaigning for right from the start,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42that we want the Government to put a ban in
0:20:42 > 0:20:45because we're worried about it, the evidence is there.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50But how strong is that evidence? I've been taking a closer look.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53This is the document on which the European Commission
0:20:53 > 0:20:56have based their opinion in favour of a ban,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00but when you look inside, the data is far from clear-cut.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Where they've got an R in a column,
0:21:02 > 0:21:06it shows there has been a risk identified, but where there's an X,
0:21:06 > 0:21:11they're not so sure, or as they put it, "assessment not finalised".
0:21:11 > 0:21:16Now, there are a couple of columns with Rs, but all the rest...Xs.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20Basically, we still lack definitive proof
0:21:20 > 0:21:24and the uncertainty over the level of risk has caused mixed reactions.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28So, while many MPs support a ban on neonicotinoids,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32the British Government still thinks we need more evidence.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34People are looking to science for answers,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37but even there, the experts can't agree.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42We're basically measuring everything we can measure about these nests -
0:21:42 > 0:21:44how many new bees they've produced...
0:21:44 > 0:21:48'At Stirling University, there's yet another research project,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52'this time on the effects of neonicotinoids on bumblebees.'
0:21:52 > 0:21:55So these nests have been variously
0:21:55 > 0:21:58exposed or not exposed to neonicotinoids.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01'Professor David Goulson is looking for a link
0:22:01 > 0:22:06'between these pesticides and smaller, underdeveloped nests.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08'He is in favour of a ban.'
0:22:08 > 0:22:10When we were speaking to the farmer,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12he said, "Look, this is a seed dressing,
0:22:12 > 0:22:16"there's a small amount in the seed. By the time the plant's grown
0:22:16 > 0:22:20"and the bees are feeding on the actual flower, it's infinitesimal,"
0:22:20 > 0:22:24- but are you saying that's still enough to harm a bee?- Well, if...
0:22:24 > 0:22:25Yes, it is.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27I mean, it wouldn't work as a pest-control strategy
0:22:27 > 0:22:30if they weren't toxic at very low concentrations.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32The evidence suggests that
0:22:32 > 0:22:35if you feed those concentrations to bees,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38you get measurable biological effects - they lay fewer eggs,
0:22:38 > 0:22:40they get lost on the way home,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42they're not so good at gathering food.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45So the long and the short of it is, the concentrations in nectar
0:22:45 > 0:22:48and pollen of flowering crops ARE enough to affect bees.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51If we have evidence, but inconclusive evidence,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54that these things seriously harm bees and other wildlife,
0:22:54 > 0:22:58then we should stop using them until we've got that evidence,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02until we can definitely say how much they're harming wildlife,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04rather than just carry on blithely chucking them
0:23:04 > 0:23:08around the countryside until some indefinite future date
0:23:08 > 0:23:10where we may have acquired that evidence.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17There is a growing consensus among scientists that neonicotinoids
0:23:17 > 0:23:19have some effect on bee health,
0:23:19 > 0:23:23but without conclusive evidence linking them to the decline of bees,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26currently it's all about weighing up risk.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29So is it better to be safe than sorry?
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Or should we hold out for a clearer answer?
0:23:32 > 0:23:36If science can help resolve this debate,
0:23:36 > 0:23:40it will be doing a great service to the bees and possibly to farmers too.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Come on, in you go.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46'In the meantime, the decision on banning neonicotinoids
0:23:46 > 0:23:51'will have to be made without the luxury of absolute proof.'