Open Country

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Edgelands Mar 26, 2011

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Richard Uridge explores the Edgelands around Manchester with poets Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts, who urge us to love the disregarded spaces between the city and countryside.

Death on the Moors Mar 19, 2011

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Ponies have roamed the moors of Dartmoor and Bodmin for years and are as much a part of the moors as the heathers that grow there. But is the very survival of the Dartmoor pony, which is the symbol of the National Park, now under threat? Helen Mark is on Dartmoor to meet some of the people whose lives revolve around the ponies and who are fighting to preserve them and ultimately the moorland on which they roam.

Weather in Wiltshire Jan 29, 2011

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As a nation, we are obsessed with the weather. Studies have shown that over half of us talk about the weather at least once day and check the forecast regularly before making plans and heading out. We despair when it rains, we swoon in the sun, we can't bear the sight of clouds in the sky, yet we hate the thought of hosepipe bans and appear to be spectacularly unprepared for extreme weather events, even when expected or forecast. The weather certainly seems to matter to most of us, but is extremely important to some those whose livelihoods and way of life can depend on the forecast. And for centuries, we've tried to predict the weather by looking at the sky above us and the landscape around us - the different ways in which plants, animals and the countryside around us can give us clues about what is coming and reflects what has been. For this week's Open Country, Helen Mark is in Wiltshire to find out about the ways in which the weather gets under our skin and impacts on our lives and on the landscape around us. Helen hears from meteorologist, Liz Bentley, about how her own obsession with the weather led to her setting up the Weather Club, an organisation for like minded souls who appreciate the weather for all its wonders. Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society explains how our lives would be immeasurably poorer without the clouds in the sky above us. Wiltshire farmer, Stephen Horton, has been collecting rainfall data for the last 25 years, having taken over from his father who did the same for 25 years before him and Helen also hears from National Trust Conservation Advisor about how Wiltshire has coped with the extreme weather conditions seen earlier this winter and how traditional seasons can actually help our flora and fauna. Helen is joined by Ruth Binney, author of Wise Words and Country Ways to put to the test some of those centuries old countryside theories and sayings that we have used to predict the weather we get. Finally astrologer, David Rowan, explains how how astrology and the ancient wonder of Stonehenge have been used to predict the weather and the changing seasons.

Producer: Helen Chetwynd.

Portbury Wharf Jan 22, 2011

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Portbury Wharf lies on the land between Portishead and Royal Portbury Dock, adjacent to the Severn Estuary. Helen Mark visits the area's newest developing nature reserve and discovers how local residents are making a unique investment to their natural habitat. Look one way and you'll see a new housing construction, look the other and your eyes will be met with acres of grazing marsh land, hay meadows, and hedgerows rich in insect life stretching out to the Gordano Valley. The two are not only linked by their proximity but also by what is thought to be a first of it's kind investment arrangement. In signing up to live in the new Portbury Wharf housing development, residents are also signing up to pay an annual levy that buys them a stake in the nature reserve on their doorstep. The residents contribution allows Avon Wildlife Trust to employ a warden and a community officer to pass on wildlife knowledge and organise activities for the Portishead community. But not everyone wants to pay the levy and there's a fine line between encouraging public use and preserving natural habitats. Helen Mark meets the local residents who are getting muddy down on the reserve and keeps a look out for traces of their wildlife neighbours including the water vole - Britain's most nationally threatened animal.

Yurts Jan 15, 2011

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Snow, biting winds and a tent made to the design used by nomads in Ulaanbaatar ... but Richard Uridge hasn't travelled to Mongolia for this week's Open Country, he's high up on Exmoor.

He meets Hen and Leo - who are braving winter on the moor in pursuit of their dream of a low impact, but not entirely low-tech lifestyle - their pig-farming neighbour and the man who made their yurt.

Producer Steve Peacock.

High Speed Rail Jan 08, 2011

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Richard Uridge travels the route proposed for high speed rail in Buckinghamshire to find out what is so special about the countryside there that inspires people to battle to protect it.

River Thames Jan 01, 2011

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The River Thames was recently selected as the winner of the international Theiss River Prize, an award which celebrates outstanding achievement in river management and restoration. Fifty years after being declared biologically dead, the Thames scooped the prize thanks to a dramatic turnaround in its environment. Environment organisations now say that the Thames is the cleanest it has been in more than 150 years, with almost 400 new habitats being created to allow wildlife back to the river which is now teeming with fish, and home to returning salmon, otter and sea trout populations. Helen Mark begins an exploration of the Thames at Woolwich in South East London with author, Iain Sinclair, who has described the river as a story of ruin and revival and the very lifeblood of London. Travelling west along the river to the Millennium Bridge, Helen meets up with Fiona Haughey. Fiona describes herself as an inter-tidal archaeologist and the river as one of the world's largest self-excavating sites and Helen joins her in a beachcombing search for some of the river's neolithic roots. Further along the river banks at Putney Bridge, Helen finds a group of volunteers from environmental charity, Thames 21. Led by Vic Richardson, the group are working on Project Habitat, an initiative to enhance certain areas of the River Thames by building artifical islands and river banks to encourage suitable habitats and attract wildlife. Leaving the city behind, Helen heads out into the Berkshire countryside where she meets Alastair Driver, conservation manager with the Environment Agency. Cycling along the river through Sonning-on-Thames, Alastair tells Helen how this particular stretch of water near his home now runs crystal clear in the summer and how sheer hard work along the whole of the Thames has resulted in this amazing clean-up story. Finally, Helen joins volunteer river warden, Dick Mayon White from the River Thames Society, a charity which aims to protect and preserve the river. Dick takes Helen for a stroll along a stretch of the river near Port Meadow and explains why it means so much to him and why it is so important to preserve the river for future generations.

Mistletoe Dec 25, 2010

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Owen Sheers is in Worcestershire to learn about the Druidic custom of gathering in the mistletoe. Each year it is harvested and blessed at the Mistletoe Festival in the town of Tenbury Wells.

Producer: Maggie Ayre.

18/12/2010 Dec 18, 2010

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Helen Mark is in Dorset to hear how the area around Studland Bay could be affected by a proposed Marine Conservation Zone and how one fishy resident has stirred up passions locally. As parts of the sea around Studland and Swanage are being considered as a possible Marine Conservation Zone, Helen finds out about the possible impacts on the local community; in particular to some of the residents of Studland Bay The bay is home to a colony of breeding sea horses and opinions are divided as to whether the delicate seagrass which is home to these creatures can be harmed by the anchoring of boats. Helen hears from the Seahorse Trust, a charity which has been researching and monitoring the seahorses, and Dr Ken Collins, an expert in seagrass. Helen also hears from some members of the local community who are concerned about the effects a possible no anchor zone could have on the economy of the area and their way of life.

Wildlife Crime Dec 11, 2010

Show notes

Richard Uridge joins South Cumbrian Wildlife Crime Officers, volunteers and members of the local community on the trail of poachers in an attempt to crack down on wildlife crime. Wildlife Officers receive several wildlife crime reports a month, many of which relate to deer poaching which is becoming big business for criminals, particularly in the run up to Christmas. This year has also seen hundreds of sheep rustled across Cumbria and hundreds of ewes and lambs have been stolen in several separate incidents. Richard hears from Bob Jarratt, of the local Deer Management Group, about the extent of the problem of deer poaching in the area and meets up with some of the people affected by wildlife crime and poaching including Keith Loxam, Warden of Hay Bridge Nature Reserve, who recently lost a prize stag, and farmer Andrew Allen who has been the victim of sheep rustling twice in the last 6 years. Estate owner, Myles Sandys of Graythwaite Hall tells Richard about how the success of 'Poacher Watch' has helped put a stop to the problem of losing deer from his land. Later, as night falls, Richard joins Wildlife Crime Officer, PC John Baldwin and Bob Jarrett from the Deer Management Group on their latest poacher watch operation, as they scour local hotspots in at attempt to thwart the poachers' next move.

Producer: Helen Chetwynd.

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