Northern Ireland
Joe Crowley is just south of Belfast, where he joins an RSPB team tagging swifts to find out where they are feeding.
Ellie Harrison and Joe Crowley are in Northern Ireland, where Joe is up at the crack of dawn in woods just south of Belfast. He joins an RSPB team who are tagging swifts to find out where they are feeding, and he heads to the arts centre, where the biggest swift colony in the city can be found, to see how sensitive building benefits the birds. He also meets the locals doing their bit to help Belfast become 'swift city'. Joe then heads to the farm where you're as likely to find physalis, mustard flowers and Asian radish as you are spuds, carrots and caulis.
Meanwhile, Ellie takes a canoe trip down the beautiful River Bann. It is a great place for wading birds, is steeped in history and is said to be the river St Patrick took before arriving at the island where he built a monastery. Ellie visits Church Island and sees the sites associated with St Patrick, and she also hears that it was also the poet Seamus Heaney's favourite place in the world.
Adam Henson is on a farm on the Great Orme in north Wales, where herdwick sheep are being used to graze on ground where some of the UK's rarest plants can be found.
Tom Heap looks at ghost gear - fishing equipment accidentally cut adrift from trawlers and anglers that rides the ocean currents relentlessly catching and killing marine life for years on end. But what can be done to stop these ghostly killers?
Last on
Swifts
It's dawn and Joe has made his way to a forest south of Belfast to get up close to some swifts. Joe meets the RSPB's Claire Burnett who tells him about Belfast’s status as Britain’s first swift city and about the work the RSPB are doing to discover more about these beautiful birds. With the help of conservation scientist Kendrew Colhoun, Joe sits in wait with a net to see if they can catch one of these birds to attach a GPS tracker and find out where it goes.Ìý
Ghost gear
Right now hundreds of thousands of tonnes of lost fishing nets and lines -Ìýknown as ghost gear -Ìýare drifting through our oceans continually catching and killing marine wildlife. Everything from crabs to whales are at risk but now fishermen and anglers are fighting back and trying to reduce the problem. But as Tom Heap finds out, despite best intentions, it might never be enough.
River Bann
The beautiful Lower River Bann is one of Northern Ireland’s most important waterways, taking water from the mighty Lough Neagh out to the sea almost 40 miles away. Ellie joins Chris Scott and Robin Ruddock to undertake part of the Lower Bann Canoe Trail. While taking in the beauty and the wildlife Ellie also spots hints of the river’s past and stops off to meet Stephen Douglas from Waterways Ireland to see how the locks on the route are getting a facelift.
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Foraging farm
When Alicia Breslan moved from Poland to Northern Ireland with her farming husband, Seamus, she had trouble finding some of the ingredients that she was used to. Before her arrival Seamus’ farm had been growing traditional crops but Alicia has made her mark, giving the farm over to herbs and plants you’d normally have to forage for. Along with chef Jamie Ritchie, Alicia and Joe sample some of the produce straight from the fields.
Uilleann Pipes
For architect Martin Gallen the recession was ruinous. He lost everything, his work and his home. But the one thing he never lost was his love of music and when times were at their lowest a chance encounter changed his life. The man he met was a Uilleann pipe player who offered to teach Martin. Inspired by this, he began to make his own pipes despite being told he wouldn’t be able to make a name as a pipe-maker.Ìý Having never worked with his hands before Martin started from scratch crafting these beautiful instruments and now has more work that he can take on.Ìý
Great Orme
Adam’s off to meet a man farming right on the edge. Dan Jones runs the National Trust farm on Great Orme, a rugged finger of land pointing into the sea in North Wales. But not only is Dan responsible for his Herdwick flock, his farm is home to some plants that are so rare they’re not found anywhere else on earth. This is the ultimate in conservation farming!
Church Island
Rising out of the beautiful Lough Beg is Church Island. Ellie paddles her way to the island to discover why this place has such a spiritual significance. Legends tell how St Patrick established a monastery on the site.Ìý She meets David Arrell, a farmer who has grazed his cattle on the island for thirty years to find out why this island is so special to the local people and why people come from all over the world to see this special spot.
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Ellie Harrison |
| Presenter | Joe Crowley |
| Presenter | Adam Henson |
| Presenter | Tom Heap |
| Series Producer | Joanna Brame |
| Executive Producer | William Lyons |
Broadcasts
Sun 11 Jun 2017 19:00- Sun 18 Jun 2017 09:05
- Tue 20 Jun 2017 01:15