Along with her wife Debbie Toksvig, the Danish-British broadcaster, comedian and presenter Sandi Toksvig have bought an ancient, 40 acre woodland dating from 1600’s. Overgrown, diseased, waterlogged and in need of maintenance and care, the pair are restoring their woodland, the adventures of which features in the new series, entitled ‘Sandi’s Great British Woodland Restoration’.
The series follows the forestry novices, as they face the challenges of becoming custodians of a woodland ecosystem. With the help of woodland restoration experts, the pair fell trees, build wildlife ponds, release orphaned owls and welcome new life and the sunshine back into the once overgrown woodland. The specialist factual series aims to surprise, amuse and educate in equal measure.
Writing in the RadioTimes, Toksvig explained that the ancient woods that managed to persist since at least the 1600’s (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 1750 in Scotland) are an important feature of our landscape. “Once what little we have left is gone, we will never get it back. This complex biodiversity of undisturbed soils and decaying wood has taken hundreds of years to accumulate and cannot be replicated,” writes Toksvig.
Ancient woodland now cover just 2.5% of the UK. Much of what we have left is being damaged and once it’s gone, it can’t be replaced. Managed well, restoration can bring ancient woodland back from the brink and provide other benefits, such as income from timber.
Sandi’s Great British Woodland Restoration is available on demand on Channel4.com.