The Power of Trees: Wellbeing, Wildlife and the Future of Our Woodlands

Gardening with the RHS

Royal Horticultural Society

Home & Garden, Leisure, Hobbies

4.4 • 654 Ratings

🗓️ 27 November 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s National Tree Week, and we’re heading into the woods to celebrate the trees that shape our landscapes, enrich our lives, and quietly support the world around us. We’re joined by Sally Bavin from the Woodland Trust, who explains why woodlands are so powerful for both our physical and mental wellbeing. She also shares her fascinating research into mapping the UK’s richest areas of “wellbeing woodland.” We’ll also dive into the RHS’s new Strong Roots report, which uncovers the challenges preventing Great Britain from growing the trees it needs for the future. Plant scientist Louise Jones takes us behind the scenes at the RHS to explore her investigation into a mysterious fungal pathogen that’s attacking lime trees. And finally, we continue our pond series with Helen Bensted-Smith, who reveals the wildlife you can spot around your pond this week. Host: Gareth Richards and Guy Barter Contributors: Sally Bavin, Lousie Jones, Helen Bensted-Smith Links: BIO-well research Ancient forgotten forests need our help Native trees to plant in small gardens State of the UK's Woods and Trees 2025 Submit to the natures calendar project Strong Roots report Lime Tilia Leaf Blotch Report Form Write in with your gardening questions to: [email protected]

Transcript

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0:00.0	Looking for the perfect gift for the garden lover in your life?
0:04.0	This Christmas, save £15 on an NHS gift membership
0:07.8	and give them unlimited visits to NHS gardens
0:10.8	and over 230 partner gardens all year round.
0:15.2	They'll enjoy reduced rate tickets and priority access to NHS shows
0:18.8	plus so much more.
0:20.9	Save £15.orghs.org.uk.
0:24.7	Our friends soon, terms and conditions apply.
0:37.2	Around 10,000 years ago, as the last ice age loosened its grip, the retreat to
0:42.3	vast ice sheets opened up a Britain that had been frozen for millennia.
0:46.3	What followed was one of the most dramatic ecological shifts in our history, the return of the trees.
0:53.3	Birch led the charge, followed by pine, and hazel, elm, oak and alder, until woodland spread
0:59.8	across much of the country.
1:02.4	Human influence on this wild wood remained small for a while until the arrival of Neolithic
1:06.1	farming.
1:07.1	And as agriculture took hold, people began clearing trees for crops and pasture, setting
1:11.7	in motion a long-term decline of woodland cover.
1:15.0	By the time of the Doomsay Book, in 1086, wood pasture and woodland accounted for roughly
1:19.3	15% of Britain's land cover.
1:22.2	And aside from a temporary rebound after the Black Death, deforestation continued for
1:26.2	centuries.
1:27.2	And at the start of the 20th century, woodland reached its historic low at just 5% of the country.
	...

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