1 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:07,080 [opening theme music playing] 2 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,000 [upbeat music playing] 3 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:29,280 If I'd driven along here at this time of year when I first started driving 4 00:00:29,359 --> 00:00:33,320 30 or 40 years ago, after about five miles, 5 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:37,439 I wouldn't have been able to see where I was going. 6 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:43,520 My windscreen would be an opaque smorgasbord of dead insects. 7 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:46,280 But look at it now. 8 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:49,759 There's nothing. 9 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,679 You get more flies on the front of a submarine. 10 00:00:55,119 --> 00:00:57,960 The fact is that in just 30 years, 11 00:00:58,039 --> 00:01:03,119 insect numbers have dropped by 25% and they're still falling. 12 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,120 We are heading for an insect annihilation. 13 00:01:07,799 --> 00:01:11,560 You can forget about global warming or plastic in the ocean, 14 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:16,680 because without insects, all life on Earth ends. 15 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:18,680 Everything. 16 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:19,879 And that's me talking. 17 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:24,560 I'm not some hairy-armpitted environmentalist on a rally, it's me. 18 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:28,000 Sadly, farming is seen by many 19 00:01:28,079 --> 00:01:31,400 as one of the main reasons for this insect decline. 20 00:01:32,439 --> 00:01:37,359 The problem is that as farm equipment has got bigger and more efficient, 21 00:01:37,439 --> 00:01:40,840 fields have had to get bigger and more efficient. 22 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,000 Which means that, since the war, 23 00:01:43,079 --> 00:01:48,759 Britain has lost 140,000 miles of hedgerows. 24 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,039 It's lost 40% of its ancient woodlands. 25 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:57,759 It's lost 97% of all its wild flower meadows. 26 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,599 Everywhere where insects like to live is disappearing. 27 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,319 And I've decided to do something about that. 28 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,199 [music continues] 29 00:02:09,719 --> 00:02:12,879 My plan is to make my hedgerows, 30 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:18,039 my valleys, my woods, and my streams 31 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:21,319 more attractive to creepy crawlies. 32 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:27,280 In essence, I am going to leave chunks of the farm completely alone. 33 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,159 I'm going to put Mother Nature in the driving seat. 34 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:32,400 It's a process called wilding. 35 00:02:33,079 --> 00:02:37,039 And I'm going to begin in a rather boggy and sad place 36 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:42,039 at the bottom of a valley, which I want to look, eventually, like this. 37 00:02:43,759 --> 00:02:47,159 I think maybe the storks are a bit ambitious, but everything else... 38 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:49,479 That's what I'm aiming for. 39 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:51,360 [music continues] 40 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,560 Obviously, before I could start work on my wetlands project, 41 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:05,280 there were government rules to consider. 42 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,159 So I had to employ a team of inspectors. 43 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:15,159 So if you both do the HSI calculations then I'll have a wander over here. 44 00:03:16,319 --> 00:03:19,639 [Jeremy] These Miami CSI people needed to make sure 45 00:03:19,719 --> 00:03:24,199 my plans wouldn't harm what was already living there. 46 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,120 This is all mostly rough grassland. Looks pretty good for newts, doesn't it? 47 00:03:28,199 --> 00:03:32,120 [Jeremy] And after they'd spent a while doing forensic examinations, 48 00:03:32,199 --> 00:03:35,680 I went down to see how many red flags they'd found. 49 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:37,920 Whoa. 50 00:03:38,319 --> 00:03:40,639 -[inspector] Afternoon, Jeremy. -[Jeremy] Greetings. How are you? 51 00:03:40,719 --> 00:03:45,079 -[inspector] I'm all right. You? -Erm... Well... Well. 52 00:03:45,159 --> 00:03:48,400 Those red flags there are right where the pond's going. 53 00:03:48,479 --> 00:03:49,680 That is correct, yeah. 54 00:03:50,439 --> 00:03:52,719 But the red flags are where we can't build anything. 55 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,719 [inspector] Unfortunately, while we were doing the surveys, 56 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:58,719 we have found potential signs of a mammal. 57 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:00,560 -[Jeremy] Dog? -Nope. 58 00:04:00,639 --> 00:04:03,439 There's a likelihood it could be water vole. 59 00:04:04,599 --> 00:04:07,319 -Very unlikely to be a water vole. -Interesting. 60 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:09,560 There were eight million 20 years ago, 61 00:04:09,639 --> 00:04:12,639 there's now 220,000 and they mostly live in Glasgow. 62 00:04:12,719 --> 00:04:15,639 And they're noted to be in the Cotswolds. 63 00:04:15,719 --> 00:04:16,959 -Really? -Indeed. 64 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,519 Come down here, have a look. Can you see these droppings here? 65 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:23,560 And these are a kind of a Tic Tac shape? 66 00:04:23,639 --> 00:04:26,319 -[Jeremy] That is feces, is it? -[inspector] Indeed, yeah. 67 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,759 Now there's a high likelihood that this is water vole droppings. 68 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:32,800 Highly protected species. 69 00:04:32,879 --> 00:04:36,680 If you kill them, you'd be seen to be recklessly destroying that population. 70 00:04:36,759 --> 00:04:40,079 Then you'd be prosecuted and you could potentially have a prison term. 71 00:04:40,159 --> 00:04:42,240 How long do I go to prison for? 72 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,000 Um... Potentially six months, to start with. 73 00:04:45,079 --> 00:04:46,879 Potentially a £5,000 fine. 74 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:50,680 So what I've recommended at this stage is all work stop here. 75 00:04:50,759 --> 00:04:53,199 Until we've confirmed what is here. 76 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:59,519 What if that great big digger I've got, if we just scooped the whole area up, 77 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:02,879 the water vole wouldn't know and then go and put it over there? 78 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,680 -No Jeremy, no, no. -Why not? Why wouldn't that work? 79 00:05:05,759 --> 00:05:08,519 -If you got the whole area-- -You'd be in prison, Jeremy. 80 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:10,800 -I'm being nice to it. -[inspector] No, no. 81 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:12,480 I could move it to high ground. 82 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,680 My professional advice would be do not do that. 83 00:05:15,759 --> 00:05:18,199 [Jeremy] To see if it really was a water vole, 84 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:20,319 I came up with a plan. 85 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:22,720 -We've got some trap cameras. -Mm-mm. 86 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:24,920 We could put a trap camera on this. 87 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:27,639 -Yeah, that's a good shout, yep. -Then we'll know. 88 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,360 Need to do it over a number of days to make sure what the movements are. 89 00:05:31,439 --> 00:05:34,720 -I just want to see if it's a water vole. -Yeah, that's true, yep. 90 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,600 [Jeremy] So the cameraman set up his cameras. 91 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:45,480 And a few days later, I examined the results. 92 00:05:48,319 --> 00:05:49,519 No vole. 93 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:52,480 No vole. 94 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:56,480 Nothing. Absolutely nothing. 95 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:00,639 I've seen more wildlife in Paul McCartney's fridge. 96 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:02,560 I mean, something made that hole. 97 00:06:02,639 --> 00:06:05,279 There we are, look, that's what made it. Is it a mouse? 98 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:09,759 No, it's got a pointy nose, it's a shrew. Not a water vole. 99 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:14,040 Right, I think what we can deduce from this is, 100 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,120 we are in business. 101 00:06:18,879 --> 00:06:23,720 My important environmental work therefore could finally begin. 102 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:25,600 [whirring] 103 00:06:31,399 --> 00:06:32,800 The speed. 104 00:06:35,879 --> 00:06:38,399 That is very steep, that bit. 105 00:06:39,079 --> 00:06:42,600 Yeah, that's not gonna be much fun that. Um, right. 106 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,120 Come on. Ooh, that one's not even turning. 107 00:06:48,199 --> 00:06:51,600 It's move... I'm not touching anything and I'm just moving down. 108 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:53,120 Oh, shit. 109 00:06:54,399 --> 00:06:57,040 I'm just skidding, I'm just skidding. Shit, shit. 110 00:06:57,439 --> 00:06:58,920 [rattling] 111 00:07:05,199 --> 00:07:06,439 I've done it. 112 00:07:09,639 --> 00:07:14,000 I've slithered down the steep bit and I'm at the bottom. 113 00:07:15,759 --> 00:07:18,879 Look at the ecological work I'm doing here. 114 00:07:18,959 --> 00:07:21,000 On my way to create 115 00:07:21,079 --> 00:07:23,879 what I'd like to describe as a biological supermarket, 116 00:07:23,959 --> 00:07:26,920 full of many different species. 117 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:29,959 Once in position... 118 00:07:31,319 --> 00:07:33,360 I began to excavate. 119 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:35,319 [Jeremy] Ah! 120 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:37,560 I wanna make it absolutely plain, 121 00:07:37,639 --> 00:07:39,800 this is not gonna be like Ed Sheeran's pond, 122 00:07:39,879 --> 00:07:44,279 which is turquoise and has a diving board and a swim-up bar. 123 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,240 Look at that, what a machine you are. 124 00:07:53,319 --> 00:07:57,600 That's about six or seven feet deep and that's clay at the bottom, 125 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,560 which is good because clay holds water, but what I'm looking for is blue clay, 126 00:08:01,639 --> 00:08:04,199 which is deeper because that holds water really well 127 00:08:04,279 --> 00:08:06,079 and I need it to line the sides. 128 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:13,720 Oh, yeah, look at that. 129 00:08:14,319 --> 00:08:16,839 That is blue clay. 130 00:08:17,759 --> 00:08:19,560 Save it, precious. 131 00:08:22,319 --> 00:08:25,600 By lunchtime, I was making good progress. 132 00:08:26,199 --> 00:08:29,079 Right, that's about... It must be 10 feet deep. 133 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:32,840 So I went off for a bite to eat, 134 00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:35,600 not realizing that while I was gone... 135 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:40,600 nature would throw one of its curve balls. 136 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:49,080 It's filled up with water. 137 00:08:51,879 --> 00:08:55,360 A lot of water. And that's happened in an hour. 138 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,000 Shit. 139 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,720 The water would need pumping out before I could carry on. 140 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,399 So to make use of the digger, which I'd rented for a whole day, 141 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:11,279 I decided to dig another pond. 142 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:14,279 Right. 143 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:16,279 Let me talk you through my plan. 144 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,519 Got a couple of springs 100 meters up there. 145 00:09:21,519 --> 00:09:26,480 They've created this stream, so I'm thinking of damming it about here 146 00:09:26,519 --> 00:09:31,120 and then as the water level rises against my dam, 147 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:34,039 it will fill this. 148 00:09:35,519 --> 00:09:38,600 'Cause if you slow the water down, you've got more chance 149 00:09:38,639 --> 00:09:43,120 for otters and herons and insects to come and live in it. 150 00:09:44,639 --> 00:09:47,960 I set about my new project with gusto. 151 00:09:49,519 --> 00:09:51,279 Come on, dig. Dig, digger. 152 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:57,519 Yes. Juicy top soil. 153 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:01,080 And when Lisa arrived, 154 00:10:01,159 --> 00:10:04,639 I suspected she'd be thrilled by my achievements. 155 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,759 I'm sorry, Jeremy, what is this? We're building down there. 156 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,000 -What is going on here? -[Jeremy] No, no, come and look 157 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,320 and I'll show you, I'll show you how brilliant it is. 158 00:10:18,399 --> 00:10:19,840 [sighs] Fuck's sake. 159 00:10:20,879 --> 00:10:23,039 -That piece of string is the dam. -[Lisa] What? 160 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,080 Sorry, where is our pond? This is not what we discussed. 161 00:10:27,159 --> 00:10:30,879 The pond's down there. It's already a pond, but it shouldn't be just yet. 162 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:33,600 So I can't work on that, so I'm working on this wetland now. 163 00:10:33,639 --> 00:10:36,320 I have no idea what this means. What the fuck are you doing up here? 164 00:10:36,399 --> 00:10:38,840 -This is just a... -[Jeremy] It's a wetland area. 165 00:10:38,879 --> 00:10:43,639 It'll flood onto this bit and create a wetland area for insects. 166 00:10:47,159 --> 00:10:50,519 [Lisa] Holy shit, Jeremy. What are you gonna do with all this soil? 167 00:10:51,039 --> 00:10:53,200 Nothing's gonna come and live here. 168 00:10:53,279 --> 00:10:54,480 [gasps] 169 00:10:54,519 --> 00:10:58,639 Well, you know the movie 1917? They wanted to see if this would do as a follow up. 170 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:00,120 Is that not good enough for you, 171 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,080 that mess you've done there? You had to do another mess there? 172 00:11:03,159 --> 00:11:05,600 Sam Mendes called. He's thinking of doing 1918. 173 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:08,919 What was wrong with that mess? Why did you have to do a new mess? 174 00:11:09,039 --> 00:11:11,639 [Jeremy] Why does everybody shout at me all the time? 175 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:15,000 Literally, I get up in the morning and people shout at me. 176 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:17,840 Kaleb shouts at me, Charlie shouts at me... 177 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:24,080 Once Mrs. Angry had gone, I set about building my dam. 178 00:11:24,159 --> 00:11:25,159 [groans] 179 00:11:28,279 --> 00:11:30,480 It's now so cold, I'm having to wear... 180 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:36,080 It's not actually a hat, this, it's Elton John's first hairpiece. 181 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:41,679 Okay, here's the situation. 182 00:11:41,759 --> 00:11:44,759 I've, um... I've plugged the leaks on this side. 183 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,159 I mean, not in a way that a submarine commander would say, 184 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:51,200 "Well done, Clarkson," but they're plugged a bit. 185 00:11:51,279 --> 00:11:53,879 And the water level is now rising on that side. 186 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:58,879 This meant I could now fill Pond Two. 187 00:11:59,879 --> 00:12:01,080 Yes! 188 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:05,639 Look at it go. Yes. 189 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,000 This is... I'm just staggered I've done this. 190 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:11,000 I was very pleased. 191 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:15,279 -[thunder rumbling] -So with the rain and darkness falling, 192 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:20,519 I packed up and headed home to sit by the fire and drink warm soup. 193 00:12:25,759 --> 00:12:26,759 [sighs] 194 00:12:28,159 --> 00:12:29,559 [engine revving] 195 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:31,759 Oh, shit! 196 00:12:33,759 --> 00:12:37,200 I was stuck in a quagmire of my own making. 197 00:12:37,279 --> 00:12:39,759 Um... I can't... 198 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:45,279 So, I had to ask Kaleb to put his girlfriend down and come out to help. 199 00:12:45,759 --> 00:12:47,240 [Kaleb] Fucking hell. 200 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:50,080 Fucking muddy down here. 201 00:12:51,639 --> 00:12:53,279 That's it, strap them through. 202 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:57,639 Let me just try and get straight and get to there, 203 00:12:57,720 --> 00:12:58,960 and try and pull you up. 204 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,240 -All right? -[Jeremy] Okay, fire away. 205 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:04,799 [engine revving] 206 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:15,120 Even though we had Lamborghini power and 10-wheel drive, 207 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:16,840 we weren't going anywhere. 208 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:19,440 [Kaleb] Come on. Come on. 209 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:23,440 Oh, no. 210 00:13:23,519 --> 00:13:27,519 [Jeremy] So, Kaleb decided to undo the tow rope and save himself. 211 00:13:30,399 --> 00:13:31,919 [Kaleb] I'll see you later. 212 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:33,799 [Jeremy] Which went well. 213 00:13:34,519 --> 00:13:36,399 [Kaleb] Oh, come on. Come on. 214 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:37,759 [engine revving] 215 00:13:41,279 --> 00:13:44,919 Fucking rain. [sighs] 216 00:13:45,519 --> 00:13:48,080 [Jeremy] Right, this is a complete cock job. 217 00:13:48,799 --> 00:13:50,679 Everything is stuck. 218 00:13:50,759 --> 00:13:53,720 Naturally, this made Kaleb very happy with me. 219 00:13:54,519 --> 00:13:56,919 Fucking idiot. If you didn't get the fucking thing stuck, 220 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:58,600 I wouldn't have come down here. 221 00:13:58,679 --> 00:14:01,840 Now I'm probably gonna fucking fall over. Fucking hell... 222 00:14:04,919 --> 00:14:06,240 [Jeremy] The next morning, 223 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,279 we reconvened at my stranded tractor with a rescue plan. 224 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:10,360 [groans] 225 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,320 Kaleb would pull me out with his tractor 226 00:14:13,399 --> 00:14:17,639 while he was being pulled by his brother, in his tractor. 227 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:19,799 [engines running] 228 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:22,840 [Kaleb] Right, just take the slack up gently. 229 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:33,120 [on radio] Really slowly, that's it, keep that tight, okay? 230 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:36,720 Yeah, I've never driven anything before, so keep the advice coming. 231 00:14:38,759 --> 00:14:41,399 Oh, shit, I'm not in four-wheel drive. He's gonna kill me. 232 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,279 Come on, come on, the power of the Claas, come on. 233 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:55,759 [Jeremy] This is just... 234 00:14:55,840 --> 00:15:00,120 Remember, we're doing this for the sake of the environment. 235 00:15:02,159 --> 00:15:04,600 -[Kaleb] Oh, the power. -[Jeremy] Oh, yes. 236 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:09,159 We only took a thousand gallons to do that, but we're moving now. 237 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:10,720 [Kaleb on radio] We are away. 238 00:15:18,759 --> 00:15:19,879 [laughing] 239 00:15:20,679 --> 00:15:24,399 I reckon this is probably me doing it under my own steam. 240 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:26,480 [on radio] Okay, stop, stop, stop. 241 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:31,679 After we'd finished pulling the Supacat free, 242 00:15:32,159 --> 00:15:34,039 girl-about-town Lisa arrived 243 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:36,879 in the present I'd bought her for Christmas. 244 00:15:38,519 --> 00:15:40,279 -Hello. -You've seen this before? 245 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:42,679 -I haven't, no. -She's a proper tractor. 246 00:15:42,759 --> 00:15:43,919 [Kaleb chuckling] Proper tractor. 247 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,000 Yeah, that one has tractoritis, that's not good. 248 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:47,360 -[Kaleb laughs] -Here you go. 249 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:48,879 -Thank you very much. -You did really well, Kieran as well. 250 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:49,960 -Cheers. -Cheers. 251 00:15:50,039 --> 00:15:51,720 Well done, thanks for that. 252 00:15:51,799 --> 00:15:54,600 It was very impressive watching the three of you come up. 253 00:15:54,679 --> 00:15:57,200 I did actually say, coming up the hill, I went, 254 00:15:57,279 --> 00:16:00,320 "I'm telling you now, Kaleb's nursing a semi in his Claas." 255 00:16:00,399 --> 00:16:01,879 [all laughing] 256 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:06,000 Our celebratory moment was then interrupted 257 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:11,559 by the arrival of cheerful Charlie, who was even less cheerful than usual. 258 00:16:11,639 --> 00:16:14,559 -What are we gonna do here? -Where? 259 00:16:14,639 --> 00:16:19,360 Well, I've just wandered across the field and we've made a bit of a mess and... 260 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:21,879 [Jeremy] Oh, no, there's a few wheel marks, I admit. 261 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:23,840 And I haven't mended the hole I've dug. 262 00:16:23,919 --> 00:16:28,639 That was to dig the water hole for the pump for the sheep troughs. 263 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:31,360 -[Charlie] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. -And there's this. 264 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:33,960 -Yeah. -Um, I admit it's messy, but, you know, 265 00:16:34,039 --> 00:16:37,759 we're making an omelette and some eggs have been broken. 266 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,000 They've dropped on the floor. And it goes all the way up there. 267 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:42,360 -[Jeremy] Yeah, it does. -Okay. 268 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,559 -There's soil damage that's created. -What damage? 269 00:16:45,639 --> 00:16:48,120 -Well, okay, this is... -I've aerated it. 270 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:50,639 You haven't aerated it, you've compacted it down. 271 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:52,440 Water will not run away from there. 272 00:16:52,519 --> 00:16:54,840 We are nervously in sort of breach 273 00:16:54,919 --> 00:16:57,840 of some of the soil compaction requirements, which I know... 274 00:16:57,919 --> 00:17:01,600 Sorry, say that again. Soil compaction requirements from the government? 275 00:17:01,679 --> 00:17:03,600 They got Brexit to worry about and they're going... 276 00:17:03,679 --> 00:17:08,039 Get an inspector around, and we could lose 5% of our basic payment scheme, 277 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,279 which is the subsidy you get from the government. 278 00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:14,799 -This is my wilding project, so-- -This is not wilding. That's damage. 279 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:16,759 You know, you've gotta stop doing it. 280 00:17:18,279 --> 00:17:20,920 [Jeremy] I hoped that was the end of the telling off. 281 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,519 But then, Charlie went to look at my new ponds. 282 00:17:24,559 --> 00:17:26,079 [Charlie] Again, here, look. 283 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:28,720 You know, all this is just damage to the soil. 284 00:17:28,799 --> 00:17:31,720 But how do you get a bulldozer down there without damaging the soil? 285 00:17:31,799 --> 00:17:34,160 Do it when it's not really wet? 286 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,680 Well, when? When's it... Sorry, Charlie, honestly, seriously. 287 00:17:37,759 --> 00:17:39,319 Yeah, no, no. but... 288 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,960 It's rained since September every single day, pretty much. 289 00:17:43,039 --> 00:17:45,160 -You know this, every day. -I know, I know. 290 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:49,440 Coming onto wet land with heavy machinery is creating a hell of a mess. 291 00:17:49,519 --> 00:17:53,440 But imagine this. Come down here and use your imagination, okay? 292 00:17:53,519 --> 00:17:56,079 What you're seeing now is just the Somme. 293 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:58,000 -Yeah? -Yeah, no, no, I can see that. 294 00:17:58,079 --> 00:18:01,880 But now, thin your eyes. A kingfisher on that branch there. 295 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,880 -A family of otters gamboling here. -[laughing] 296 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:11,440 Down there, perhaps a heron waiting for a tasty morsel. 297 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,160 This all banked, grass, wildflowers. 298 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:18,759 I mean, ecoists get their cocks out for this kind of thing, don't they? 299 00:18:18,799 --> 00:18:21,559 [Charlie] Look... This is great. But what you've done, 300 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,759 your actions will potentially cause, you know, loss of payment. 301 00:18:24,799 --> 00:18:28,920 And that could be £10,000 to £15,000. And it's not just here. 302 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,799 -It's further up. -If that happens, I will be jolly cross. 303 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:36,200 -I'm doing it for the sake of the nature. -Correct. 304 00:18:36,279 --> 00:18:40,240 I'm not gonna have somebody with an O level in biology coming along, 305 00:18:40,319 --> 00:18:43,160 telling me, "Oh, well, you've ruined the habitat." 306 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:45,880 It's only a few anthills got knocked over. 307 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:50,079 The truth is, though, that I had made a mess. 308 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,480 So there was only one thing for it. 309 00:18:54,559 --> 00:18:57,160 Get Kaleb to tidy everything up. 310 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:01,000 [Kaleb] Jesus. 311 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:07,640 [Jeremy] Then it was time to start some more environmental work...in the woods. 312 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:09,680 [whirring] 313 00:19:23,079 --> 00:19:27,240 This might look like rampant vandalism, but actually, it isn't. 314 00:19:28,319 --> 00:19:32,000 You drive the machine up to a tree, tell it what sort of tree it is. 315 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,039 It grabs the bottom, measures the diameter 316 00:19:36,079 --> 00:19:38,920 and then thinks, "Right if the diameter is that there, 317 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,519 "it's likely to be that much there." 318 00:19:41,559 --> 00:19:44,160 So it can work out how long the log should be. 319 00:19:53,319 --> 00:19:59,079 This is an eight-wheel drive, articulated, half-million-pound maths machine. 320 00:20:03,519 --> 00:20:07,160 And when the machine finally fell silent for the night, 321 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:09,920 the results were spectacular. 322 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:13,640 This is a map of the wood. 323 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,880 This is the bit that was thinned, just about an eighth of it. 324 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:19,799 And that's the timber that resulted. 325 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:21,319 [birds chirping] 326 00:20:43,759 --> 00:20:45,240 [birds chirping] 327 00:20:46,079 --> 00:20:49,279 Needless to say, this has not gone down well on social media. 328 00:20:49,319 --> 00:20:51,759 I posted a picture of the big machine 329 00:20:51,799 --> 00:20:54,720 doing all the rampant vandalism on Instagram 330 00:20:54,799 --> 00:20:58,799 and people have replied accusing me of being a one-man McDonalds. 331 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,079 "Why are you doing deforestation?" 332 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,680 "Why are you always destroying green things, Jeremy?" 333 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:12,240 Let's go into the wood and then you'll see just how moronic these people are. 334 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:16,240 [panting] 335 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:21,920 This is the bit of the wood where I got all the trees from. 336 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,319 I got 200 tons of timber out of here and... 337 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:27,319 You can't tell. 338 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,759 It looks exactly the same as it did before. 339 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:33,559 It's virtually unchanged. 340 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:36,279 Nature, however, can tell. 341 00:21:36,319 --> 00:21:40,240 By removing trees from here and here and here for example, 342 00:21:40,319 --> 00:21:43,880 it means more sunlight can reach the forest floor. 343 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:48,200 You can see puddles of it everywhere. And that will stimulate growth. 344 00:21:48,279 --> 00:21:51,960 Younger trees, flowers, bluebells, hopefully. 345 00:21:52,039 --> 00:21:57,440 And that's good for beetles and birds, bees. It's good for everything. 346 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:02,119 As a bit of a twitcher, 347 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:05,640 I was especially keen to do things for the birds. 348 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:10,359 So I asked wildlife expert Roy Dennis for advice. 349 00:22:11,319 --> 00:22:13,559 [Jeremy] Can I just say, Roy, two things? 350 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:15,640 One, I thought Ron Dennis was coming, 351 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:17,960 -and he's a very different sort of man. -[laughing] 352 00:22:18,039 --> 00:22:21,119 [Jeremy] And secondly, I'm very jealous of your binoculars. 353 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:22,519 I had a pair identical to that. 354 00:22:22,599 --> 00:22:25,640 They're in a Porsche at a police station in Argentina. 355 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:30,559 To my delight, Roy was impressed from the off with what I had. 356 00:22:31,799 --> 00:22:34,960 -This is very, very good. -Really? 357 00:22:35,039 --> 00:22:37,640 When you look along a hedge like that, 358 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,640 what fantastic food all the way along for wildlife. 359 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,400 Bramble, fantastic for the warblers 360 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,279 to put on fat for their migration to Africa. 361 00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:52,160 Hawberries ready for the fieldfares and redwings. It's really good. 362 00:22:55,359 --> 00:22:58,319 -[Jeremy] What are they? -They're goldfinches. Yeah. 363 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:02,319 Little flock, see them? And they landed in the knapweed. 364 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,400 -You can just see them there. -Were they actually... 365 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:07,240 -That was a flock of goldfinch? -Yeah, five of them, I think. 366 00:23:07,319 --> 00:23:09,799 You see them feeding on the top there? 367 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:12,839 -I think that's a little family. -Really? 368 00:23:13,839 --> 00:23:15,640 Yeah, there's a lovely one there. 369 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,359 That actually makes me really happy. 370 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:27,240 There was one bird, however, that I did think I could do more to help. 371 00:23:32,039 --> 00:23:33,039 [gasps softly] 372 00:23:35,039 --> 00:23:38,119 [whispering] He's on the floor. He's on the floor. 373 00:23:41,079 --> 00:23:45,920 Oh, look at him. That's a baby, he's just losing his tail, he can't fly. 374 00:23:46,519 --> 00:23:48,799 Okay, let's just pull back shall we? 375 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:50,680 Because we don't want to disturb it. 376 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:55,559 There goes the parent, there, against the woods. 377 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:57,720 To attract more owls, 378 00:23:57,799 --> 00:24:02,240 I decided that I should carpet bomb the whole farm with owl boxes, 379 00:24:02,319 --> 00:24:03,920 where they could live. 380 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:05,799 [sawing] 381 00:24:14,039 --> 00:24:15,240 Perfect. 382 00:24:16,319 --> 00:24:17,400 Yep. 383 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:21,720 [groans] 384 00:24:24,519 --> 00:24:25,599 Perfect. 385 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:31,240 Right. 386 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:40,440 Oh, for... 387 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,680 With the boxes all sorted, 388 00:24:44,759 --> 00:24:47,880 I commandeered some poles that had been left on the verge 389 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:49,720 by the electricity company 390 00:24:50,799 --> 00:24:53,960 and Operation Owl was underway. 391 00:24:55,079 --> 00:24:56,279 [rattling] 392 00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:58,559 Oh! Jeez. 393 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:04,960 When I arrived at the spot I'd chosen, Kaleb was on hand to help out. 394 00:25:06,319 --> 00:25:08,240 You want it close to the hedge or not? 395 00:25:08,319 --> 00:25:10,039 Well, yeah, there. 396 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,160 As he dug the hole, I went through the checklist. 397 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:20,279 Cement, rope, power drill and some owl boxes that I made. 398 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:24,319 That I didn't order from Amazon at all, not at all. 399 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:27,720 -[Kaleb] Deep enough? -[Jeremy] That'll do. 400 00:25:28,319 --> 00:25:30,079 -Right, here's my plan. -Yeah. 401 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:34,400 I drive this forwards so that end is over your hole. 402 00:25:34,799 --> 00:25:37,240 Then we're gonna rope it from the top 403 00:25:37,319 --> 00:25:40,279 to the back of the Supacat and pull it upright. 404 00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:42,799 -You're mad. -Well, what would you do? 405 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:47,200 Get the loader, go to that end of the pole, lift it till it goes into the hole, 406 00:25:47,279 --> 00:25:50,079 get the strap that I've put in the back of the Supacat 407 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,400 and then just drive back and stand it up. 408 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:56,599 But I still think you're going to need to tie a rope around the top 409 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:58,319 and anchor it off the Supacat... 410 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:00,720 It's on an angle, with one tine underneath it... 411 00:26:00,799 --> 00:26:03,000 -It starts going up... -I drive up like this... 412 00:26:03,079 --> 00:26:06,279 No, come at an angle... Between your tines at this stage... 413 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:09,240 -I literally don't think that can be done. -I can do it. 414 00:26:09,319 --> 00:26:12,680 Here, drive it in like this, lay it down. Around that, around the... 415 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,160 Don't forget, you got nine meters of boom as well, 416 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:18,279 so if you boom out now a little bit... 417 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:22,160 That's it, whoa, whoa, do that again. Do that. That will work, I think. 418 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:24,960 -[Jeremy] I don't think it will. -Other way, other way, oh, no, no. 419 00:26:25,039 --> 00:26:30,400 [Jeremy] Oh, no, no, no. You stupid idiot! 420 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,759 That was your fault! I told you! 421 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:36,960 You went too far! I said stop! 422 00:26:37,039 --> 00:26:39,279 -It wasn't in the bloody hole! -It was. 423 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:42,400 You've put a load of dirt on top of it again, look. 424 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:45,599 -Is that fence smashed? -Yes. 425 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,559 [Jeremy] Fucking hell. That's a fence gone. 426 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,319 Well, you do it then, and I'll just stand doing this, 427 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:53,480 which is what you do, like André Previn. 428 00:26:53,559 --> 00:26:56,160 No, every single hand signal was perfectly fine, 429 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,000 but you just wasn't looking at me... 430 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:02,799 [Jeremy] Eventually, we did manage to get the pole into the ground. 431 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:04,519 [Kaleb] Right, now we're cooking. 432 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,400 [Jeremy] And once the concrete base had set, 433 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,079 we stood back to survey our handiwork. 434 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:16,480 -Oh-ho-ho-ho! That is brilliant. -[door closes] 435 00:27:16,559 --> 00:27:18,359 Oh, no, wait a minute. 436 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:23,640 -Mate. -[Kaleb] Yeah. 437 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:27,200 -[Jeremy] That is nowhere near straight. -[Kaleb] It's really not. 438 00:27:27,279 --> 00:27:32,759 [Jeremy] But, on the upside, we did forget to put the owl box on the top of it. 439 00:27:33,319 --> 00:27:34,519 Shit. 440 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,079 [Jeremy] Having made a mess of that, 441 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:43,599 I went off to check on my wetlands area where things were even worse. 442 00:27:44,839 --> 00:27:48,839 Built the dam with all this clay along the front of it, 443 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,119 but God has looked at my endeavors and said, 444 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,559 "Yes, but I've made this hole here." You can see the whirlpool, look. 445 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:58,400 "And all the water shall go through that and go under your dam." 446 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:05,680 That night, God did a full Guy Gibson number. 447 00:28:05,759 --> 00:28:07,240 [water flowing] 448 00:28:07,319 --> 00:28:11,240 Which meant that I had to forget about the owls and do some repair work. 449 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:14,559 Right, stop there. Perfect. 450 00:28:20,759 --> 00:28:21,880 Oh, thanks. 451 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:24,240 -Oh, no. Oh, no. -I got it, I got it. 452 00:28:24,319 --> 00:28:26,000 -Oh, no, I got it. -Oh, no. 453 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:31,880 Ooh. [chuckling] Yes. Perfect. 454 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,400 With all that sorted out, I wanted to get back to the owl boxes, 455 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:43,519 but I couldn't because Victor the Ukrainian bee man had turned up. 456 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:46,640 That's actually commercial size, yeah. 457 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,519 [Jeremy] And the most important wilding operation 458 00:28:49,599 --> 00:28:52,200 of the lot was about to begin. 459 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,680 -Those are the full hives then are they? -[Victor] Yeah. 460 00:28:55,759 --> 00:28:57,359 [Jeremy] They're very smart. 461 00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,000 The plan was simple. 462 00:28:59,079 --> 00:29:04,720 The bees would make honey and money for the farm shop when it finally reopened 463 00:29:04,799 --> 00:29:08,279 and they'd also help pollinate my crops. 464 00:29:08,359 --> 00:29:12,440 That's why I'd bought a quarter of a million of them. 465 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:14,640 [bee buzzing] 466 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,160 Look at this. It's a space suit. 467 00:29:19,799 --> 00:29:23,839 Whilst I got dressed, Victor prepared the smoking machine. 468 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:25,279 What does the smoke do? 469 00:29:25,359 --> 00:29:27,799 It's like you and me, we're afraid fire and water. 470 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:30,960 I can't use water in the hives, so fire much easier. 471 00:29:31,039 --> 00:29:33,279 [Jeremy] But it's not fire, it's just the smoke. 472 00:29:33,359 --> 00:29:36,359 Smoke, yeah. So, they know smoke coming and they get scared. 473 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:39,119 So what they doing, they go back in the hive, 474 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,319 fill up their stomachs with honey and actually because of that, 475 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:43,799 they're less aggressive. 476 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:46,519 [Jeremy] So, they're sort of like sleepy after a big lunch. 477 00:29:46,599 --> 00:29:49,680 -Yeah. You know feeling. [laughs] -Yeah. 478 00:29:49,759 --> 00:29:53,920 -How many times do you get stung? -[Victor] About ten in a day. 479 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,400 -Oh. What? -[Victor laughs] 480 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:58,240 But a bee can only sting you one time. 481 00:29:58,319 --> 00:30:01,400 Once, and they pull out stings out of the belly, yeah. 482 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,200 -Does it die? -Eventually, yeah. 483 00:30:04,279 --> 00:30:06,759 So if a man bee stings you, it dies. 484 00:30:06,839 --> 00:30:10,480 And if a man bee has sex, its penis comes off. Is that true? 485 00:30:10,559 --> 00:30:11,480 Yeah. 486 00:30:11,559 --> 00:30:14,200 -That would be annoying. -[laughing] 487 00:30:15,279 --> 00:30:17,279 [Jeremy] Oh, listen, you can hear them. 488 00:30:17,359 --> 00:30:18,880 [bees buzzing] 489 00:30:19,599 --> 00:30:21,599 Welcome to your new home, bees. 490 00:30:22,119 --> 00:30:25,119 -[Victor] Good, very good. -Uh, you're not wearing gloves. 491 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:26,559 [Victor] Yeah, it's okay. 492 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:29,720 [Jeremy] Ooh, look, is that making honey already? 493 00:30:29,799 --> 00:30:31,920 [Victor] Yeah, this is honey. 494 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:33,720 How long does a bee live? 495 00:30:33,799 --> 00:30:35,640 [Victor] In summer, about one month. 496 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:37,279 In winter, six months. 497 00:30:37,359 --> 00:30:40,440 But Queen could live much longer, could live three or four years. 498 00:30:40,519 --> 00:30:42,079 Will there be a queen in here? 499 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:44,359 [Victor] There should be one, at least one queen here, yes. 500 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:47,000 [Jeremy] So how many eggs is she laying? 501 00:30:47,079 --> 00:30:48,960 [Victor] This time of the year she's laying 502 00:30:49,039 --> 00:30:50,920 about 2,000 eggs per day and night. 503 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,079 -[Jeremy] Jesus. -Yeah. She's productive. 504 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:56,920 [Jeremy] Do people steal beehives? 505 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:00,160 Yes. My friend lost 40 hives last year. 506 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:04,359 A horse box come at night and just takes 40 hives from one side. 507 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:05,480 [Jeremy] Okay. 508 00:31:05,559 --> 00:31:09,599 God, look at them coming out. That is a horror film right there. 509 00:31:10,559 --> 00:31:13,119 Ah! Ow! I've been stung. 510 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:15,680 [Victor] Ah, in the socks. Wait, wait, wait. 511 00:31:16,599 --> 00:31:20,240 Well, I think you better go in the bushes. Go, go inside wood, inside wood. 512 00:31:20,319 --> 00:31:21,279 [Jeremy] Why? 513 00:31:21,359 --> 00:31:24,359 [Victor] Because they release poison, they gonna go like pack. 514 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,160 One after another. Keep smoking. 515 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:28,680 -[Jeremy] Once you've been stung? -[Victor] Yeah. 516 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:32,279 You'll be fine. 517 00:31:32,359 --> 00:31:36,440 No, I won't be fine, my foot's going to have to be amputated. 518 00:31:36,519 --> 00:31:38,039 Fucking bees. 519 00:31:38,119 --> 00:31:41,680 That's what I doing every day. I'm in pain constantly. 520 00:31:41,759 --> 00:31:44,880 So, as soon as the big burly Ukrainian has turned his back, 521 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:48,279 I'm going to roll around on the ground going, "I've been stung." 522 00:31:48,359 --> 00:31:49,279 [Victor laughing] 523 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:54,400 [Jeremy] With Operation Bee now running itself, 524 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:57,519 I had to repair the dam... again. 525 00:31:58,079 --> 00:31:59,880 God, water's annoying. 526 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:06,559 Now we get some big rocks... 527 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,599 And with that done, I got back to Operation Owl. 528 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:22,119 Where I'd had a stroke of luck. 529 00:32:24,519 --> 00:32:27,799 After the mess Kaleb made putting up the pole... 530 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:29,160 Cheers, Dave. 531 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:32,799 ...I found this chap and he sinks telegraph poles for British Telecom 532 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:37,920 and has very kindly offered to make the holes needed for me. 533 00:32:40,839 --> 00:32:45,240 As it turned out, I wasn't the first to dig holes in this part of the farm. 534 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,799 This is a badger city here, look. 535 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:52,359 Everywhere you look, holes. 536 00:32:52,799 --> 00:32:54,000 Look at this. 537 00:32:56,279 --> 00:32:58,000 That one's only just been dug 538 00:32:58,079 --> 00:33:00,880 and look at the amount of earth they've kicked out of it. 539 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:06,880 Once again, we broke out the trap cameras and that night, this is what we saw. 540 00:33:10,319 --> 00:33:12,400 [whispering] I hate badgers. 541 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:16,279 Apart from the fact they've eaten just about every hedgehog in Britain, 542 00:33:16,359 --> 00:33:18,200 they're like teenagers. 543 00:33:18,279 --> 00:33:23,799 They lie in bed all day, get up at night, transmit diseases, 544 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:27,039 knock walls over and then when the sun comes up, 545 00:33:27,119 --> 00:33:28,880 they go back to bed again. 546 00:33:30,359 --> 00:33:34,279 [in normal voice] Today, however, they wouldn't be getting any sleep at all. 547 00:33:34,359 --> 00:33:35,839 [loud whirring] 548 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:37,759 Right. 549 00:33:39,799 --> 00:33:41,279 Oh, look at that. 550 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:45,400 Oh, yeah. 551 00:33:47,079 --> 00:33:48,599 Now the last time we did this, 552 00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:50,920 I was working with an idiot, and it's all cockeyed, 553 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:52,960 -but this'll be straight, yeah? -Yeah. 554 00:33:54,319 --> 00:33:58,920 With the work done and Dave gone, I couldn't wait to show Kaleb. 555 00:33:59,559 --> 00:34:01,720 Look at this. This is what I can achieve 556 00:34:01,799 --> 00:34:04,160 when I'm left on my own to just get on with it. 557 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,079 -[Kaleb] Wondered where you'd been. -Well, there you go, look at that. 558 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:08,920 And then over there, look. 559 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:10,960 [Kaleb] Oh, yeah. Did you cut the posts down? 560 00:34:11,039 --> 00:34:15,360 Yeah. Cut them down to 21 feet. They're five feet buried in the hole. 561 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,760 -How did you really do it then? Come on. -I got a spade, 562 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:22,760 and then twisted the spade round, made a hole. Got the telehandler-- 563 00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:26,000 Oh, wait, hang on a minute, hang on a minute. [sniffs] Can you smell that? 564 00:34:26,079 --> 00:34:27,480 [Jeremy laughs] 565 00:34:29,199 --> 00:34:34,079 So far then, my plan to rewild parts of the farm was going very well. 566 00:34:34,159 --> 00:34:36,159 [machinery whirring] 567 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,880 It wasn't all environmental work though. 568 00:34:56,639 --> 00:34:59,679 There was still actual farming to be done. 569 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:05,199 In February, for instance, I needed to know how many lambs were on the way. 570 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,159 -Right, stick your hand down there. -Yeah. 571 00:35:08,199 --> 00:35:10,280 -Can you feel its backbone? -Yeah. 572 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:14,639 So, I met up with Kevin and Ellen at the mobile sheep scanner. 573 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:20,400 -They your driving gloves? -[Jeremy] No. 574 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:23,320 I've never seen a sheep farmer wearing gloves like that. 575 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:25,360 Come on, sheep, in you go, there you go. 576 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:28,079 Once we'd dealt with the usual sheep disobedience... 577 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:30,159 Oh! 578 00:35:31,199 --> 00:35:32,679 -Oh, Christ. -[sheep bleating] 579 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:35,559 Ever single one of them is a horse. 580 00:35:35,639 --> 00:35:39,039 ...it was time to break out the gel and get scanning. 581 00:35:40,599 --> 00:35:42,639 [Kevin] There you are, there's a lamb. 582 00:35:42,679 --> 00:35:45,199 Can you see its ribs? Its neck? 583 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:48,320 You're just the same as one of those ultrasound nurses in a hospital. 584 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,199 Pointing... "Oh, it's got a penis," And you think, "Well, how do you know?" 585 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:55,159 -Is that the spine then, the black thing? -No, that's the probe that's in my hand. 586 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:57,280 Oh, right. [laughing] 587 00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:00,159 One lamb. So she gets a red dot. 588 00:36:01,159 --> 00:36:03,639 Just got one, so that's not been very productive. 589 00:36:03,679 --> 00:36:05,639 [Ellen] But one's better than nothing. 590 00:36:07,079 --> 00:36:09,519 -[Jeremy] How many's that one got? -[Kevin] She's got none. 591 00:36:09,599 --> 00:36:11,840 -[Jeremy] None? -I'm afraid so. 592 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:12,960 None? 593 00:36:13,039 --> 00:36:15,519 If you want a nice bit of mutton, that's it. 594 00:36:15,599 --> 00:36:17,280 [sheep bleating] 595 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:20,639 -[Kevin] So this one's got two. -Two? Good sheep. 596 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:23,400 With the scanning complete... 597 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:25,159 That's it, you're all done. 598 00:36:25,199 --> 00:36:28,360 ...it was time to put the scores on the doors. 599 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,159 So how many have we got of each then, Bob? 600 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:33,079 -[Bob] One empty. -[Kevin] Yeah. 601 00:36:33,159 --> 00:36:35,039 -[Bob] Fifteen singles. -[Kevin] Yeah. 602 00:36:35,119 --> 00:36:37,679 [Bob] Three triplets and the rest are twins. 603 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,599 -[Kevin] You've got plenty of lambs. -[Jeremy] Oh, good. 604 00:36:40,639 --> 00:36:44,480 Bob, many thanks for that. For being the bearer of good news. 605 00:36:48,559 --> 00:36:51,960 Along with getting the sheep scans done, I'd found a new toy 606 00:36:52,039 --> 00:36:56,559 for my dry stone waller and head of security, Gerald. 607 00:36:57,679 --> 00:36:59,199 -Motion sensor. -Yeah. 608 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,039 Cable tie this to something... Everyone stand still, yeah? 609 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:06,599 -[sensor barking] -[Gerald laughing] 610 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:08,960 [barking continues] 611 00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:11,000 [Gerald laughing] 612 00:37:11,079 --> 00:37:14,280 [indistinct chatter] 613 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:17,800 [barking continues] 614 00:37:21,079 --> 00:37:23,360 -Yeah, but I sleep just over there. -Oh, well. 615 00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:27,360 -Every fox, badger. -Yeah, but you'll be out here, won't you? 616 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:30,760 Be like that now, so you probably won't be arguing about it. 617 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:32,639 [both laughing] 618 00:37:38,159 --> 00:37:40,159 [mellow music playing] 619 00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,000 [Jeremy] And of course, whenever the weather permitted, 620 00:37:43,079 --> 00:37:46,880 Kaleb and I had to rush off to tractor the crop fields. 621 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:48,360 [music continues] 622 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:01,639 Which this year would not just be filled with wheat, barley and rape... 623 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:08,039 because they too would be part of my wilding project. 624 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:10,119 -[music continues] -[birds chirping] 625 00:38:15,519 --> 00:38:17,000 Around about this time of year, 626 00:38:17,079 --> 00:38:20,199 all the spiders and the insects that have spent the winter 627 00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:23,639 living in the grass margins at the side of the fields, 628 00:38:23,679 --> 00:38:26,000 will be heading out into the fields 629 00:38:26,079 --> 00:38:30,320 to eat all the little bugs that are out there now destroying my crops. 630 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,960 I like these spiders and insects. They are my friends. 631 00:38:36,079 --> 00:38:40,400 Trouble is, this is a big field. It's so big, 632 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:45,400 that it would take a spider five or six weeks to get across it. 633 00:38:46,159 --> 00:38:48,159 So, I've come up with a plan. 634 00:38:48,679 --> 00:38:50,119 [buzzing] 635 00:38:52,159 --> 00:38:55,280 What I'm doing is sacrificing some of my crops 636 00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:58,599 to make superhighways that would allow the insects 637 00:38:58,639 --> 00:39:01,880 to get into the middle of the field more quickly. 638 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:08,199 And once Kaleb had created the highway, 639 00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:11,920 it was then a case of hand-sowing some seeds. 640 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,920 -Turns out I'm really good at this. -I don't know anything about that. 641 00:39:19,639 --> 00:39:24,000 So, the lost revenue from this, which is what, three quarters of an acre? 642 00:39:24,079 --> 00:39:27,400 -[Kaleb] Yeah. -Is about 350 quid? 643 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:29,079 Yeah, about that, yeah, yeah. 644 00:39:29,159 --> 00:39:32,400 That, I mean, don't add up to me. 645 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:35,079 Yeah, it does though, 'cause the environmentalists are gonna go, 646 00:39:35,159 --> 00:39:36,920 "Wow, aren't they brilliant." 647 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,920 If it works, we've revolutionized farming, 648 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:42,559 saved the planet, Nobel prizes. 649 00:39:42,639 --> 00:39:44,480 Greta Thunberg comes around. 650 00:39:44,559 --> 00:39:47,639 [Kaleb] To be honest, I just think of it, you lost 370 quid. 651 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:48,960 Congrats. 652 00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:51,320 [instrumental music playing] 653 00:39:52,039 --> 00:39:57,039 [Jeremy] Despite Kaleb's naked realism, I was loving my wilding project. 654 00:40:03,159 --> 00:40:05,280 And the best was still to come, 655 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:08,960 because finally, the centerpiece of my wetland area... 656 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,159 was ready to be filled... 657 00:40:15,599 --> 00:40:16,800 again. 658 00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:23,760 Today's the day when I create a channel, 659 00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:25,039 let's call it the Suez, 660 00:40:25,119 --> 00:40:29,400 between the stream and the open-cast mine that I've dug 661 00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:33,079 using nothing more than Kaleb's miserable little digger. 662 00:40:34,679 --> 00:40:35,559 Here we go. 663 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:39,960 Okay, the moment of truth. 664 00:40:41,079 --> 00:40:43,920 Here it is. Oh-ho-ho! Look at this! 665 00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:47,880 It's the Victoria Falls! 666 00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:51,159 Jay? Just be careful. 667 00:40:51,599 --> 00:40:54,000 You should be wearing a life jacket, really. 668 00:40:55,079 --> 00:40:58,760 As I reveled in this historic moment, Kaleb arrived. 669 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:01,880 Behold what I have created. 670 00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:03,639 I am... I am Moses. 671 00:41:04,199 --> 00:41:05,440 Who's Moses? 672 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:08,639 -Have you read the Bible? -No. 673 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,800 In the Bible, there's this man called Moses. 674 00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:12,679 Yeah. 675 00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:15,079 [Jeremy] And he was leading someone out of a troubled area 676 00:41:15,159 --> 00:41:18,559 into a much better area and they got to the Red Sea 677 00:41:18,639 --> 00:41:21,760 and they were stuck and then the waters parted 678 00:41:21,840 --> 00:41:24,639 and they were able to walk across the sea bed 679 00:41:24,679 --> 00:41:26,519 and get to the Promised Land. 680 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:28,880 That's bullshit. 681 00:41:32,199 --> 00:41:35,920 [Jeremy] In just one day, the pond was full. 682 00:41:38,639 --> 00:41:42,440 And immediately, I decided to fill it with lunch. 683 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:48,599 I got 250 lovely brown trout about that size. 684 00:41:48,639 --> 00:41:52,079 My favorite fish. I mean, not to look at. 685 00:41:52,159 --> 00:41:53,159 [whispers] To eat. 686 00:41:53,639 --> 00:41:55,559 Back. Back. 687 00:41:55,639 --> 00:41:58,039 See, now, that's good, stop, stop, stop. 688 00:41:59,159 --> 00:42:02,599 Then I'm gonna put the back down and we're going to attach this chute 689 00:42:02,639 --> 00:42:04,800 and we are going to chute them in. 690 00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:07,840 Right. How can I help? 691 00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:09,880 That sounds like I'm on Countryfile. 692 00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:11,800 -[chuckling] -[Jeremy] That does. 693 00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:14,800 Oh, let me... Let me see if I can help. Oh! 694 00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:17,599 Oh, wow, there they all are, look. 695 00:42:17,639 --> 00:42:20,320 Are they gonna be all right falling from that height? 696 00:42:20,400 --> 00:42:23,800 That's the way to do it. I'm sure you've seen the photos of the Herculeses 697 00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:26,639 dropping trout into the Great Lakes in Canada, 698 00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:29,159 -which they do from airplanes. -No. 699 00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:32,320 The splash of them going in there is absolutely fine. 700 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:34,679 And that wakes them up and we'll let them go away. 701 00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:36,639 If you just gently net them in, 702 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:41,280 the fish will lie on the side and drown at the bottom. 703 00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:43,400 What? So they're like sheep, 704 00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:45,199 -but with fins. -Yes. 705 00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:51,960 Right, I declare the Chipping Norton Water Park open. 706 00:42:52,639 --> 00:42:53,639 Look at that. 707 00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:55,800 That is hilarious. 708 00:42:56,840 --> 00:42:59,760 Look at them, they're jumping... Look at them. Happy fishes. 709 00:42:59,840 --> 00:43:00,960 [man] They are. 710 00:43:01,039 --> 00:43:04,360 [Jeremy] All I had to do now was make sure the fish stayed alive 711 00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:08,360 which, given my track record, was not a certainty. 712 00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:11,679 Many, many years ago, my dad had a fish pond 713 00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:14,159 and he used to love going out in the evening 714 00:43:14,199 --> 00:43:16,599 and sprinkling food in it and watching his carp. 715 00:43:16,639 --> 00:43:19,360 And I thought one Christmas, "Brilliant present, 716 00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:21,480 "I'm gonna buy him some more carp for his pond." 717 00:43:21,559 --> 00:43:24,480 So I bought him these things called Ghost Carp. 718 00:43:24,559 --> 00:43:26,360 Amazing looking things. 719 00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:28,440 And he was dead chuffed 720 00:43:28,519 --> 00:43:30,000 and we put them in his pond 721 00:43:30,079 --> 00:43:33,760 and then realized immediately why they were called Ghost Carp, 722 00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:36,800 'cause they're completely invisible when they're underwater, 723 00:43:36,880 --> 00:43:39,360 so he couldn't see these fish that I'd bought him. 724 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:43,639 And a week later, all of his other carp had disappeared. 725 00:43:43,760 --> 00:43:47,280 And we, um, we looked up the Ghost Carp in a book, 726 00:43:47,360 --> 00:43:49,159 'cause there was no Internet then, 727 00:43:49,239 --> 00:43:52,840 and it turned out that Ghost Carp eat other sorts of carp. 728 00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:57,920 So I'd bought him some invisible fish that killed his visible fish. 729 00:44:01,559 --> 00:44:03,719 But this was no time for pessimism, 730 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:06,599 as the pond was now looking tremendous 731 00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:09,199 and that's not all. 732 00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:15,599 Finally, some good news on the dam front. It's holding water. 733 00:44:15,679 --> 00:44:18,840 It's taken me three weeks. 734 00:44:18,920 --> 00:44:22,280 I've ruined two shirts, four pairs of jeans, 735 00:44:22,360 --> 00:44:25,679 and broken two of Kaleb's battery-operated power drills, 736 00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:27,320 but I've done it. 737 00:44:29,599 --> 00:44:31,079 Look at this. 738 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:45,800 [yelling in frustration] 739 00:44:50,519 --> 00:44:54,159 The truth is though, that the leaky dam was the only pimple 740 00:44:54,239 --> 00:44:57,960 in what was becoming quite a successful wilding project. 741 00:45:00,519 --> 00:45:04,920 Over the past few weeks, I'd made homes for owls and kestrels. 742 00:45:06,199 --> 00:45:09,119 I'd let the sun shine on the forest floor. 743 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:12,599 I'd introduced more wild flowers 744 00:45:12,679 --> 00:45:16,480 and given some of my crop fields back to nature. 745 00:45:17,960 --> 00:45:19,280 And there was no doubt 746 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:23,360 that all of this had resulted in a better environment for insects. 747 00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:28,519 Which was the whole point. 748 00:45:33,159 --> 00:45:36,000 Even though it had cost thousands, I'd loved it. 749 00:45:37,320 --> 00:45:39,079 And now what I really needed 750 00:45:39,519 --> 00:45:42,280 was a pat on the back from Charlie. 751 00:45:42,360 --> 00:45:43,559 [birds chirping] 752 00:45:43,639 --> 00:45:46,079 -Oh, here he is. -Hello, how are you? 753 00:45:46,159 --> 00:45:48,400 [Jeremy] Well, I'm very well. I'm just waiting to hear 754 00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:50,920 what I've done wrong with my important work. 755 00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:53,079 It's looking great. Looking good. 756 00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:55,239 You just said that? 757 00:45:55,320 --> 00:45:58,320 You said I've done... You said I've done a good job? 758 00:45:58,400 --> 00:45:59,599 [Charlie] Yeah. 759 00:45:59,679 --> 00:46:02,079 [Jeremy] And actually, when I thought about it, 760 00:46:02,159 --> 00:46:04,559 there was more to celebrate than just that. 761 00:46:06,119 --> 00:46:07,719 Can I just say, if I may, 762 00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:12,480 we had the wettest planting season in history, yes? You would agree. 763 00:46:12,559 --> 00:46:14,400 -That I can remember. -Yes. 764 00:46:14,480 --> 00:46:16,239 We had Brexit 765 00:46:16,320 --> 00:46:20,760 and despite all that, I, in my first year, complete novice, 766 00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:23,039 with a little bit of help from you and Kaleb, 767 00:46:23,119 --> 00:46:26,440 managed to get all the seeds we need to in the ground. 768 00:46:26,519 --> 00:46:29,440 [Charlie] Yeah. The winter wheat looks good. 769 00:46:29,519 --> 00:46:34,400 The winter barley looks good. The rape hasn't been eaten by pigeons. 770 00:46:34,480 --> 00:46:38,400 -This is Teacher giving me a good report. -You know, it's really good. 771 00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:43,440 [Jeremy] We've got this wilding, landscaping thing, sorted out. 772 00:46:43,519 --> 00:46:46,079 Everything, for once, is all going well. 773 00:46:46,159 --> 00:46:49,679 And, so long as nothing else goes wrong, 774 00:46:49,760 --> 00:46:51,760 -we're gonna be quids in. -Everything's going 775 00:46:51,840 --> 00:46:53,719 -in the right direction. -Exactly. 776 00:46:58,880 --> 00:47:01,519 [Boris] It's now a global pandemic. 777 00:47:01,599 --> 00:47:07,000 Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others. 778 00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:09,840 How are you? 779 00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:12,039 Well, I'm scared shitless. 780 00:47:12,119 --> 00:47:16,280 I'm pushing 60, I've smoked three quarters of a million cigarettes. 781 00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:19,039 I've had pneumonia, so my lungs are scarred. 782 00:47:19,119 --> 00:47:21,880 -If I get it-- -Yeah, there's not a lot of hope. 783 00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:23,960 [music playing]