In this episode of Unearthed: Nature needs us from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew we ask what it means to regenerate and restore degraded forests and landscapes, and why so many tree-planting projects in the past have failed.

Mya-Rose Craig (AKA “Birdgirl”) hears from Kew’s scientists including Dr James Borrell, and Dr Kate Hardwick, who are leading the conversation and collaborating with other organisations on how to reforest and regenerate successfully. We visit the Woodland Trust’s Home Farm, one of the largest native woodland creation sites in Southern England, where Forest Research Forest Ecologist Nicola Cotterill is carrying out research into how genetic diversity can help strengthen the ecosystem.

Building back ecosystems with genetic resilience is essential if we want species to survive disease, pests, climate change and other changing conditions. But UK woodlands are facing an enormous battle with Ash Dieback. We meet Russell Croft, the Arboretum Manager at Wakehurst, to find out how the team there are managing the effects of this disease in Kew’s own beautiful nature reserve.

And Professor Katie Field explores how the past can unveil incredible insights into our forest ecosystems.

Further afield, in Thailand, Professor Steve Elliot and the team at FORRU (Forest Research and Restoration Unit at Chiang Mai University) are working with schools to run innovative seed collection and tree planting programmes as part of their version of the “Framework Species Methodology”. As they restore tropical forest ecosystems, Steve explains how all wildlife is prospering from planting the right kinds of species in open areas close to natural forest.

Kew’s partnerships around the world enable amazing seed conservation and species reintroduction work to take place and this has extended to the volcanic slopes of Indonesia, at Mount Ciremai. Dr Dian Latifah and Dr Yayan Kusuma from BRIN tell us about this exciting project.

Dr Kate Hardwick has worked heavily in the tropics and is Restoration Coordinator for Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Programme. She and Isabella Tree – Wilding author and co-owner of the Knepp Estate in Sussex – unpick the differences between rewilding and regeneration and explore the spectrum of conservation that encompasses these approaches to regenerating our landscapes.

Subscribe to this podcast to catch up on earlier episodes of Unearthed and to enjoy a new episode every fortnight.

You can find out more about the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and support their cutting-edge conservation research and training at Kew.org.

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As well as our beloved bees, pollinators include wasps, moths, hoverflies, butterflies, beetles, bats and birds. There are about 1,500 different insect species helping plants reproduce in the UK alone, and without them our world would be less colourful, less nutritious and less diverse.

In this episode of Unearthed: Nature needs us from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew hear how pollinator health supports the health of humans and the planet. Dr Mya-Rose Craig finds out how the biodiversity of our habitats can support pollinators against the pressures they face from climate change and human activity.

Professor Phil Stevenson busts myths surrounding honeybee conservation projects whilst Professor Adam Hart looks at how we might need to change our outlooks and practises for the good of our pollinating friends.

We also dive into the wonder of meadow and prairie habitats with Iain Parkinson at Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden, and with Great Yellow’s Isabel Milligan.

Ever wondered how healthy your garden is for pollinators? Advolly Richmond considers how our social history has impacted the plight of plant-pollinator relationships.

Then it’s into the landscape at Wakehurst with Dr Janine Griffiths-Lee and Chantelle Lindsay. Nature Unlockedis building a new bee bank here and inviting visitors to contribute to important research. In Dodoma in Tanzania, one researcher tells us how his team have been working with smallholder farmers to gain a host of benefits, including improved yields, via the growing of pollinator-friendly plants in their field margins.

Finally, the bug-loving Dr Eleanor Drinkwater chats with Phil Stevenson about the important links between plants and wildlife for environmental biodiversity.

Subscribe to this podcast to catch up on earlier episodes of Unearthed and to enjoy a new episode every fortnight.

You can find out more about the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and support their cutting-edge conservation research and training at Kew.org.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seeds are the beginnings of life. From the food we can grow today, to the wondrous habitats they can create. They offer us a chance to capture, store and even design the landscapes of the future.

In this episode of Unearthed: Nature needs us from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew find out how scientists around the globe are working against the clock to protect species on the brink of extinction.

From the Millennium Seed Bank - the world’s largest global seed bank for wild plant species - to intrepid collection trips in harsh conditions, Dr Mya-Rose Craig explores the breadth of current research about seeds.

Dr Katie Field from the University of Sheffield tells us the story of how plants and fungi colonised and shaped the planet we know today.

Then Joycelyn Longdon @climateincolour meets with Kew’s Charlotte Couch and The Natural History Museum’s Ben Town at Kew’s Community Allotment to discuss how everyone can benefit from biodiversity research that includes and values communities.

Subscribe to this podcast to catch up on earlier episodes of Unearthed and enjoy a new episode every fortnight.

You can find out more about Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and support their cutting-edge conservation research and training at Kew.org.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.