1 00:00:05,101 --> 00:00:07,101 [opening theme music playing] 2 00:00:19,021 --> 00:00:21,021 [upbeat music playing] 3 00:00:24,941 --> 00:00:29,301 If I'd driven along here at this time of year when I first started driving 4 00:00:29,380 --> 00:00:33,341 30 or 40 years ago, after about five miles, 5 00:00:33,981 --> 00:00:37,460 I wouldn't have been able to see where I was going. 6 00:00:37,581 --> 00:00:43,541 My windscreen would be an opaque smorgasbord of dead insects. 7 00:00:44,901 --> 00:00:46,301 But look at it now. 8 00:00:48,581 --> 00:00:49,780 There's nothing. 9 00:00:49,861 --> 00:00:52,700 You get more flies on the front of a submarine. 10 00:00:55,140 --> 00:00:57,981 The fact is that in just 30 years, 11 00:00:58,060 --> 00:01:03,140 insect numbers have dropped by 25% and they're still falling. 12 00:01:03,221 --> 00:01:07,141 We are heading for an insect annihilation. 13 00:01:07,820 --> 00:01:11,581 You can forget about global warming or plastic in the ocean, 14 00:01:11,661 --> 00:01:16,701 because without insects, all life on Earth ends. 15 00:01:17,301 --> 00:01:18,701 Everything. 16 00:01:18,781 --> 00:01:19,900 And that's me talking. 17 00:01:19,941 --> 00:01:24,581 I'm not some hairy-armpitted environmentalist on a rally, it's me. 18 00:01:25,781 --> 00:01:28,021 Sadly, farming is seen by many 19 00:01:28,100 --> 00:01:31,421 as one of the main reasons for this insect decline. 20 00:01:32,460 --> 00:01:37,380 The problem is that as farm equipment has got bigger and more efficient, 21 00:01:37,460 --> 00:01:40,861 fields have had to get bigger and more efficient. 22 00:01:40,941 --> 00:01:43,021 Which means that, since the war, 23 00:01:43,100 --> 00:01:48,780 Britain has lost 140,000 miles of hedgerows. 24 00:01:48,861 --> 00:01:52,060 It's lost 40% of its ancient woodlands. 25 00:01:52,141 --> 00:01:57,780 It's lost 97% of all its wild flower meadows. 26 00:01:57,861 --> 00:02:01,620 Everywhere where insects like to live is disappearing. 27 00:02:02,661 --> 00:02:06,340 And I've decided to do something about that. 28 00:02:06,421 --> 00:02:08,220 [music continues] 29 00:02:09,740 --> 00:02:12,900 My plan is to make my hedgerows, 30 00:02:12,981 --> 00:02:18,060 my valleys, my woods, and my streams 31 00:02:18,141 --> 00:02:21,340 more attractive to creepy crawlies. 32 00:02:22,581 --> 00:02:27,301 In essence, I am going to leave chunks of the farm completely alone. 33 00:02:27,381 --> 00:02:30,180 I'm going to put Mother Nature in the driving seat. 34 00:02:30,301 --> 00:02:32,421 It's a process called wilding. 35 00:02:33,100 --> 00:02:37,060 And I'm going to begin in a rather boggy and sad place 36 00:02:37,141 --> 00:02:42,060 at the bottom of a valley, which I want to look, eventually, like this. 37 00:02:43,780 --> 00:02:47,180 I think maybe the storks are a bit ambitious, but everything else... 38 00:02:47,701 --> 00:02:49,500 That's what I'm aiming for. 39 00:02:49,581 --> 00:02:51,381 [music continues] 40 00:02:58,581 --> 00:03:02,581 Obviously, before I could start work on my wetlands project, 41 00:03:02,660 --> 00:03:05,301 there were government rules to consider. 42 00:03:05,381 --> 00:03:09,180 So I had to employ a team of inspectors. 43 00:03:10,021 --> 00:03:15,180 So if you both do the HSI calculations then I'll have a wander over here. 44 00:03:16,340 --> 00:03:19,660 [Jeremy] These Miami CSI people needed to make sure 45 00:03:19,740 --> 00:03:24,220 my plans wouldn't harm what was already living there. 46 00:03:24,301 --> 00:03:28,141 This is all mostly rough grassland. Looks pretty good for newts, doesn't it? 47 00:03:28,220 --> 00:03:32,141 [Jeremy] And after they'd spent a while doing forensic examinations, 48 00:03:32,220 --> 00:03:35,701 I went down to see how many red flags they'd found. 49 00:03:36,861 --> 00:03:37,941 Whoa. 50 00:03:38,340 --> 00:03:40,660 -[inspector] Afternoon, Jeremy. -[Jeremy] Greetings. How are you? 51 00:03:40,740 --> 00:03:45,100 -[inspector] I'm all right. You? -Erm... Well... Well. 52 00:03:45,180 --> 00:03:48,421 Those red flags there are right where the pond's going. 53 00:03:48,500 --> 00:03:49,701 That is correct, yeah. 54 00:03:50,460 --> 00:03:52,740 But the red flags are where we can't build anything. 55 00:03:52,821 --> 00:03:55,740 [inspector] Unfortunately, while we were doing the surveys, 56 00:03:55,821 --> 00:03:58,740 we have found potential signs of a mammal. 57 00:03:59,381 --> 00:04:00,581 -[Jeremy] Dog? -Nope. 58 00:04:00,660 --> 00:04:03,460 There's a likelihood it could be water vole. 59 00:04:04,620 --> 00:04:07,340 -Very unlikely to be a water vole. -Interesting. 60 00:04:07,421 --> 00:04:09,581 There were eight million 20 years ago, 61 00:04:09,660 --> 00:04:12,660 there's now 220,000 and they mostly live in Glasgow. 62 00:04:12,740 --> 00:04:15,660 And they're noted to be in the Cotswolds. 63 00:04:15,740 --> 00:04:16,980 -Really? -Indeed. 64 00:04:17,061 --> 00:04:20,540 Come down here, have a look. Can you see these droppings here? 65 00:04:21,261 --> 00:04:23,581 And these are a kind of a Tic Tac shape? 66 00:04:23,660 --> 00:04:26,340 -[Jeremy] That is feces, is it? -[inspector] Indeed, yeah. 67 00:04:26,381 --> 00:04:30,780 Now there's a high likelihood that this is water vole droppings. 68 00:04:30,821 --> 00:04:32,821 Highly protected species. 69 00:04:32,900 --> 00:04:36,701 If you kill them, you'd be seen to be recklessly destroying that population. 70 00:04:36,780 --> 00:04:40,100 Then you'd be prosecuted and you could potentially have a prison term. 71 00:04:40,180 --> 00:04:42,261 How long do I go to prison for? 72 00:04:42,381 --> 00:04:45,021 Um... Potentially six months, to start with. 73 00:04:45,100 --> 00:04:46,900 Potentially a £5,000 fine. 74 00:04:47,621 --> 00:04:50,701 So what I've recommended at this stage is all work stop here. 75 00:04:50,780 --> 00:04:53,220 Until we've confirmed what is here. 76 00:04:53,941 --> 00:04:59,540 What if that great big digger I've got, if we just scooped the whole area up, 77 00:04:59,621 --> 00:05:02,900 the water vole wouldn't know and then go and put it over there? 78 00:05:02,941 --> 00:05:05,701 -No Jeremy, no, no. -Why not? Why wouldn't that work? 79 00:05:05,780 --> 00:05:08,540 -If you got the whole area-- -You'd be in prison, Jeremy. 80 00:05:08,621 --> 00:05:10,821 -I'm being nice to it. -[inspector] No, no. 81 00:05:10,941 --> 00:05:12,501 I could move it to high ground. 82 00:05:12,581 --> 00:05:15,701 My professional advice would be do not do that. 83 00:05:15,780 --> 00:05:18,220 [Jeremy] To see if it really was a water vole, 84 00:05:18,261 --> 00:05:20,340 I came up with a plan. 85 00:05:20,381 --> 00:05:22,741 -We've got some trap cameras. -Mm-mm. 86 00:05:22,821 --> 00:05:24,941 We could put a trap camera on this. 87 00:05:25,061 --> 00:05:27,660 -Yeah, that's a good shout, yep. -Then we'll know. 88 00:05:27,741 --> 00:05:31,381 Need to do it over a number of days to make sure what the movements are. 89 00:05:31,460 --> 00:05:34,741 -I just want to see if it's a water vole. -Yeah, that's true, yep. 90 00:05:36,501 --> 00:05:39,621 [Jeremy] So the cameraman set up his cameras. 91 00:05:41,701 --> 00:05:45,501 And a few days later, I examined the results. 92 00:05:48,340 --> 00:05:49,540 No vole. 93 00:05:51,300 --> 00:05:52,501 No vole. 94 00:05:53,941 --> 00:05:56,501 Nothing. Absolutely nothing. 95 00:05:57,141 --> 00:06:00,660 I've seen more wildlife in Paul McCartney's fridge. 96 00:06:00,741 --> 00:06:02,581 I mean, something made that hole. 97 00:06:02,660 --> 00:06:05,300 There we are, look, that's what made it. Is it a mouse? 98 00:06:05,381 --> 00:06:09,780 No, it's got a pointy nose, it's a shrew. Not a water vole. 99 00:06:10,741 --> 00:06:14,061 Right, I think what we can deduce from this is, 100 00:06:14,141 --> 00:06:16,141 we are in business. 101 00:06:18,900 --> 00:06:23,741 My important environmental work therefore could finally begin. 102 00:06:23,821 --> 00:06:25,621 [whirring] 103 00:06:31,420 --> 00:06:32,821 The speed. 104 00:06:35,900 --> 00:06:38,420 That is very steep, that bit. 105 00:06:39,100 --> 00:06:42,621 Yeah, that's not gonna be much fun that. Um, right. 106 00:06:45,621 --> 00:06:48,141 Come on. Ooh, that one's not even turning. 107 00:06:48,220 --> 00:06:51,621 It's move... I'm not touching anything and I'm just moving down. 108 00:06:51,701 --> 00:06:53,141 Oh, shit. 109 00:06:54,420 --> 00:06:57,061 I'm just skidding, I'm just skidding. Shit, shit. 110 00:06:57,460 --> 00:06:58,941 [rattling] 111 00:07:05,220 --> 00:07:06,460 I've done it. 112 00:07:09,660 --> 00:07:14,021 I've slithered down the steep bit and I'm at the bottom. 113 00:07:15,780 --> 00:07:18,900 Look at the ecological work I'm doing here. 114 00:07:18,980 --> 00:07:21,021 On my way to create 115 00:07:21,100 --> 00:07:23,900 what I'd like to describe as a biological supermarket, 116 00:07:23,980 --> 00:07:26,941 full of many different species. 117 00:07:28,181 --> 00:07:29,980 Once in position... 118 00:07:31,340 --> 00:07:33,381 I began to excavate. 119 00:07:34,261 --> 00:07:35,340 [Jeremy] Ah! 120 00:07:35,861 --> 00:07:37,581 I wanna make it absolutely plain, 121 00:07:37,660 --> 00:07:39,821 this is not gonna be like Ed Sheeran's pond, 122 00:07:39,900 --> 00:07:44,300 which is turquoise and has a diving board and a swim-up bar. 123 00:07:46,381 --> 00:07:49,261 Look at that, what a machine you are. 124 00:07:53,340 --> 00:07:57,621 That's about six or seven feet deep and that's clay at the bottom, 125 00:07:57,701 --> 00:08:01,581 which is good because clay holds water, but what I'm looking for is blue clay, 126 00:08:01,660 --> 00:08:04,220 which is deeper because that holds water really well 127 00:08:04,300 --> 00:08:06,100 and I need it to line the sides. 128 00:08:12,021 --> 00:08:13,741 Oh, yeah, look at that. 129 00:08:14,340 --> 00:08:16,860 That is blue clay. 130 00:08:17,780 --> 00:08:19,581 Save it, precious. 131 00:08:22,340 --> 00:08:25,621 By lunchtime, I was making good progress. 132 00:08:26,220 --> 00:08:29,100 Right, that's about... It must be 10 feet deep. 133 00:08:30,621 --> 00:08:32,861 So I went off for a bite to eat, 134 00:08:32,940 --> 00:08:35,621 not realizing that while I was gone... 135 00:08:37,141 --> 00:08:40,621 nature would throw one of its curve balls. 136 00:08:47,101 --> 00:08:49,101 It's filled up with water. 137 00:08:51,900 --> 00:08:55,381 A lot of water. And that's happened in an hour. 138 00:08:57,341 --> 00:08:59,021 Shit. 139 00:08:59,101 --> 00:09:02,741 The water would need pumping out before I could carry on. 140 00:09:04,981 --> 00:09:08,420 So to make use of the digger, which I'd rented for a whole day, 141 00:09:09,461 --> 00:09:11,300 I decided to dig another pond. 142 00:09:13,141 --> 00:09:14,300 Right. 143 00:09:14,381 --> 00:09:16,300 Let me talk you through my plan. 144 00:09:17,461 --> 00:09:20,540 Got a couple of springs 100 meters up there. 145 00:09:21,540 --> 00:09:26,501 They've created this stream, so I'm thinking of damming it about here 146 00:09:26,540 --> 00:09:31,141 and then as the water level rises against my dam, 147 00:09:31,221 --> 00:09:34,060 it will fill this. 148 00:09:35,540 --> 00:09:38,621 'Cause if you slow the water down, you've got more chance 149 00:09:38,660 --> 00:09:43,141 for otters and herons and insects to come and live in it. 150 00:09:44,660 --> 00:09:47,981 I set about my new project with gusto. 151 00:09:49,540 --> 00:09:51,300 Come on, dig. Dig, digger. 152 00:09:55,261 --> 00:09:57,540 Yes. Juicy top soil. 153 00:09:59,341 --> 00:10:01,101 And when Lisa arrived, 154 00:10:01,180 --> 00:10:04,660 I suspected she'd be thrilled by my achievements. 155 00:10:09,021 --> 00:10:11,780 I'm sorry, Jeremy, what is this? We're building down there. 156 00:10:13,221 --> 00:10:16,021 -What is going on here? -[Jeremy] No, no, come and look 157 00:10:16,101 --> 00:10:18,341 and I'll show you, I'll show you how brilliant it is. 158 00:10:18,420 --> 00:10:19,861 [sighs] Fuck's sake. 159 00:10:20,900 --> 00:10:23,060 -That piece of string is the dam. -[Lisa] What? 160 00:10:24,341 --> 00:10:27,101 Sorry, where is our pond? This is not what we discussed. 161 00:10:27,180 --> 00:10:30,900 The pond's down there. It's already a pond, but it shouldn't be just yet. 162 00:10:31,021 --> 00:10:33,621 So I can't work on that, so I'm working on this wetland now. 163 00:10:33,660 --> 00:10:36,341 I have no idea what this means. What the fuck are you doing up here? 164 00:10:36,420 --> 00:10:38,861 -This is just a... -[Jeremy] It's a wetland area. 165 00:10:38,900 --> 00:10:43,660 It'll flood onto this bit and create a wetland area for insects. 166 00:10:47,180 --> 00:10:50,540 [Lisa] Holy shit, Jeremy. What are you gonna do with all this soil? 167 00:10:51,060 --> 00:10:53,221 Nothing's gonna come and live here. 168 00:10:53,300 --> 00:10:54,501 [gasps] 169 00:10:54,540 --> 00:10:58,660 Well, you know the movie 1917? They wanted to see if this would do as a follow up. 170 00:10:58,741 --> 00:11:00,141 Is that not good enough for you, 171 00:11:00,221 --> 00:11:03,101 that mess you've done there? You had to do another mess there? 172 00:11:03,180 --> 00:11:05,621 Sam Mendes called. He's thinking of doing 1918. 173 00:11:05,700 --> 00:11:08,940 What was wrong with that mess? Why did you have to do a new mess? 174 00:11:09,060 --> 00:11:11,660 [Jeremy] Why does everybody shout at me all the time? 175 00:11:11,741 --> 00:11:15,021 Literally, I get up in the morning and people shout at me. 176 00:11:15,101 --> 00:11:17,861 Kaleb shouts at me, Charlie shouts at me... 177 00:11:20,580 --> 00:11:24,101 Once Mrs. Angry had gone, I set about building my dam. 178 00:11:24,180 --> 00:11:25,180 [groans] 179 00:11:28,300 --> 00:11:30,501 It's now so cold, I'm having to wear... 180 00:11:31,461 --> 00:11:36,101 It's not actually a hat, this, it's Elton John's first hairpiece. 181 00:11:40,221 --> 00:11:41,700 Okay, here's the situation. 182 00:11:41,780 --> 00:11:44,780 I've, um... I've plugged the leaks on this side. 183 00:11:44,861 --> 00:11:48,180 I mean, not in a way that a submarine commander would say, 184 00:11:48,261 --> 00:11:51,221 "Well done, Clarkson," but they're plugged a bit. 185 00:11:51,300 --> 00:11:53,900 And the water level is now rising on that side. 186 00:11:55,101 --> 00:11:58,900 This meant I could now fill Pond Two. 187 00:11:59,900 --> 00:12:01,101 Yes! 188 00:12:02,021 --> 00:12:05,660 Look at it go. Yes. 189 00:12:05,741 --> 00:12:09,021 This is... I'm just staggered I've done this. 190 00:12:09,101 --> 00:12:11,021 I was very pleased. 191 00:12:11,501 --> 00:12:15,300 -[thunder rumbling] -So with the rain and darkness falling, 192 00:12:15,381 --> 00:12:20,540 I packed up and headed home to sit by the fire and drink warm soup. 193 00:12:25,780 --> 00:12:26,780 [sighs] 194 00:12:28,180 --> 00:12:29,580 [engine revving] 195 00:12:30,700 --> 00:12:31,780 Oh, shit! 196 00:12:33,780 --> 00:12:37,221 I was stuck in a quagmire of my own making. 197 00:12:37,300 --> 00:12:39,780 Um... I can't... 198 00:12:40,381 --> 00:12:45,300 So, I had to ask Kaleb to put his girlfriend down and come out to help. 199 00:12:45,780 --> 00:12:47,261 [Kaleb] Fucking hell. 200 00:12:48,381 --> 00:12:50,101 Fucking muddy down here. 201 00:12:51,660 --> 00:12:53,300 That's it, strap them through. 202 00:12:54,861 --> 00:12:57,660 Let me just try and get straight and get to there, 203 00:12:57,741 --> 00:12:58,981 and try and pull you up. 204 00:13:00,861 --> 00:13:03,261 -All right? -[Jeremy] Okay, fire away. 205 00:13:03,341 --> 00:13:04,820 [engine revving] 206 00:13:10,141 --> 00:13:15,141 Even though we had Lamborghini power and 10-wheel drive, 207 00:13:15,221 --> 00:13:16,861 we weren't going anywhere. 208 00:13:17,461 --> 00:13:19,461 [Kaleb] Come on. Come on. 209 00:13:21,741 --> 00:13:23,461 Oh, no. 210 00:13:23,540 --> 00:13:27,540 [Jeremy] So, Kaleb decided to undo the tow rope and save himself. 211 00:13:30,420 --> 00:13:31,940 [Kaleb] I'll see you later. 212 00:13:32,341 --> 00:13:33,820 [Jeremy] Which went well. 213 00:13:34,540 --> 00:13:36,420 [Kaleb] Oh, come on. Come on. 214 00:13:36,501 --> 00:13:37,780 [engine revving] 215 00:13:41,300 --> 00:13:44,940 Fucking rain. [sighs] 216 00:13:45,540 --> 00:13:48,101 [Jeremy] Right, this is a complete cock job. 217 00:13:48,820 --> 00:13:50,700 Everything is stuck. 218 00:13:50,780 --> 00:13:53,741 Naturally, this made Kaleb very happy with me. 219 00:13:54,540 --> 00:13:56,940 Fucking idiot. If you didn't get the fucking thing stuck, 220 00:13:57,021 --> 00:13:58,621 I wouldn't have come down here. 221 00:13:58,700 --> 00:14:01,861 Now I'm probably gonna fucking fall over. Fucking hell... 222 00:14:04,940 --> 00:14:06,261 [Jeremy] The next morning, 223 00:14:06,341 --> 00:14:09,300 we reconvened at my stranded tractor with a rescue plan. 224 00:14:09,381 --> 00:14:10,381 [groans] 225 00:14:10,461 --> 00:14:13,341 Kaleb would pull me out with his tractor 226 00:14:13,420 --> 00:14:17,660 while he was being pulled by his brother, in his tractor. 227 00:14:17,741 --> 00:14:19,820 [engines running] 228 00:14:20,621 --> 00:14:22,861 [Kaleb] Right, just take the slack up gently. 229 00:14:29,741 --> 00:14:33,141 [on radio] Really slowly, that's it, keep that tight, okay? 230 00:14:33,221 --> 00:14:36,741 Yeah, I've never driven anything before, so keep the advice coming. 231 00:14:38,780 --> 00:14:41,420 Oh, shit, I'm not in four-wheel drive. He's gonna kill me. 232 00:14:42,501 --> 00:14:45,300 Come on, come on, the power of the Claas, come on. 233 00:14:54,261 --> 00:14:55,780 [Jeremy] This is just... 234 00:14:55,861 --> 00:15:00,141 Remember, we're doing this for the sake of the environment. 235 00:15:02,180 --> 00:15:04,621 -[Kaleb] Oh, the power. -[Jeremy] Oh, yes. 236 00:15:05,381 --> 00:15:09,180 We only took a thousand gallons to do that, but we're moving now. 237 00:15:09,261 --> 00:15:10,741 [Kaleb on radio] We are away. 238 00:15:18,780 --> 00:15:19,900 [laughing] 239 00:15:20,700 --> 00:15:24,420 I reckon this is probably me doing it under my own steam. 240 00:15:24,981 --> 00:15:26,501 [on radio] Okay, stop, stop, stop. 241 00:15:28,501 --> 00:15:31,700 After we'd finished pulling the Supacat free, 242 00:15:32,180 --> 00:15:34,060 girl-about-town Lisa arrived 243 00:15:34,141 --> 00:15:36,900 in the present I'd bought her for Christmas. 244 00:15:38,540 --> 00:15:40,300 -Hello. -You've seen this before? 245 00:15:40,381 --> 00:15:42,700 -I haven't, no. -She's a proper tractor. 246 00:15:42,780 --> 00:15:43,940 [Kaleb chuckling] Proper tractor. 247 00:15:44,021 --> 00:15:46,021 Yeah, that one has tractoritis, that's not good. 248 00:15:46,101 --> 00:15:47,381 -[Kaleb laughs] -Here you go. 249 00:15:47,461 --> 00:15:48,900 -Thank you very much. -You did really well, Kieran as well. 250 00:15:48,981 --> 00:15:49,981 -Cheers. -Cheers. 251 00:15:50,060 --> 00:15:51,741 Well done, thanks for that. 252 00:15:51,820 --> 00:15:54,621 It was very impressive watching the three of you come up. 253 00:15:54,700 --> 00:15:57,221 I did actually say, coming up the hill, I went, 254 00:15:57,300 --> 00:16:00,341 "I'm telling you now, Kaleb's nursing a semi in his Claas." 255 00:16:00,420 --> 00:16:01,900 [all laughing] 256 00:16:03,501 --> 00:16:06,021 Our celebratory moment was then interrupted 257 00:16:06,101 --> 00:16:11,580 by the arrival of cheerful Charlie, who was even less cheerful than usual. 258 00:16:11,660 --> 00:16:14,580 -What are we gonna do here? -Where? 259 00:16:14,660 --> 00:16:19,381 Well, I've just wandered across the field and we've made a bit of a mess and... 260 00:16:19,461 --> 00:16:21,900 [Jeremy] Oh, no, there's a few wheel marks, I admit. 261 00:16:21,981 --> 00:16:23,861 And I haven't mended the hole I've dug. 262 00:16:23,940 --> 00:16:28,660 That was to dig the water hole for the pump for the sheep troughs. 263 00:16:28,741 --> 00:16:31,381 -[Charlie] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. -And there's this. 264 00:16:31,461 --> 00:16:33,981 -Yeah. -Um, I admit it's messy, but, you know, 265 00:16:34,060 --> 00:16:37,780 we're making an omelette and some eggs have been broken. 266 00:16:37,861 --> 00:16:41,021 They've dropped on the floor. And it goes all the way up there. 267 00:16:41,101 --> 00:16:42,381 -[Jeremy] Yeah, it does. -Okay. 268 00:16:42,461 --> 00:16:45,580 -There's soil damage that's created. -What damage? 269 00:16:45,660 --> 00:16:48,141 -Well, okay, this is... -I've aerated it. 270 00:16:48,221 --> 00:16:50,660 You haven't aerated it, you've compacted it down. 271 00:16:50,741 --> 00:16:52,461 Water will not run away from there. 272 00:16:52,540 --> 00:16:54,861 We are nervously in sort of breach 273 00:16:54,940 --> 00:16:57,861 of some of the soil compaction requirements, which I know... 274 00:16:57,940 --> 00:17:01,621 Sorry, say that again. Soil compaction requirements from the government? 275 00:17:01,700 --> 00:17:03,621 They got Brexit to worry about and they're going... 276 00:17:03,700 --> 00:17:08,060 Get an inspector around, and we could lose 5% of our basic payment scheme, 277 00:17:08,140 --> 00:17:10,300 which is the subsidy you get from the government. 278 00:17:10,340 --> 00:17:14,820 -This is my wilding project, so-- -This is not wilding. That's damage. 279 00:17:14,901 --> 00:17:16,780 You know, you've gotta stop doing it. 280 00:17:18,300 --> 00:17:20,941 [Jeremy] I hoped that was the end of the telling off. 281 00:17:21,021 --> 00:17:24,540 But then, Charlie went to look at my new ponds. 282 00:17:24,580 --> 00:17:26,100 [Charlie] Again, here, look. 283 00:17:26,181 --> 00:17:28,741 You know, all this is just damage to the soil. 284 00:17:28,820 --> 00:17:31,741 But how do you get a bulldozer down there without damaging the soil? 285 00:17:31,820 --> 00:17:34,181 Do it when it's not really wet? 286 00:17:34,261 --> 00:17:37,701 Well, when? When's it... Sorry, Charlie, honestly, seriously. 287 00:17:37,780 --> 00:17:39,340 Yeah, no, no. but... 288 00:17:39,461 --> 00:17:42,981 It's rained since September every single day, pretty much. 289 00:17:43,060 --> 00:17:45,181 -You know this, every day. -I know, I know. 290 00:17:45,261 --> 00:17:49,461 Coming onto wet land with heavy machinery is creating a hell of a mess. 291 00:17:49,540 --> 00:17:53,461 But imagine this. Come down here and use your imagination, okay? 292 00:17:53,540 --> 00:17:56,100 What you're seeing now is just the Somme. 293 00:17:56,181 --> 00:17:58,021 -Yeah? -Yeah, no, no, I can see that. 294 00:17:58,100 --> 00:18:01,901 But now, thin your eyes. A kingfisher on that branch there. 295 00:18:01,981 --> 00:18:05,901 -A family of otters gamboling here. -[laughing] 296 00:18:05,981 --> 00:18:11,461 Down there, perhaps a heron waiting for a tasty morsel. 297 00:18:11,901 --> 00:18:14,181 This all banked, grass, wildflowers. 298 00:18:14,261 --> 00:18:18,780 I mean, ecoists get their cocks out for this kind of thing, don't they? 299 00:18:18,820 --> 00:18:21,580 [Charlie] Look... This is great. But what you've done, 300 00:18:21,661 --> 00:18:24,780 your actions will potentially cause, you know, loss of payment. 301 00:18:24,820 --> 00:18:28,941 And that could be £10,000 to £15,000. And it's not just here. 302 00:18:29,021 --> 00:18:32,820 -It's further up. -If that happens, I will be jolly cross. 303 00:18:32,941 --> 00:18:36,221 -I'm doing it for the sake of the nature. -Correct. 304 00:18:36,300 --> 00:18:40,261 I'm not gonna have somebody with an O level in biology coming along, 305 00:18:40,340 --> 00:18:43,181 telling me, "Oh, well, you've ruined the habitat." 306 00:18:43,261 --> 00:18:45,901 It's only a few anthills got knocked over. 307 00:18:47,421 --> 00:18:50,100 The truth is, though, that I had made a mess. 308 00:18:50,181 --> 00:18:52,501 So there was only one thing for it. 309 00:18:54,580 --> 00:18:57,181 Get Kaleb to tidy everything up. 310 00:18:59,941 --> 00:19:01,021 [Kaleb] Jesus. 311 00:19:01,981 --> 00:19:07,661 [Jeremy] Then it was time to start some more environmental work...in the woods. 312 00:19:07,901 --> 00:19:09,701 [whirring] 313 00:19:23,100 --> 00:19:27,261 This might look like rampant vandalism, but actually, it isn't. 314 00:19:28,340 --> 00:19:32,021 You drive the machine up to a tree, tell it what sort of tree it is. 315 00:19:33,261 --> 00:19:36,060 It grabs the bottom, measures the diameter 316 00:19:36,100 --> 00:19:38,941 and then thinks, "Right if the diameter is that there, 317 00:19:39,021 --> 00:19:41,540 "it's likely to be that much there." 318 00:19:41,580 --> 00:19:44,181 So it can work out how long the log should be. 319 00:19:53,340 --> 00:19:59,100 This is an eight-wheel drive, articulated, half-million-pound maths machine. 320 00:20:03,540 --> 00:20:07,181 And when the machine finally fell silent for the night, 321 00:20:07,261 --> 00:20:09,941 the results were spectacular. 322 00:20:10,661 --> 00:20:13,661 This is a map of the wood. 323 00:20:13,741 --> 00:20:17,901 This is the bit that was thinned, just about an eighth of it. 324 00:20:17,981 --> 00:20:19,820 And that's the timber that resulted. 325 00:20:19,941 --> 00:20:21,340 [birds chirping] 326 00:20:43,780 --> 00:20:45,261 [birds chirping] 327 00:20:46,100 --> 00:20:49,300 Needless to say, this has not gone down well on social media. 328 00:20:49,340 --> 00:20:51,780 I posted a picture of the big machine 329 00:20:51,820 --> 00:20:54,741 doing all the rampant vandalism on Instagram 330 00:20:54,820 --> 00:20:58,820 and people have replied accusing me of being a one-man McDonalds. 331 00:20:58,901 --> 00:21:01,100 "Why are you doing deforestation?" 332 00:21:01,221 --> 00:21:04,701 "Why are you always destroying green things, Jeremy?" 333 00:21:06,461 --> 00:21:12,261 Let's go into the wood and then you'll see just how moronic these people are. 334 00:21:15,261 --> 00:21:16,261 [panting] 335 00:21:17,661 --> 00:21:21,941 This is the bit of the wood where I got all the trees from. 336 00:21:22,021 --> 00:21:25,340 I got 200 tons of timber out of here and... 337 00:21:26,261 --> 00:21:27,340 You can't tell. 338 00:21:27,421 --> 00:21:30,780 It looks exactly the same as it did before. 339 00:21:31,701 --> 00:21:33,580 It's virtually unchanged. 340 00:21:34,181 --> 00:21:36,300 Nature, however, can tell. 341 00:21:36,340 --> 00:21:40,261 By removing trees from here and here and here for example, 342 00:21:40,340 --> 00:21:43,901 it means more sunlight can reach the forest floor. 343 00:21:43,981 --> 00:21:48,221 You can see puddles of it everywhere. And that will stimulate growth. 344 00:21:48,300 --> 00:21:51,981 Younger trees, flowers, bluebells, hopefully. 345 00:21:52,060 --> 00:21:57,461 And that's good for beetles and birds, bees. It's good for everything. 346 00:22:00,741 --> 00:22:02,140 As a bit of a twitcher, 347 00:22:02,221 --> 00:22:05,661 I was especially keen to do things for the birds. 348 00:22:05,741 --> 00:22:10,380 So I asked wildlife expert Roy Dennis for advice. 349 00:22:11,340 --> 00:22:13,580 [Jeremy] Can I just say, Roy, two things? 350 00:22:13,661 --> 00:22:15,661 One, I thought Ron Dennis was coming, 351 00:22:15,741 --> 00:22:17,981 -and he's a very different sort of man. -[laughing] 352 00:22:18,060 --> 00:22:21,140 [Jeremy] And secondly, I'm very jealous of your binoculars. 353 00:22:21,221 --> 00:22:22,540 I had a pair identical to that. 354 00:22:22,620 --> 00:22:25,661 They're in a Porsche at a police station in Argentina. 355 00:22:26,181 --> 00:22:30,580 To my delight, Roy was impressed from the off with what I had. 356 00:22:31,820 --> 00:22:34,981 -This is very, very good. -Really? 357 00:22:35,060 --> 00:22:37,661 When you look along a hedge like that, 358 00:22:37,741 --> 00:22:41,661 what fantastic food all the way along for wildlife. 359 00:22:41,741 --> 00:22:44,421 Bramble, fantastic for the warblers 360 00:22:44,501 --> 00:22:47,300 to put on fat for their migration to Africa. 361 00:22:47,380 --> 00:22:52,181 Hawberries ready for the fieldfares and redwings. It's really good. 362 00:22:55,380 --> 00:22:58,340 -[Jeremy] What are they? -They're goldfinches. Yeah. 363 00:22:58,421 --> 00:23:02,340 Little flock, see them? And they landed in the knapweed. 364 00:23:02,421 --> 00:23:04,421 -You can just see them there. -Were they actually... 365 00:23:04,501 --> 00:23:07,261 -That was a flock of goldfinch? -Yeah, five of them, I think. 366 00:23:07,340 --> 00:23:09,820 You see them feeding on the top there? 367 00:23:09,901 --> 00:23:12,860 -I think that's a little family. -Really? 368 00:23:13,860 --> 00:23:15,661 Yeah, there's a lovely one there. 369 00:23:16,261 --> 00:23:18,380 That actually makes me really happy. 370 00:23:22,741 --> 00:23:27,261 There was one bird, however, that I did think I could do more to help. 371 00:23:32,060 --> 00:23:33,060 [gasps softly] 372 00:23:35,060 --> 00:23:38,140 [whispering] He's on the floor. He's on the floor. 373 00:23:41,100 --> 00:23:45,941 Oh, look at him. That's a baby, he's just losing his tail, he can't fly. 374 00:23:46,540 --> 00:23:48,820 Okay, let's just pull back shall we? 375 00:23:48,901 --> 00:23:50,701 Because we don't want to disturb it. 376 00:23:52,501 --> 00:23:55,580 There goes the parent, there, against the woods. 377 00:23:56,261 --> 00:23:57,741 To attract more owls, 378 00:23:57,820 --> 00:24:02,261 I decided that I should carpet bomb the whole farm with owl boxes, 379 00:24:02,340 --> 00:24:03,941 where they could live. 380 00:24:04,021 --> 00:24:05,820 [sawing] 381 00:24:14,060 --> 00:24:15,261 Perfect. 382 00:24:16,340 --> 00:24:17,421 Yep. 383 00:24:20,741 --> 00:24:21,741 [groans] 384 00:24:24,540 --> 00:24:25,620 Perfect. 385 00:24:30,181 --> 00:24:31,261 Right. 386 00:24:39,461 --> 00:24:40,461 Oh, for... 387 00:24:43,021 --> 00:24:44,701 With the boxes all sorted, 388 00:24:44,780 --> 00:24:47,901 I commandeered some poles that had been left on the verge 389 00:24:47,981 --> 00:24:49,741 by the electricity company 390 00:24:50,820 --> 00:24:53,981 and Operation Owl was underway. 391 00:24:55,100 --> 00:24:56,300 [rattling] 392 00:24:56,380 --> 00:24:58,580 Oh! Jeez. 393 00:25:00,461 --> 00:25:04,981 When I arrived at the spot I'd chosen, Kaleb was on hand to help out. 394 00:25:06,340 --> 00:25:08,261 You want it close to the hedge or not? 395 00:25:08,340 --> 00:25:10,060 Well, yeah, there. 396 00:25:10,661 --> 00:25:14,181 As he dug the hole, I went through the checklist. 397 00:25:14,701 --> 00:25:20,300 Cement, rope, power drill and some owl boxes that I made. 398 00:25:20,941 --> 00:25:24,340 That I didn't order from Amazon at all, not at all. 399 00:25:25,380 --> 00:25:27,741 -[Kaleb] Deep enough? -[Jeremy] That'll do. 400 00:25:28,340 --> 00:25:30,100 -Right, here's my plan. -Yeah. 401 00:25:30,181 --> 00:25:34,421 I drive this forwards so that end is over your hole. 402 00:25:34,820 --> 00:25:37,261 Then we're gonna rope it from the top 403 00:25:37,340 --> 00:25:40,300 to the back of the Supacat and pull it upright. 404 00:25:40,380 --> 00:25:42,820 -You're mad. -Well, what would you do? 405 00:25:42,901 --> 00:25:47,221 Get the loader, go to that end of the pole, lift it till it goes into the hole, 406 00:25:47,300 --> 00:25:50,100 get the strap that I've put in the back of the Supacat 407 00:25:50,181 --> 00:25:52,421 and then just drive back and stand it up. 408 00:25:52,501 --> 00:25:56,620 But I still think you're going to need to tie a rope around the top 409 00:25:56,701 --> 00:25:58,340 and anchor it off the Supacat... 410 00:25:58,421 --> 00:26:00,741 It's on an angle, with one tine underneath it... 411 00:26:00,820 --> 00:26:03,021 -It starts going up... -I drive up like this... 412 00:26:03,100 --> 00:26:06,300 No, come at an angle... Between your tines at this stage... 413 00:26:06,380 --> 00:26:09,261 -I literally don't think that can be done. -I can do it. 414 00:26:09,340 --> 00:26:12,701 Here, drive it in like this, lay it down. Around that, around the... 415 00:26:13,421 --> 00:26:16,181 Don't forget, you got nine meters of boom as well, 416 00:26:16,261 --> 00:26:18,300 so if you boom out now a little bit... 417 00:26:18,380 --> 00:26:22,181 That's it, whoa, whoa, do that again. Do that. That will work, I think. 418 00:26:22,261 --> 00:26:24,981 -[Jeremy] I don't think it will. -Other way, other way, oh, no, no. 419 00:26:25,060 --> 00:26:30,421 [Jeremy] Oh, no, no, no. You stupid idiot! 420 00:26:30,501 --> 00:26:33,780 That was your fault! I told you! 421 00:26:34,701 --> 00:26:36,981 You went too far! I said stop! 422 00:26:37,060 --> 00:26:39,300 -It wasn't in the bloody hole! -It was. 423 00:26:39,380 --> 00:26:42,421 You've put a load of dirt on top of it again, look. 424 00:26:43,461 --> 00:26:45,620 -Is that fence smashed? -Yes. 425 00:26:45,701 --> 00:26:48,580 [Jeremy] Fucking hell. That's a fence gone. 426 00:26:48,661 --> 00:26:51,340 Well, you do it then, and I'll just stand doing this, 427 00:26:51,421 --> 00:26:53,501 which is what you do, like André Previn. 428 00:26:53,580 --> 00:26:56,181 No, every single hand signal was perfectly fine, 429 00:26:56,261 --> 00:26:58,021 but you just wasn't looking at me... 430 00:26:59,221 --> 00:27:02,820 [Jeremy] Eventually, we did manage to get the pole into the ground. 431 00:27:02,901 --> 00:27:04,540 [Kaleb] Right, now we're cooking. 432 00:27:05,501 --> 00:27:08,421 [Jeremy] And once the concrete base had set, 433 00:27:08,501 --> 00:27:11,100 we stood back to survey our handiwork. 434 00:27:11,181 --> 00:27:16,501 -Oh-ho-ho-ho! That is brilliant. -[door closes] 435 00:27:16,580 --> 00:27:18,380 Oh, no, wait a minute. 436 00:27:21,661 --> 00:27:23,661 -Mate. -[Kaleb] Yeah. 437 00:27:23,741 --> 00:27:27,221 -[Jeremy] That is nowhere near straight. -[Kaleb] It's really not. 438 00:27:27,300 --> 00:27:32,780 [Jeremy] But, on the upside, we did forget to put the owl box on the top of it. 439 00:27:33,340 --> 00:27:34,540 Shit. 440 00:27:35,981 --> 00:27:38,100 [Jeremy] Having made a mess of that, 441 00:27:38,181 --> 00:27:43,620 I went off to check on my wetlands area where things were even worse. 442 00:27:44,860 --> 00:27:48,860 Built the dam with all this clay along the front of it, 443 00:27:48,941 --> 00:27:51,140 but God has looked at my endeavors and said, 444 00:27:51,221 --> 00:27:54,580 "Yes, but I've made this hole here." You can see the whirlpool, look. 445 00:27:54,661 --> 00:27:58,421 "And all the water shall go through that and go under your dam." 446 00:28:02,140 --> 00:28:05,701 That night, God did a full Guy Gibson number. 447 00:28:05,780 --> 00:28:07,261 [water flowing] 448 00:28:07,340 --> 00:28:11,261 Which meant that I had to forget about the owls and do some repair work. 449 00:28:12,461 --> 00:28:14,580 Right, stop there. Perfect. 450 00:28:20,780 --> 00:28:21,901 Oh, thanks. 451 00:28:21,981 --> 00:28:24,261 -Oh, no. Oh, no. -I got it, I got it. 452 00:28:24,340 --> 00:28:26,021 -Oh, no, I got it. -Oh, no. 453 00:28:27,661 --> 00:28:31,901 Ooh. [chuckling] Yes. Perfect. 454 00:28:35,021 --> 00:28:38,421 With all that sorted out, I wanted to get back to the owl boxes, 455 00:28:38,501 --> 00:28:43,540 but I couldn't because Victor the Ukrainian bee man had turned up. 456 00:28:44,741 --> 00:28:46,661 That's actually commercial size, yeah. 457 00:28:46,741 --> 00:28:49,540 [Jeremy] And the most important wilding operation 458 00:28:49,620 --> 00:28:52,221 of the lot was about to begin. 459 00:28:52,941 --> 00:28:55,701 -Those are the full hives then are they? -[Victor] Yeah. 460 00:28:55,780 --> 00:28:57,380 [Jeremy] They're very smart. 461 00:28:57,461 --> 00:28:59,021 The plan was simple. 462 00:28:59,100 --> 00:29:04,741 The bees would make honey and money for the farm shop when it finally reopened 463 00:29:04,820 --> 00:29:08,300 and they'd also help pollinate my crops. 464 00:29:08,380 --> 00:29:12,461 That's why I'd bought a quarter of a million of them. 465 00:29:13,261 --> 00:29:14,661 [bee buzzing] 466 00:29:16,181 --> 00:29:19,181 Look at this. It's a space suit. 467 00:29:19,820 --> 00:29:23,860 Whilst I got dressed, Victor prepared the smoking machine. 468 00:29:23,941 --> 00:29:25,300 What does the smoke do? 469 00:29:25,380 --> 00:29:27,820 It's like you and me, we're afraid fire and water. 470 00:29:27,901 --> 00:29:30,981 I can't use water in the hives, so fire much easier. 471 00:29:31,060 --> 00:29:33,300 [Jeremy] But it's not fire, it's just the smoke. 472 00:29:33,380 --> 00:29:36,380 Smoke, yeah. So, they know smoke coming and they get scared. 473 00:29:36,461 --> 00:29:39,140 So what they doing, they go back in the hive, 474 00:29:39,221 --> 00:29:42,340 fill up their stomachs with honey and actually because of that, 475 00:29:42,421 --> 00:29:43,820 they're less aggressive. 476 00:29:43,901 --> 00:29:46,540 [Jeremy] So, they're sort of like sleepy after a big lunch. 477 00:29:46,620 --> 00:29:49,701 -Yeah. You know feeling. [laughs] -Yeah. 478 00:29:49,780 --> 00:29:53,941 -How many times do you get stung? -[Victor] About ten in a day. 479 00:29:54,021 --> 00:29:56,421 -Oh. What? -[Victor laughs] 480 00:29:56,501 --> 00:29:58,261 But a bee can only sting you one time. 481 00:29:58,340 --> 00:30:01,421 Once, and they pull out stings out of the belly, yeah. 482 00:30:01,501 --> 00:30:04,221 -Does it die? -Eventually, yeah. 483 00:30:04,300 --> 00:30:06,780 So if a man bee stings you, it dies. 484 00:30:06,860 --> 00:30:10,501 And if a man bee has sex, its penis comes off. Is that true? 485 00:30:10,580 --> 00:30:11,501 Yeah. 486 00:30:11,580 --> 00:30:14,221 -That would be annoying. -[laughing] 487 00:30:15,300 --> 00:30:17,300 [Jeremy] Oh, listen, you can hear them. 488 00:30:17,380 --> 00:30:18,901 [bees buzzing] 489 00:30:19,620 --> 00:30:21,620 Welcome to your new home, bees. 490 00:30:22,140 --> 00:30:25,140 -[Victor] Good, very good. -Uh, you're not wearing gloves. 491 00:30:25,221 --> 00:30:26,580 [Victor] Yeah, it's okay. 492 00:30:27,261 --> 00:30:29,741 [Jeremy] Ooh, look, is that making honey already? 493 00:30:29,820 --> 00:30:31,941 [Victor] Yeah, this is honey. 494 00:30:32,021 --> 00:30:33,741 How long does a bee live? 495 00:30:33,820 --> 00:30:35,661 [Victor] In summer, about one month. 496 00:30:35,741 --> 00:30:37,300 In winter, six months. 497 00:30:37,380 --> 00:30:40,461 But Queen could live much longer, could live three or four years. 498 00:30:40,540 --> 00:30:42,100 Will there be a queen in here? 499 00:30:42,181 --> 00:30:44,380 [Victor] There should be one, at least one queen here, yes. 500 00:30:44,461 --> 00:30:47,021 [Jeremy] So how many eggs is she laying? 501 00:30:47,100 --> 00:30:48,981 [Victor] This time of the year she's laying 502 00:30:49,060 --> 00:30:50,941 about 2,000 eggs per day and night. 503 00:30:51,021 --> 00:30:54,100 -[Jeremy] Jesus. -Yeah. She's productive. 504 00:30:54,701 --> 00:30:56,941 [Jeremy] Do people steal beehives? 505 00:30:57,021 --> 00:31:00,181 Yes. My friend lost 40 hives last year. 506 00:31:00,261 --> 00:31:04,380 A horse box come at night and just takes 40 hives from one side. 507 00:31:04,461 --> 00:31:05,501 [Jeremy] Okay. 508 00:31:05,580 --> 00:31:09,620 God, look at them coming out. That is a horror film right there. 509 00:31:10,580 --> 00:31:13,140 Ah! Ow! I've been stung. 510 00:31:13,221 --> 00:31:15,701 [Victor] Ah, in the socks. Wait, wait, wait. 511 00:31:16,620 --> 00:31:20,261 Well, I think you better go in the bushes. Go, go inside wood, inside wood. 512 00:31:20,340 --> 00:31:21,300 [Jeremy] Why? 513 00:31:21,380 --> 00:31:24,380 [Victor] Because they release poison, they gonna go like pack. 514 00:31:24,461 --> 00:31:26,181 One after another. Keep smoking. 515 00:31:26,261 --> 00:31:28,701 -[Jeremy] Once you've been stung? -[Victor] Yeah. 516 00:31:31,421 --> 00:31:32,300 You'll be fine. 517 00:31:32,380 --> 00:31:36,461 No, I won't be fine, my foot's going to have to be amputated. 518 00:31:36,540 --> 00:31:38,060 Fucking bees. 519 00:31:38,140 --> 00:31:41,701 That's what I doing every day. I'm in pain constantly. 520 00:31:41,780 --> 00:31:44,901 So, as soon as the big burly Ukrainian has turned his back, 521 00:31:44,981 --> 00:31:48,300 I'm going to roll around on the ground going, "I've been stung." 522 00:31:48,380 --> 00:31:49,300 [Victor laughing] 523 00:31:51,181 --> 00:31:54,421 [Jeremy] With Operation Bee now running itself, 524 00:31:54,501 --> 00:31:57,540 I had to repair the dam... again. 525 00:31:58,100 --> 00:31:59,901 God, water's annoying. 526 00:32:04,181 --> 00:32:06,580 Now we get some big rocks... 527 00:32:14,021 --> 00:32:17,620 And with that done, I got back to Operation Owl. 528 00:32:18,661 --> 00:32:22,140 Where I'd had a stroke of luck. 529 00:32:24,540 --> 00:32:27,820 After the mess Kaleb made putting up the pole... 530 00:32:27,901 --> 00:32:29,181 Cheers, Dave. 531 00:32:29,261 --> 00:32:32,820 ...I found this chap and he sinks telegraph poles for British Telecom 532 00:32:32,901 --> 00:32:37,941 and has very kindly offered to make the holes needed for me. 533 00:32:40,860 --> 00:32:45,261 As it turned out, I wasn't the first to dig holes in this part of the farm. 534 00:32:46,421 --> 00:32:49,820 This is a badger city here, look. 535 00:32:49,901 --> 00:32:52,380 Everywhere you look, holes. 536 00:32:52,820 --> 00:32:54,021 Look at this. 537 00:32:56,300 --> 00:32:58,021 That one's only just been dug 538 00:32:58,100 --> 00:33:00,901 and look at the amount of earth they've kicked out of it. 539 00:33:01,461 --> 00:33:06,901 Once again, we broke out the trap cameras and that night, this is what we saw. 540 00:33:10,340 --> 00:33:12,421 [whispering] I hate badgers. 541 00:33:12,501 --> 00:33:16,300 Apart from the fact they've eaten just about every hedgehog in Britain, 542 00:33:16,380 --> 00:33:18,221 they're like teenagers. 543 00:33:18,300 --> 00:33:23,820 They lie in bed all day, get up at night, transmit diseases, 544 00:33:23,901 --> 00:33:27,060 knock walls over and then when the sun comes up, 545 00:33:27,140 --> 00:33:28,901 they go back to bed again. 546 00:33:30,380 --> 00:33:34,300 [in normal voice] Today, however, they wouldn't be getting any sleep at all. 547 00:33:34,380 --> 00:33:35,860 [loud whirring] 548 00:33:36,701 --> 00:33:37,780 Right. 549 00:33:39,820 --> 00:33:41,300 Oh, look at that. 550 00:33:44,501 --> 00:33:45,421 Oh, yeah. 551 00:33:47,100 --> 00:33:48,620 Now the last time we did this, 552 00:33:48,701 --> 00:33:50,941 I was working with an idiot, and it's all cockeyed, 553 00:33:51,021 --> 00:33:52,981 -but this'll be straight, yeah? -Yeah. 554 00:33:54,340 --> 00:33:58,941 With the work done and Dave gone, I couldn't wait to show Kaleb. 555 00:33:59,580 --> 00:34:01,741 Look at this. This is what I can achieve 556 00:34:01,820 --> 00:34:04,181 when I'm left on my own to just get on with it. 557 00:34:04,261 --> 00:34:07,100 -[Kaleb] Wondered where you'd been. -Well, there you go, look at that. 558 00:34:07,181 --> 00:34:08,941 And then over there, look. 559 00:34:09,021 --> 00:34:10,981 [Kaleb] Oh, yeah. Did you cut the posts down? 560 00:34:11,060 --> 00:34:15,381 Yeah. Cut them down to 21 feet. They're five feet buried in the hole. 561 00:34:15,461 --> 00:34:18,781 -How did you really do it then? Come on. -I got a spade, 562 00:34:18,861 --> 00:34:22,781 and then twisted the spade round, made a hole. Got the telehandler-- 563 00:34:22,861 --> 00:34:26,021 Oh, wait, hang on a minute, hang on a minute. [sniffs] Can you smell that? 564 00:34:26,100 --> 00:34:27,501 [Jeremy laughs] 565 00:34:29,220 --> 00:34:34,100 So far then, my plan to rewild parts of the farm was going very well. 566 00:34:34,180 --> 00:34:36,180 [machinery whirring] 567 00:34:50,421 --> 00:34:52,901 It wasn't all environmental work though. 568 00:34:56,660 --> 00:34:59,700 There was still actual farming to be done. 569 00:35:00,861 --> 00:35:05,220 In February, for instance, I needed to know how many lambs were on the way. 570 00:35:06,021 --> 00:35:08,180 -Right, stick your hand down there. -Yeah. 571 00:35:08,220 --> 00:35:10,301 -Can you feel its backbone? -Yeah. 572 00:35:10,381 --> 00:35:14,660 So, I met up with Kevin and Ellen at the mobile sheep scanner. 573 00:35:17,461 --> 00:35:20,421 -They your driving gloves? -[Jeremy] No. 574 00:35:20,501 --> 00:35:23,341 I've never seen a sheep farmer wearing gloves like that. 575 00:35:23,421 --> 00:35:25,381 Come on, sheep, in you go, there you go. 576 00:35:25,461 --> 00:35:28,100 Once we'd dealt with the usual sheep disobedience... 577 00:35:29,021 --> 00:35:30,180 Oh! 578 00:35:31,220 --> 00:35:32,700 -Oh, Christ. -[sheep bleating] 579 00:35:32,821 --> 00:35:35,580 Ever single one of them is a horse. 580 00:35:35,660 --> 00:35:39,060 ...it was time to break out the gel and get scanning. 581 00:35:40,620 --> 00:35:42,660 [Kevin] There you are, there's a lamb. 582 00:35:42,700 --> 00:35:45,220 Can you see its ribs? Its neck? 583 00:35:45,341 --> 00:35:48,341 You're just the same as one of those ultrasound nurses in a hospital. 584 00:35:48,421 --> 00:35:51,220 Pointing... "Oh, it's got a penis," And you think, "Well, how do you know?" 585 00:35:51,341 --> 00:35:55,180 -Is that the spine then, the black thing? -No, that's the probe that's in my hand. 586 00:35:55,301 --> 00:35:57,301 Oh, right. [laughing] 587 00:35:57,381 --> 00:36:00,180 One lamb. So she gets a red dot. 588 00:36:01,180 --> 00:36:03,660 Just got one, so that's not been very productive. 589 00:36:03,700 --> 00:36:05,660 [Ellen] But one's better than nothing. 590 00:36:07,100 --> 00:36:09,540 -[Jeremy] How many's that one got? -[Kevin] She's got none. 591 00:36:09,620 --> 00:36:11,861 -[Jeremy] None? -I'm afraid so. 592 00:36:11,941 --> 00:36:12,981 None? 593 00:36:13,060 --> 00:36:15,540 If you want a nice bit of mutton, that's it. 594 00:36:15,620 --> 00:36:17,301 [sheep bleating] 595 00:36:17,381 --> 00:36:20,660 -[Kevin] So this one's got two. -Two? Good sheep. 596 00:36:21,861 --> 00:36:23,421 With the scanning complete... 597 00:36:23,821 --> 00:36:25,180 That's it, you're all done. 598 00:36:25,220 --> 00:36:28,381 ...it was time to put the scores on the doors. 599 00:36:28,461 --> 00:36:31,180 So how many have we got of each then, Bob? 600 00:36:31,301 --> 00:36:33,100 -[Bob] One empty. -[Kevin] Yeah. 601 00:36:33,180 --> 00:36:35,060 -[Bob] Fifteen singles. -[Kevin] Yeah. 602 00:36:35,140 --> 00:36:37,700 [Bob] Three triplets and the rest are twins. 603 00:36:37,821 --> 00:36:40,620 -[Kevin] You've got plenty of lambs. -[Jeremy] Oh, good. 604 00:36:40,660 --> 00:36:44,501 Bob, many thanks for that. For being the bearer of good news. 605 00:36:48,580 --> 00:36:51,981 Along with getting the sheep scans done, I'd found a new toy 606 00:36:52,060 --> 00:36:56,580 for my dry stone waller and head of security, Gerald. 607 00:36:57,700 --> 00:36:59,220 -Motion sensor. -Yeah. 608 00:36:59,341 --> 00:37:02,060 Cable tie this to something... Everyone stand still, yeah? 609 00:37:03,021 --> 00:37:06,620 -[sensor barking] -[Gerald laughing] 610 00:37:07,381 --> 00:37:08,981 [barking continues] 611 00:37:09,821 --> 00:37:11,021 [Gerald laughing] 612 00:37:11,100 --> 00:37:14,301 [indistinct chatter] 613 00:37:16,021 --> 00:37:17,821 [barking continues] 614 00:37:21,100 --> 00:37:23,381 -Yeah, but I sleep just over there. -Oh, well. 615 00:37:23,461 --> 00:37:27,381 -Every fox, badger. -Yeah, but you'll be out here, won't you? 616 00:37:27,981 --> 00:37:30,781 Be like that now, so you probably won't be arguing about it. 617 00:37:31,501 --> 00:37:32,660 [both laughing] 618 00:37:38,180 --> 00:37:40,180 [mellow music playing] 619 00:37:40,301 --> 00:37:43,021 [Jeremy] And of course, whenever the weather permitted, 620 00:37:43,100 --> 00:37:46,901 Kaleb and I had to rush off to tractor the crop fields. 621 00:37:46,981 --> 00:37:48,381 [music continues] 622 00:37:57,421 --> 00:38:01,660 Which this year would not just be filled with wheat, barley and rape... 623 00:38:03,981 --> 00:38:08,060 because they too would be part of my wilding project. 624 00:38:08,341 --> 00:38:10,140 -[music continues] -[birds chirping] 625 00:38:15,540 --> 00:38:17,021 Around about this time of year, 626 00:38:17,100 --> 00:38:20,220 all the spiders and the insects that have spent the winter 627 00:38:20,341 --> 00:38:23,660 living in the grass margins at the side of the fields, 628 00:38:23,700 --> 00:38:26,021 will be heading out into the fields 629 00:38:26,100 --> 00:38:30,341 to eat all the little bugs that are out there now destroying my crops. 630 00:38:31,021 --> 00:38:34,981 I like these spiders and insects. They are my friends. 631 00:38:36,100 --> 00:38:40,421 Trouble is, this is a big field. It's so big, 632 00:38:40,501 --> 00:38:45,421 that it would take a spider five or six weeks to get across it. 633 00:38:46,180 --> 00:38:48,180 So, I've come up with a plan. 634 00:38:48,700 --> 00:38:50,140 [buzzing] 635 00:38:52,180 --> 00:38:55,301 What I'm doing is sacrificing some of my crops 636 00:38:55,381 --> 00:38:58,620 to make superhighways that would allow the insects 637 00:38:58,660 --> 00:39:01,901 to get into the middle of the field more quickly. 638 00:39:05,781 --> 00:39:08,220 And once Kaleb had created the highway, 639 00:39:08,341 --> 00:39:11,941 it was then a case of hand-sowing some seeds. 640 00:39:15,301 --> 00:39:18,941 -Turns out I'm really good at this. -I don't know anything about that. 641 00:39:19,660 --> 00:39:24,021 So, the lost revenue from this, which is what, three quarters of an acre? 642 00:39:24,100 --> 00:39:27,421 -[Kaleb] Yeah. -Is about 350 quid? 643 00:39:27,501 --> 00:39:29,100 Yeah, about that, yeah, yeah. 644 00:39:29,180 --> 00:39:32,421 That, I mean, don't add up to me. 645 00:39:32,501 --> 00:39:35,100 Yeah, it does though, 'cause the environmentalists are gonna go, 646 00:39:35,180 --> 00:39:36,941 "Wow, aren't they brilliant." 647 00:39:37,021 --> 00:39:39,941 If it works, we've revolutionized farming, 648 00:39:40,021 --> 00:39:42,580 saved the planet, Nobel prizes. 649 00:39:42,660 --> 00:39:44,501 Greta Thunberg comes around. 650 00:39:44,580 --> 00:39:47,660 [Kaleb] To be honest, I just think of it, you lost 370 quid. 651 00:39:47,781 --> 00:39:48,981 Congrats. 652 00:39:49,341 --> 00:39:51,341 [instrumental music playing] 653 00:39:52,060 --> 00:39:57,060 [Jeremy] Despite Kaleb's naked realism, I was loving my wilding project. 654 00:40:03,180 --> 00:40:05,301 And the best was still to come, 655 00:40:05,381 --> 00:40:08,981 because finally, the centerpiece of my wetland area... 656 00:40:13,021 --> 00:40:15,180 was ready to be filled... 657 00:40:15,620 --> 00:40:16,821 again. 658 00:40:19,901 --> 00:40:23,781 Today's the day when I create a channel, 659 00:40:23,861 --> 00:40:25,060 let's call it the Suez, 660 00:40:25,140 --> 00:40:29,421 between the stream and the open-cast mine that I've dug 661 00:40:29,501 --> 00:40:33,100 using nothing more than Kaleb's miserable little digger. 662 00:40:34,700 --> 00:40:35,580 Here we go. 663 00:40:37,501 --> 00:40:39,981 Okay, the moment of truth. 664 00:40:41,100 --> 00:40:43,941 Here it is. Oh-ho-ho! Look at this! 665 00:40:45,421 --> 00:40:47,901 It's the Victoria Falls! 666 00:40:49,381 --> 00:40:51,180 Jay? Just be careful. 667 00:40:51,620 --> 00:40:54,021 You should be wearing a life jacket, really. 668 00:40:55,100 --> 00:40:58,781 As I reveled in this historic moment, Kaleb arrived. 669 00:40:59,501 --> 00:41:01,901 Behold what I have created. 670 00:41:01,981 --> 00:41:03,660 I am... I am Moses. 671 00:41:04,220 --> 00:41:05,461 Who's Moses? 672 00:41:06,461 --> 00:41:08,660 -Have you read the Bible? -No. 673 00:41:08,781 --> 00:41:11,821 In the Bible, there's this man called Moses. 674 00:41:11,901 --> 00:41:12,700 Yeah. 675 00:41:12,821 --> 00:41:15,100 [Jeremy] And he was leading someone out of a troubled area 676 00:41:15,180 --> 00:41:18,580 into a much better area and they got to the Red Sea 677 00:41:18,660 --> 00:41:21,781 and they were stuck and then the waters parted 678 00:41:21,861 --> 00:41:24,660 and they were able to walk across the sea bed 679 00:41:24,700 --> 00:41:26,540 and get to the Promised Land. 680 00:41:27,501 --> 00:41:28,901 That's bullshit. 681 00:41:32,220 --> 00:41:35,941 [Jeremy] In just one day, the pond was full. 682 00:41:38,660 --> 00:41:42,461 And immediately, I decided to fill it with lunch. 683 00:41:44,461 --> 00:41:48,620 I got 250 lovely brown trout about that size. 684 00:41:48,660 --> 00:41:52,100 My favorite fish. I mean, not to look at. 685 00:41:52,180 --> 00:41:53,180 [whispers] To eat. 686 00:41:53,660 --> 00:41:55,580 Back. Back. 687 00:41:55,660 --> 00:41:58,060 See, now, that's good, stop, stop, stop. 688 00:41:59,180 --> 00:42:02,620 Then I'm gonna put the back down and we're going to attach this chute 689 00:42:02,660 --> 00:42:04,821 and we are going to chute them in. 690 00:42:05,941 --> 00:42:07,861 Right. How can I help? 691 00:42:07,941 --> 00:42:09,901 That sounds like I'm on Countryfile. 692 00:42:09,981 --> 00:42:11,821 -[chuckling] -[Jeremy] That does. 693 00:42:11,901 --> 00:42:14,821 Oh, let me... Let me see if I can help. Oh! 694 00:42:15,781 --> 00:42:17,620 Oh, wow, there they all are, look. 695 00:42:17,660 --> 00:42:20,341 Are they gonna be all right falling from that height? 696 00:42:20,421 --> 00:42:23,821 That's the way to do it. I'm sure you've seen the photos of the Herculeses 697 00:42:23,901 --> 00:42:26,660 dropping trout into the Great Lakes in Canada, 698 00:42:26,781 --> 00:42:29,180 -which they do from airplanes. -No. 699 00:42:29,301 --> 00:42:32,341 The splash of them going in there is absolutely fine. 700 00:42:32,421 --> 00:42:34,700 And that wakes them up and we'll let them go away. 701 00:42:34,821 --> 00:42:36,660 If you just gently net them in, 702 00:42:36,781 --> 00:42:41,301 the fish will lie on the side and drown at the bottom. 703 00:42:41,381 --> 00:42:43,421 What? So they're like sheep, 704 00:42:43,501 --> 00:42:45,220 -but with fins. -Yes. 705 00:42:48,501 --> 00:42:51,981 Right, I declare the Chipping Norton Water Park open. 706 00:42:52,660 --> 00:42:53,660 Look at that. 707 00:42:54,341 --> 00:42:55,821 That is hilarious. 708 00:42:56,861 --> 00:42:59,781 Look at them, they're jumping... Look at them. Happy fishes. 709 00:42:59,861 --> 00:43:00,981 [man] They are. 710 00:43:01,060 --> 00:43:04,381 [Jeremy] All I had to do now was make sure the fish stayed alive 711 00:43:04,461 --> 00:43:08,381 which, given my track record, was not a certainty. 712 00:43:08,981 --> 00:43:11,700 Many, many years ago, my dad had a fish pond 713 00:43:11,821 --> 00:43:14,180 and he used to love going out in the evening 714 00:43:14,220 --> 00:43:16,620 and sprinkling food in it and watching his carp. 715 00:43:16,660 --> 00:43:19,381 And I thought one Christmas, "Brilliant present, 716 00:43:19,461 --> 00:43:21,501 "I'm gonna buy him some more carp for his pond." 717 00:43:21,580 --> 00:43:24,501 So I bought him these things called Ghost Carp. 718 00:43:24,580 --> 00:43:26,381 Amazing looking things. 719 00:43:26,981 --> 00:43:28,461 And he was dead chuffed 720 00:43:28,540 --> 00:43:30,021 and we put them in his pond 721 00:43:30,100 --> 00:43:33,781 and then realized immediately why they were called Ghost Carp, 722 00:43:33,861 --> 00:43:36,821 'cause they're completely invisible when they're underwater, 723 00:43:36,901 --> 00:43:39,381 so he couldn't see these fish that I'd bought him. 724 00:43:39,461 --> 00:43:43,660 And a week later, all of his other carp had disappeared. 725 00:43:43,781 --> 00:43:47,301 And we, um, we looked up the Ghost Carp in a book, 726 00:43:47,381 --> 00:43:49,180 'cause there was no Internet then, 727 00:43:49,260 --> 00:43:52,861 and it turned out that Ghost Carp eat other sorts of carp. 728 00:43:52,941 --> 00:43:57,941 So I'd bought him some invisible fish that killed his visible fish. 729 00:44:01,580 --> 00:44:03,740 But this was no time for pessimism, 730 00:44:03,821 --> 00:44:06,620 as the pond was now looking tremendous 731 00:44:07,421 --> 00:44:09,220 and that's not all. 732 00:44:11,381 --> 00:44:15,620 Finally, some good news on the dam front. It's holding water. 733 00:44:15,700 --> 00:44:18,861 It's taken me three weeks. 734 00:44:18,941 --> 00:44:22,301 I've ruined two shirts, four pairs of jeans, 735 00:44:22,381 --> 00:44:25,700 and broken two of Kaleb's battery-operated power drills, 736 00:44:25,781 --> 00:44:27,341 but I've done it. 737 00:44:29,620 --> 00:44:31,100 Look at this. 738 00:44:44,021 --> 00:44:45,821 [yelling in frustration] 739 00:44:50,540 --> 00:44:54,180 The truth is though, that the leaky dam was the only pimple 740 00:44:54,260 --> 00:44:57,981 in what was becoming quite a successful wilding project. 741 00:45:00,540 --> 00:45:04,941 Over the past few weeks, I'd made homes for owls and kestrels. 742 00:45:06,220 --> 00:45:09,140 I'd let the sun shine on the forest floor. 743 00:45:09,981 --> 00:45:12,620 I'd introduced more wild flowers 744 00:45:12,700 --> 00:45:16,501 and given some of my crop fields back to nature. 745 00:45:17,981 --> 00:45:19,301 And there was no doubt 746 00:45:19,381 --> 00:45:23,381 that all of this had resulted in a better environment for insects. 747 00:45:26,421 --> 00:45:28,540 Which was the whole point. 748 00:45:33,180 --> 00:45:36,021 Even though it had cost thousands, I'd loved it. 749 00:45:37,341 --> 00:45:39,100 And now what I really needed 750 00:45:39,540 --> 00:45:42,301 was a pat on the back from Charlie. 751 00:45:42,381 --> 00:45:43,580 [birds chirping] 752 00:45:43,660 --> 00:45:46,100 -Oh, here he is. -Hello, how are you? 753 00:45:46,180 --> 00:45:48,421 [Jeremy] Well, I'm very well. I'm just waiting to hear 754 00:45:48,501 --> 00:45:50,941 what I've done wrong with my important work. 755 00:45:51,021 --> 00:45:53,100 It's looking great. Looking good. 756 00:45:53,861 --> 00:45:55,260 You just said that? 757 00:45:55,341 --> 00:45:58,341 You said I've done... You said I've done a good job? 758 00:45:58,421 --> 00:45:59,620 [Charlie] Yeah. 759 00:45:59,700 --> 00:46:02,100 [Jeremy] And actually, when I thought about it, 760 00:46:02,180 --> 00:46:04,580 there was more to celebrate than just that. 761 00:46:06,140 --> 00:46:07,740 Can I just say, if I may, 762 00:46:07,821 --> 00:46:12,501 we had the wettest planting season in history, yes? You would agree. 763 00:46:12,580 --> 00:46:14,421 -That I can remember. -Yes. 764 00:46:14,501 --> 00:46:16,260 We had Brexit 765 00:46:16,341 --> 00:46:20,781 and despite all that, I, in my first year, complete novice, 766 00:46:20,861 --> 00:46:23,060 with a little bit of help from you and Kaleb, 767 00:46:23,140 --> 00:46:26,461 managed to get all the seeds we need to in the ground. 768 00:46:26,540 --> 00:46:29,461 [Charlie] Yeah. The winter wheat looks good. 769 00:46:29,540 --> 00:46:34,421 The winter barley looks good. The rape hasn't been eaten by pigeons. 770 00:46:34,501 --> 00:46:38,421 -This is Teacher giving me a good report. -You know, it's really good. 771 00:46:38,501 --> 00:46:43,461 [Jeremy] We've got this wilding, landscaping thing, sorted out. 772 00:46:43,540 --> 00:46:46,100 Everything, for once, is all going well. 773 00:46:46,180 --> 00:46:49,700 And, so long as nothing else goes wrong, 774 00:46:49,781 --> 00:46:51,781 -we're gonna be quids in. -Everything's going 775 00:46:51,861 --> 00:46:53,740 -in the right direction. -Exactly. 776 00:46:58,901 --> 00:47:01,540 [Boris] It's now a global pandemic. 777 00:47:01,620 --> 00:47:07,021 Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others. 778 00:47:08,941 --> 00:47:09,861 How are you? 779 00:47:10,341 --> 00:47:12,060 Well, I'm scared shitless. 780 00:47:12,140 --> 00:47:16,301 I'm pushing 60, I've smoked three quarters of a million cigarettes. 781 00:47:16,381 --> 00:47:19,060 I've had pneumonia, so my lungs are scarred. 782 00:47:19,140 --> 00:47:21,901 -If I get it-- -Yeah, there's not a lot of hope. 783 00:47:21,981 --> 00:47:23,981 [music playing]