Episodes
| Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forests Of Folktale And Imagination | 20210303 | 20210307 (WS) | Jessica unpicks the profound role that forests play in our imaginative life. We know of course that they feature heavily in the fairy tales and myths we use to navigate life as children, and as we hear from writers like Max Porter, Richard Powers and Melissa Harrison, they also offer ways of understanding the complexities of desire, politics and history in our adult lives. Poet Carl Phillips describes how forests mirror the wilderness within us, while Jinni Reddy tells of how she found beauty in the forest through facing down her fears. Photo credit: Geoff Bird The role that forests play in our imaginations and how they reflect our inner wildness With ideas too big for a single episode, The Compass presents mini-series about society |
| Forests Of Hope And The Future | 20210317 | 20210321 (WS) | Writer Jessica J Lee, sets out to describe the myriad ways that forests operate in our lives and the life of the planet. In the final part of ‘Under The Canopy', Jessica looks for stories of hope to set against the headlines depicting the mass deforestation that continues to take place around the world. She speaks with a variety of groups - in Canada, Burkina Faso, Brazil, Germany and Great Britain - who are finding different ways to re-invigorate forests, whether through peaceful protest, re-forestation programmes or internet start-ups. Jessica considers the best ways of re-building the strong, mixed forests that will prove so important in our battle against climate change. Forest sounds appear courtesy of the 'Sounds of the Forest' project Original musical composition: Erland Cooper Spells written by Robert Macfarlane and these are read by Maxine Peake and the Bird sisters Photo credit: Geoff A Bird Jessica J. Lee explores the myriad ways that forests operate in our lives With ideas too big for a single episode, The Compass presents mini-series about society Writer Jessica J. Lee, sets out to describe the myriad ways that forests operate in our lives and the life of the planet. She outlines the exciting developments that have taken place in our understanding of the ways forests work over recent decades, with science offering radical new ways of recognising these places as communities of mutually supportive trees rather than competitive spaces where individual trees fight one another for survival. She speaks with Peter Wohlleben who is one of the chief communicators of this ‘Wood Wide Web' idea, and also expert on fungi Merlin Sheldrake about the crucial importance of mycorrhizzal networks in forest life. Jessica also hears from biologist Diana Beresford Kroeger and Haida leader Miles Richardson about how this new science is built on the back of much older, traditional knowledge held within indigenous communities Credit: Geoff A Bird |
| Forests Of Science And Knowledge | 20210310 | 20210314 (WS) | Writer Jessica J. Lee outlines the exciting developments that have taken place in our understanding of the ways forests work over recent decades, with science offering radical new ways of recognising these places as communities of mutually supportive trees rather than competitive spaces where individual trees fight one another for survival. She speaks with Peter Wohlleben who is one of the chief communicators of this ‘Wood Wide Web’ idea, and also expert on fungi Merlin Sheldrake about the crucial importance of mycorrhizzal networks in forest life. Jessica also describes how this new science is built on the back of much older, traditional knowledge held within indigenous communities. Credit: Geoff Bird Radical new ways of recognising forests as communities of mutually supportive trees With ideas too big for a single episode, The Compass presents mini-series about society |