Tree Amble
After 30 years working to restore nature in forests and on farms, Pete Leeson takes time out to revisit the people he’s met along the way. Throughout the series, Pete discovers how land managers are adapting and responding to the nature crisis we all face, while navigating the economic challenges within farming today. People are at the heart of this podcast, holding the potential to do some incredible things. We meet farmers, ecologists, rewilders and more to find out how communities are building a future together which respects and supports nature.
Listen on:
For 30 years, Pete has been at the Woodland Trust, working with partners and landowners to plant trees.
While his work has focussed on sites across Cumbria, he has built partnerships and supported projects across the UK with a focus on restoring nature.
In this podcast, Pete has in-depth conversations with land managers, ecologists and rewilders to hear how they support nature on farmland and beyond.
For more about Pete, here's a 2 minute film about his work and motivations:
Episodes
7 days ago
7 days ago
In this episode we meet Antonio from Spain and Charles from France talking about what we would call "Wood Pasture". Antonio talks about the value of his old wood pastures for the quality of his stock in his holistic system. He also says that where he lives they are now experiencing temperatures over the mid 30 degrees regularly... and sometimes 40... and his trees are essential to feed his cattle but also for their welfare. Charles talks about adding trees in his french system - 3D grazing. Well worth a listen particularly given our very high temperatures of the moment!
Wednesday Jun 10, 2026
Wednesday Jun 10, 2026
A group of committed volunteers came together in spring 2026 to create the first "Cumbria Nature Festival". We were invited to come along and record some of the festival voices ... and we did... this episode has 18 different voices from the weekend. Such a positive gathering of people who care. I hope you enjoy this Tree Amble Special!
Thursday Jun 04, 2026
Thursday Jun 04, 2026
Chloe and Rakesh were instrumental in bringing farmers and climate activists together in the North Pennines and filming the conversations about food, farming and climate..... its a great listen!
Thursday Apr 30, 2026
Thursday Apr 30, 2026
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....
Monday Apr 13, 2026
Monday Apr 13, 2026
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....
Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
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.
Tuesday Mar 03, 2026
Tuesday Mar 03, 2026
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!
Tuesday Feb 17, 2026
Tuesday Feb 17, 2026
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!