Janice and Michael Baker, whose son Matt Baker presents BBC TV’s Countryfile, have shown that a love of the environment runs deep in the family by pledging to improve an 8 hectare (20 acre) ancient wood on their organic sheep farm near Tow Law for species like Pied Flycatcher and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

Matt Baker, from BBC TV?s Countryfile, in woods on his parents farm, near Tow Law, Co.Durham, that are set to benefit from a Forestry Commission grant to help woodland birds.

They have been awarded a £9,000 Forestry Commission grant over three years under the English Woodland Grant Scheme to allow them to create a better habitat for seven bird species under a pioneering joint initiative with the RSPB.

The A68 corridor through County Durham and Northumberland is a hotspot for breeding woodland birds and under the scheme generous grants are available to land owners and managers to carry out improvements.

Work on Janice and Michael’s farm will include providing better access to the wood, planting native trees, carrying out coppicing, cutting back overgrown holly, creating open spaces for natural regeneration, ring barking to provide more dead wood and the erection of different types of bird boxes suitable for different species – all measures known to help endangered birds found locally.

Janice Baker said: “Redstart, wood warbler and willow tit are names which just trip off the tongue. They are such wonderful birds so evocative of the English
countryside that to loose them would be unthinkable. That’s why we want to do whatever we can to nurture a better habitat. When you stand beneath one of our 400 year old oak trees you realise that we are only custodians of the landscape. We want to hand on a better place to future generations and make sure the dawn chorus retains its power to inspire.”

Son Matt was brought up on the farm and is a former Blue Peter Presenter and also works on BBC Radio 4′s Open Country. Backing the scheme he said: “To stand in our ancient woodland is a magical experience. Mum and Dad have always been keen to promote wildlife on the farm, having already planted over 3000 hedging plants and trees over the last 10 years. Its great the Forestry Commission are now helping with this grant to enable them to manage the woodland in a positive fashion.”

Work will start this year and a management plan for the wood has been agreed. Mike Riley, from the Forestry Commission, added: “The wood is tucked away in a quiet part of County Durham in an area once dominated by coal mining. Ancient woods like these are vital for wildlife and the more we can enhance the habitat and link together fragmented woodland the more benefit there will be. The North East was the first region in England to target grants at woodland birds in decline. People like Janice and Mike are helping us set the pace in reversing the fortunes of these marvellous creatures.”

Wild birds are a good indicator of the general health of the countryside and have been chosen as one of the Government’s 15 headline indicators of progress towards sustainable development. However, the UK’s woodland bird population as a whole has fallen by 20 per cent in the last 25 years. Some species, such as the Lesser Redpoll and Willow Tit, have crashed by more than 50 per cent since the late 1960s.

The Forestry Commission and RSPB launched its new woodland birds grant scheme in North East England in 2008 to fund conservation work to help 14 vulnerable woodland species which face an uncertain future. The initiative was based on new mapping data compiled by the Forestry Commission, RSPB, British Trust for Ornithology and Natural England which identified breeding “hotspots” in the region for certain birds. This allows grants to be selectively focused, carrying out specific improvements at certain species where they are known to occur.