Tree Amble

Chloe and Rakesh came together in a project which brought climate activists onto farms in the North Pennines and filmed the process - the film is called "Leaving it Better" and can be found on line. The idea was simple - bring people from 2 opposing views and see how they could work together positively - and it worked well. We talked about the film and process with Chloe and Rakesh and their motivation for the project. 

Anyone in the "re-wilding" conversation will be well aware of Knepp - from Isabella's book on Knepp's ground breaking work to copious media reports, videos and personal testaments. But fewer folks will be aware of some of the deeper thinking that underlies the conversations about nature people and history and how do we restore vital habitats without erasing or better still positively respecting our culture and history? This podcast episode is of a 2025 meeting of ecologists and archaeologists who got together at Knepp to talk about just that! I hope you enjoy.... 

One of the most traditional forms of woodland management is that of coppicing - cutting a tree to its base, using the material you have cut to make things like tool handles, fencing or chair legs, letting the tree regrow and cutting it again later on. This craft and way of living has had something of a resurgence in South Cumbria with apprenticeships and co-ops now working to support young workers into a skilled and satisfying craft. Listen here to Sam and Emily on their work and life and ideas.... 

In this episode we meet Patricia Wiklund from Finland - recorded over TEAMS. Regular Tree Amble listeners will know we spent some time on Aland in 2025, Patricia was behind our journey there. Patricia's company, known as Invenire, has the ambition to create rural landscapes that are regenerative and thriving. It was set up to help farmers and companies design and deliver better, more equal, human-centric and regenerative systems products and services. Check out Invenire.fi - we hope you enjoy this episode.

In this episode of Tree Amble we meet Chris Clark of Nethergill Associates. Chris and his colleagues now work from a North Devon base, though we first came across him on farm in Cumbria. Nethergill Business Management Consultancy has developed a unique approach to farm management which seeks to find a sweet spot where the farm is most profitable which they call the maximum sustainable output (MSO).  

To date Chris's team have analysed over 370 farm accounts from all types of farming enterprises, across the UK and overseas, and calculated the MSO for each one. Tree Amble is interested in Chris's work because there is a direct nature feedback. The Nethergill view is that by working in balance with nature and farming in a more regenerative way which maximises free energy (e.g. of sunlight) at MSO we are able to ensure that farm businesses plan for maximum profitability. Conversely money spent on bringing in energy to the farm from outside sources rarely sees itself being repaid. 

To delve deeper into this matter have a look at their book "the Profitable Farm" by Chris Clark and Brian Scanlon, or check out their website. 

I hope you enjoy our chat with Chris! 

Lynn Barnes kick started a veg revolution in Cumbria through her business Vista Veg. Since we chatted with Lynn about her early days growing vegetables and starting her veg box scheme. The box scheme she kicked off has grown and Vista Veg are now working with a number of other vegetable growers across Cumbria in a group called "Home Grown Here". The aim is clear - grown locally, grown responsibly and grown together. This project is supporting great food with low miles and lots of good organic credentials whilst employing people in rural Cumbria.  Please listen in and hear Lynn's story!

In summer 2025 Tree Amble was invited to the Finnish Island of Aland to meet with a group of people trying to safeguard and restore the traditional wood pastures on the island through regenerative practices. The project, run by Patricia Wiklund and her colleagues, is aimed at bringing farmers together to learn and discuss regen techniques and to look at ways of re-evaluating their traditional pastures in a modern way. They still have extremely biodiverse pastures scattered around more intensive farms. Whilst in Aland we met with farmers, project managers, the water company, foresters, chefs and Jenni who is promoting food tourism. We came away with 4 Tree Amble podcasts - this fourth episode is with Tage talking about how he came to be at his family farm, how he manages it with his son and his pride in his wood pastures.

In summer 2025 Tree Amble was invited to the Finnish Island of Aland to meet with a group of people trying to safeguard and restore the traditional wood pastures on the island through regenerative practices. The project, run by Patricia Wiklund and her colleagues, is aimed at bringing farmers together to learn and discuss regen techniques and to look at ways of re-evaluating their traditional pastures in a modern way. They still have extremely biodiverse pastures scattered around more intensive farms. Whilst in Aland we met with farmers, project managers, the water company, foresters, chefs and Jenni who is promoting food tourism. We came away with 4 Tree Amble podcasts - this third episode is with Anna and John in their organic / regenerative orchard, a real treat! Aland produces a lot of fruit and vegetables, mostly conventionally, but it was interesting to talk to a couple working with more natural approaches. 

In summer 2025 Tree Amble was invited to the Finnish Island of Aland to meet with a group of people trying to safeguard and restore the traditional wood pastures on the island through regenerative practices. The project, run by Patricia Wiklund and her colleagues, is aimed at bringing farmers together to learn and discuss regen techniques and to look at ways of re-evaluating their traditional pastures in a modern way. They still have extremely biodiverse pastures scattered around more intensive farms. Whilst in Aland we met with farmers, project managers, the water company, foresters, chefs and Jenni who is promoting food tourism. We came away with 4 Tree Amble podcasts - this second one is with chef Victor who promotes local and natural foods where he can. 

In summer 2025 Tree Amble was invited to the Finnish Island of Aland to meet with a group of people trying to safeguard and restore the traditional wood pastures on the island through regenerative practices. The project, run by Patricia Wiklund and her colleagues, is aimed at bringing farmers together to learn and discuss regen techniques and to look at ways of re-evaluating their traditional pastures in a modern way. They still have extremely biodiverse pastures scattered around more intensive farms. Whilst in Aland we met with farmers, project managers, the water company, foresters, chefs and Jenni who is promoting food tourism. We came away with 4 Tree Amble podcasts - this first one is with Patricia, Romy and Jenni.