Reclaiming Britain’s Wild Heart | The Celtic Rainforest with Robin & Merlin Hanbury-Tenison | Ep 27

Live Free Ride Free with Rupert Isaacson

🚨 Support the Cornwall Rainforest Research Station: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-cornwall-rainforest-comm

Robin and Merlin Hanbury-Tenison are currently raising funds to build the UK's first Atlantic rainforest research station through their Thousand Year Trust. This station will serve as a hub for groundbreaking studies into biodiversity, climate resilience, and the mental health benefits of temperate forests. The crowdfunder is live until May 21st, 2025, and donations will be matched by Aviva—with additional matched funding unlocked if the target is reached.

Legendary explorer and indigenous rights activist Robin Hanbury-Tenison OBE, DL, DSc, DHc, MA, FLS, FRGS, and his son Merlin Hanbury-Tenison—veteran, conservationist, and author—join Rupert Isaacson for a deeply hopeful, multigenerational conversation about the revival of Britain’s ancient rainforests. From leading Britain’s largest-ever scientific expedition into the Borneo rainforest, to launching the UK’s first Atlantic temperate rainforest research station, the Hanbury-Tenisons are weaving together indigenous wisdom, military resilience, climate science, and future-forward ecology. This wide-ranging episode explores rewilding, cultural change, land access, trauma recovery, and how to heal both people and the land—together.

🌿 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Cracking the Rainforest Code (Starts at [00:03:03]) Robin reveals how his Borneo expedition uncovered the self-contained nutrient cycle of tropical rainforests and why this discovery matters more than ever.
• Britain Was a Rainforest (Starts at [00:08:00]) Merlin explains how 20% of the UK was once covered by rainforest, and why reclaiming that heritage is vital to the nation’s identity and ecology.
• Healing in the Forest (Starts at [00:06:00]) Hear how Merlin, his wife Lizzie, and Robin himself all found profound healing from trauma and illness within their patch of Atlantic rainforest in Cornwall.
• The Sheep Problem (Starts at [00:16:00]) The surprising story of how non-native sheep transformed Britain's landscapes—and how that continues to affect biodiversity today.
• The Rewilded Farm: Cabilla Cornwall (Starts at [00:21:21]) Merlin describes transforming a 250-acre family farm into a working model of rainforest restoration and regenerative agroforestry.
• A Blueprint for Upland Farming’s Future (Starts at [00:22:00]) Can a small-scale reforestation project create scalable, profitable farming solutions for the next generation? Merlin thinks so.
• The Economic Case for Rewilding (Starts at [00:24:00]) Carbon markets, ecotourism, and a post-Brexit subsidy system: How today’s farmers can make more money from forest than from sheep.
• Access and Culture (Starts at [00:27:00]) Robin and Merlin reflect on how to balance ecological restoration with public access, cultural heritage, and resistance to change.
• From Survival International to the Thousand Year Trust (Starts at [00:52:00]) Robin and Merlin connect the dots between indigenous wisdom and rewilding Britain—from the Kalahari to Cornwall.
• An Optimist’s Vision of 3025 (Starts at [01:00:00]) Merlin lays out two possible futures for humanity: a Mad Max apocalypse or a thriving rewilded world. He believes we can choose the latter.

🌲 Memorable Moments from the Episode:

• Merlin reveals how beavers and temperate rainforest help prevent flooding, drought, and mental health decline ([00:08:00])
• Robin recalls telling Margaret Thatcher the truth about tropical deforestation—and nearly getting handbagged for it ([00:13:05])
• Rupert imagines a British rainforest safari system, with wolves, lynx, and eco-lodges connecting restored farms ([00:48:00])
• Robin advocates for riding horses through a rewilded Britain as the most profound way to experience the land ([00:57:00])
• Merlin explains how spending 30 minutes in a temperate rainforest can drop your cortisol levels for two weeks ([01:13:00])

Learn more about Robin Hanbury-Tenison:

• Website: https://www.robinsbooks.co.uk

Learn more about Merlin Hanbury-Tenison:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merlin-hanbury-tenison-a069b636
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merlinhanburytenison

Follow the Thousand Year Trust:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thousandyeartrust
• Website: https://www.thousandyeartrust.org

Visit Cabilla Cornwall:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cabillacornwall
• Website: https://www.cabillacornwall.com

Read Merlin’s new book:

• Our Oaken Bones: Reviving a Family, a Farm and Britain’s Ancient Rainforests: https://amzn.to/3GvStaj

See All of Rupert’s Programs and Shows:

• Website: https://rupertisaacson.com

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