British Waterways is responsible for over two thousand miles of canals and navigable rivers across the country. Next year, it is just one of many bodies preparing to become a charity due to Government cuts. As part of this new status, the organisation is launching a recruitment drive for volunteers to train as lock keepers. Today's Open Country, is from Caen Hill locks in Devizes, one of the most impressive and iconic canals in the country. Jules Hudson finds out how important volunteers will be in maintaining our canals and what the future holds for British Waterways.

Presenter: Jules Hudson

In the second of two programmes on the Channel Islands, Open Country visits Jersey to find out what it was like to live on the Island during the German occupation in World War 2. The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to be seized and for five years, residents lived under Nazi rule. Now a file of papers which spent decades stuffed in the back of a wardrobe has been found revealing graphic accounts of some of those who were deported to Germany after being caught in acts of resistance. Richard Uridge investigates why these accounts are only just coming to light.

Presenter: Richard Uridge

Today on Open Country, Richard Uridge visits what's known as the jewel of the Channel Islands. Herm stretches just a mile and a half long. The whole island is leased by one couple, who own everything on it from the hotel to the beach café's and all the houses. 58 people live on the Island and all work for the same employer. Richard Uridge finds out what it's like to live in such a close-knit community and to all work for the same company.

Presenter : Richard Uridge

It's been dubbed the foot and mouth of the tree world. Phytophthora ramorum or sudden oak death as its commonly known is ravaging forests across the UK resulting in millions of trees being cut down. The disease has spread from the South West to Wales, the peaks and even as far north as the Isle of Mull. But experts say they are finding fewer and fewer new outbreaks. Today on Open Country, Helen Mark visits The South West, the region that's hardest hit, to find out what impact this disease is continuing to have on the countryside and whether there are signs that we are finally getting on top of it.

Presenter: Helen Mark.

Helen Mark is in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire to find out how horses and the natural landscape of Royal Deeside are helping wounded and serving military personnel. Set up by ex-marine Jock Hutchison and his wife Emma, Horseback UK is a charity aiming to provide a safe and secure environment for soldiers returning from active service or those that have already left, many of whom have suffered injury or acute stress as a result of active service. The charity uses equine therapy and the value of the great outdoors and nature therapy to provide part of the rehabilitation process for serving personnel and veterans from the UK military. Helen hears from Jock about their hope that those who have lived their lives on the edge will benefit from the opportunities available to them in the peace and tranquillity of the countryside and the quality of life this offers. Fundamental to this is the relationship with the horses and the style of Western riding which gives these guys the experience of being a cowboy high up in the saddle and looking down on countryside that they might previously not have noticed as they passed through. Mixing equine therapy, nature therapy and adventure training the aim is for people to learn about opportunities in the Scottish countryside, including game-keeping, horsemanship, fishing etc. while getting to know their local community. Helen hears from Jay Hare and Rick Anderson, two of the people who have benefited from the centre, and also from Eric Baird at the nearby Glen Tanar Estate, one of the areas that is supporting the charity by encouraging people there to become involved in conservation work. At the heart of everything are the horses and the way in which they are used to integrate the people they carry on their backs into the community and countryside of the Royal Deeside landscape.

Presenter: Helen Mark

On the 22nd July 1937 the 6 man crew of Heyford K6875 were briefed to carry out a night cross country exercise from RAF Leconfield in east Yorkshire, the weather that night was poor, with low visibility. The crew were seen to fire flares to illuminate the ground beneath to hopefully see a feature they could recognise, this proved fruitless as the aircraft flew up the Vale of Edale striking Broadlee Bank Tor just below the summit.

Jim Watson's Uncle Jim Barker was one of the crewmen lost that night and in 2002 Jim set out to find the site where his Uncle had lost his life. He was aided by Douglas Rowland who had witnessed the crash as a young boy in 1937 and could clearly remember the spot which he had clambered up to the next day. Douglas was able to present Jim with a brass plaque which he had rescued from the Heyford all those years ago.

Jules Hudson joins Jim and Douglas as they retrace the journey they took to the crash site.

Nor is the Heyford the only plane which lost its way in these treacherous peaks. Pat Collins has written about the many hundreds of wartime crashes and the invaluable lessons they have taught airline pilots who have come after them. He and National Park Ranger John Owen take Jules to one of the largest sites, the Super Fortress on Bleaklow.

75% of heather moorland is found here in the UK. The North York Moors are perhaps best known for their glorious purple carpets and on Open Country Jules Hudson explores the past and the potential future of this rare habitat. Heather moorland relies on management. Created over centuries of sheep grazing and man management the blooms require regular burning to remain healthy and attractive to the varied wildlife that makes its home on the moors. Sometimes controversially this management is often only made possible with the finance brought in by grouse shooting.

The 'Big Society' is alive and well in Pembrokeshire conservation. As grants are cut more organisations rely on volunteers to help keep our rarest habitats thriving and Skomer Island is no exception. Neptunes Army of Rubbish Cleaners are a group of divers who give up their time to keep the Pembrokeshire coastline clean. Manmade debris at the bottom of the sea can affect marine life and their work removing fishing tackle and other litter helps to keep the sea healthy.

This is vital work when you have such rare habitat as Skomer Island to protect. Here there are guillemots, razorbills and puffins who rely on the sea for food. Skomer also uses volunteers. Assistant wardens spend a week at the time helping with the running of the island and conservation work such as surveying. In the future many more volunteers may be needed to help preserve wildlife and ecosystems.

17th Century Scotland was a troubled time. Immortalised by Sir Walter Scott the cavernous 'Devil's Beeftub' and the spectacular 'Grey Mare's Tail' waterfall became hiding places for Border Reivers and Covenanters as the countryside became a battleground for clans and religious factions.

Alistair Moffat has written about the infamous Reivers. They hid the cattle they stole from either side of the border in the 'Beeftub' as it provided a perfect vantage point to see any approaching armies. Theirs was a lawless time and knowledge of the landscape was vital for survival. Today the landscape is being carefully restored to a time before intensive cattle and sheep grazing had created the open vistas we see today. The Borders Forest Trust are attempting to plant thousands of native trees and work with farmers like Jim Mitchell to integrate todays community with conservation for the future.

Just down the road is the 'Grey Mare's Tail', one of the highest waterfalls in Scotland. Today it is home to feral goats and rare plantlife but in the 17th century it provided a hiding place for the Covenanters, those who objected to the interference of the Stuart Kings in the affairs of the Presbyterian Church. The National Trust now own the site and as well as the human history and wildlife the area also features some extremely old fossils.

Just off the coast of Mull lies the tiny island of Ulva. For 200 years it has been virtually abandoned. The Highland Clearances saw the removal of most of the 800 people who had been scraping a living from its shores and its farmland. Today a shot of energy is pulsing through the island, giving this beautiful place a chance of economic and natural revival.

The manager of the island, Jamie Howard has just married field biologist and broadcaster, Tessa McGregor. Together they've come up with a plan to turn Ulva into a paradise for nature tourism. They've identified the island's extraordinary variety of unusual plant and animal species, they're helping archaeologists reconstruct the nine thousand year history of human habitation and they're replanting the native woodland and reconstructing abandoned buildings.

For 'Open Country' Helen Mark will be joining the energetic couple in the middle of a crucial summer for the island's future. Can they use the short tourist season to attract people and money into Ulva to fund their grand revival plans?

Producer: Alasdair Cross.