Countryfile: Spring Diaries episode 1
Countryfile spin-off series unveiling the secrets of spring. John Craven is on the Malvern Hills to celebrate their spring beauty and wildlife.
With the world population predicted to grow by 35 per cent over the next 25 years, our food industry is under more pressure than ever before to come up with nutritional solutions that will feed us all. Margherita Taylor is in Norwich on the trail of some of the foods destined to land on our plates in the near future. At the John Innes Centre, trail-blazing scientists are working on these incredible edibles, among them purple tomatoes – specially developed to be super disease-busters.
Professor Cathy Martin lets Margherita into a few secrets about just what it is that makes purple fruit and vegetables so life-enhancing. But will we want to give tomatoes that have been scientifically enhanced the thumbs up or the thumbs down? Shoppers at Norwich market - one of the oldest in the UK - give their verdict.
Spring flowers – we all welcome the colour they bring to our countryside as winter recedes. So Matt’s travelled to Lincolnshire to see how innovative technology is helping one family business compete with international suppliers, growing one of our favourite cut flowers – the Tulip. The fields of vibrant coloured blooms were once a destination for UK day-trippers looking for their spring flower fix, but competition from Dutch imports saw them almost disappear. But now, British growers are making a comeback.
Jules Hudson is on the Gwent Levels investigating how a new 15 mile six lane extension to the M4 motorway through South Wales could devastate wildlife. In this habitat dating back to the Romans and teeming with some of our rarest flora and fauna, conservationists are battling these plans. On the other side of the fence, business people, fed up with contending with one of the most congested stretches of motorway in the UK with 30 traffic jams a day, say the new road can’t come soon enough. It’s a story which will be echoed all over the UK as our need for new roads clashes with our love of wildlife. We have more cars than ever and can each expect to spend up to the equivalent of 32 hours a year stuck in traffic jams. So what’s the answer?
Countryfile: Spring Diaries episode 1
Incredible Edibles
With the world population predicted to grow by 35 per cent over the next 25 years, our food industry is under more pressure than ever before to come up with nutritional solutions that will feed us all. Margherita Taylor is in Norwich on the trail of some of the foods destined to land on our plates in the near future. At the John Innes Centre, trail-blazing scientists are working on these incredible edibles, among them purple tomatoes – specially developed to be super disease-busters.
Professor Cathy Martin lets Margherita into a few secrets about just what it is that makes purple fruit and vegetables so life-enhancing. But will we want to give tomatoes that have been scientifically enhanced the thumbs up or the thumbs down? Shoppers at Norwich market - one of the oldest in the UK - give their verdict.
Spring Blooms
Spring flowers – we all welcome the colour they bring to our countryside as winter recedes. So Matt’s travelled to Lincolnshire to see how innovative technology is helping one family business compete with international suppliers, growing one of our favourite cut flowers – the Tulip. The fields of vibrant coloured blooms were once a destination for UK day-trippers looking for their spring flower fix, but competition from Dutch imports saw them almost disappear. But now, British growers are making a comeback.
Roads Vs Wildlife
Jules Hudson is on the Gwent Levels investigating how a new 15 mile six lane extension to the M4 motorway through South Wales could devastate wildlife. In this habitat dating back to the Romans and teeming with some of our rarest flora and fauna, conservationists are battling these plans. On the other side of the fence, business people, fed up with contending with one of the most congested stretches of motorway in the UK with 30 traffic jams a day, say the new road can’t come soon enough. It’s a story which will be echoed all over the UK as our need for new roads clashes with our love of wildlife. We have more cars than ever and can each expect to spend up to the equivalent of 32 hours a year stuck in traffic jams. So what’s the answer?
