Hands Off Our Land: Loss of green spaces breeds social strife, warns Mears

Ray Mears called for the protection of green spaces everywhere.
'All my life I’ve seen wonderful areas being built on,' he said

Ray Mears, the survival expert, has joined a growing chorus of voices concerned about unrestrained development, warning that a shortage of green spaces can lead to the sort of social disruption witnessed during the summer's riots.

Responding to the Government's proposed radical planning reforms, Mears said that a rising population was not an excuse to create a concrete jungle.

The 47 year-old, whose television series have demonstrated ancient survival skills, urged politicians to recognise the importance of Britain's remaining areas of wilderness.

"You can still get away from everything. Despite the populous nature of our country, there are still great opportunities for feeling a sense of wildness," he said.

He warned that open spaces were constantly under threat from developers.

His comments come after The Telegraph launched the Hands Off Our Land campaign. Explaining his fears, Mears, who returns to ITV1 next Friday with the second series of Wild Britain, said: "Roads are much busier than they were. There are a lot more people around. We need to develop a new reverence for wild places. They are more important and more under threat than ever before."

The Government's draft National Planning Policy Framework aims to make it easier for planners and builders by removing red tape. Opponents including the National Trust have expressed concern at the inclusion of the "presumption in favour of sustainable development" which they have labelled a developers' charter.

Mears, who grew up in Surrey, stressed that it was not only the countryside that needed protecting, and that a lack of green space in the inner cities might explain the sort of frustration that boiled over during the riots.

"All through my life I've seen wonderful areas being built on," he said. "I grew up in Surrey, an area with big houses with big gardens and a lot of wildlife. Those houses have been bought up by developers, knocked down and replaced with small blocks of flats.

"People cry out, 'We need places to live.' That's true. However, we must also make sure we have green spaces. If we don't, we'll end up with one giant urban conglomeration.

"And I think we saw earlier this year what attitudes that can spawn in the people who are oppressed in those areas. You didn't see people rioting in the bits of London that border big parks."

(Source)

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Ray Mears - Wild Food (Documentary)

Wild Food is a documentary television series hosted by Ray Mears. In Wild Food, Ray presents an informative guide to cookery, travelling across the world to demonstrate traditional cooking skills and cuisine.

He also released a book of the same name.

Watch the full episodes below.

Episodes

"Australia": Ray travels to the other side of the planet to hear from Australian Aboriginals about what food means to a hunter-gatherer and the role it plays in their culture as well as their society. Along with many other discoveries, the trip sees Ray sample that most iconic of 'bush tucker': the witchetty grub, a huge maggot that lives in the roots of the witchetty bush.

Watch the full episode below

"Coast": Ray finds out just what Britain's coast had to offer our ancestors, as he continues to explore the wild food that tickled the taste buds of Stone Age man. The coastline of Stone Age Britain was rather different than it is today, as Britain was yet to become an island.

Watch the full episode below

"Wetlands": Ray and Professor Gordon Hillman, an expert in the use of plants through the ages, look at the marshes and waterways which our ancestors used for travelling and as an abundant source of food. Along the way, Ray explains how to take the sting out of nettles and how to use water lily seeds as a source of carbohydrate. He then travels to the spectacular Ardeche Gorge in France where he gains special permission to take to his canoe and demonstrate spear fishing.

Watch the full episode below

"Summer Harvest": Summer Harvest shows that our ancestors would have had access to a wide variety of plant foods, but meat would have been the staple in their diet. Ray shows viewers how they would have cooked a deer in a huge pit and then demonstrates how they would have preserved the meat by smoking it.

Watch the full episode below

"Woodland": For our ancestors, Autumn would have been the last chance to gather food before winter stole much of it away. Nuts are an obvious source of stored energy. Ray travels to the island of Colonsay in Scotland to investigate the remains of thousands of charred hazelnuts which date back to the Stone Age. 

Watch the full episode below

See also Wild Britain with Ray Mears.

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Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Documentary)

Northern Wilderness is a television series hosted by Ray Mears.

Mears explores the Canadian wilderness. His journey begins in the Boreal Forest at the heart of Canada, where he examines and demonstrates the survival skills of the aboriginal people of the territory. Episode 1 was filmed in Prince Albert National Park, Episode 2 was filmed along the French River in Ontario and Episode 6 was filmed in British Columbia.

Northern Wilderness is Ray Mears at his absolute best, as he heads into the wilds of Canada for an epic series that combines landscape, bushcraft, history and adventure. This series taps into Ray's passion for a land he knows intimately - a land where knowledge of Bushcraft isn't just desirable, it's essential. Ray follows in the footsteps of British pioneers, takes the time to learn crafts from locals and adapts to his surroundings. 

Watch the full episodes below.

Mears also released a book of the same title:

Northern Wilderness is the latest book from Ray Mears, written to accompany his BBC series of the same name, which aired on BBC2, October 2009.
Northern Wilderness is a stunning celebration of one of earth's great wildernesses. Ray Mears journeys on foot, by canoe and by snowshoe through mountains, forests, tundra and ice in a land where roads are still scarce.
He explores the vast Boreal Forest and its rich animal life from beavers to bears. He travels across the Hudson Bay by canoe, and tells the story of the fur trade and trappers who traded with the hat manufacturers of England. Ray follows the paths of the great early northern explorers, Samuel Hearne and David Thompson, who survived through their knowledge of what we now call bushcraft, as they trekked across the tundra and the Rocky Mountains. He explores the frozen north and learns the ways of the Inuit, who teach him how to combat snow blindness and build shelter.
This book is rich in bushcraft, as Ray explains the unique survival techniques of the Native Canadians and the Inuit, as well as how the prospectors in the gold rush used bushcraft skills to survive in this inhospitable but awesome landscape. 

Episode 1 - The Forgotten Forest
Part 1 of 6

Part 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Ray explores the wonder of this special place, giving insight as to how the eco system works, forest survival and traditional crafts. He sees how different it is in late summer and winter, learns about the interdependence of all things in the forest and unlocks the secrets of this forgotten place. 

Episode 2 - The Company That Build A Country

Part 1 of 6

Part 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Ray explores the skills needed by those who worked for the HBC. Camping on an old fur trade river he takes a birch bark canoe through rapids for the first time ever and meets up with the crew of a 36 foot birch bark canoe – an impressive sight on any waterway, but of special significance on an artery of the fur trade. 

Episode 3 - The Unknown Explorer

Part 1 of 6

Part 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

For Ray Mears there is one man who stands above all others in the story of the exploration of Canada. That man is Samuel Hearne. In learning to travel using first nations’ skills he set the template for the successful exploration of Canada’s wilderness. Hearne’s story is defined by hardship and adventure, a truly inspiring tale made all the more powerful by the journal he left as a legacy. 

Episode 4 - In Arctic Footsteps

Part 1 of 6

Part 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Ray Mears follows in John Rae’s footsteps to tell the story of how he found the North West passage – the holy grail of nineteenth century exploration that would open up a whole new trading route to the far east. 

Episode 5 - Koo Koo Sint "The Star Gazer" FULL Episode in one.

Ray explores David Thompson’s footsteps across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast. He draws on a new set of bushcraft skills and local knowledge, in particular Ray explores the mapping techniques used by Thompson. 

Episode 6 - Journey's End

The unique cultures, skills and landscape of Canada’s far west make it a rich and diverse land. This is a land of cedar boxes, steam-bent fish hooks and dug out canoes. A place where totem poles once dominated the landscape and the people relied on the sea. Ray Mears explores the bushcraft, nature and traditions and finds out how the first nations descendants play their part in modern Canada. 

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