BBC: Better world with wood?

Being in nature has benefits for our physial and mental health, so wouldn't it be good if instead of giving you a bottle of pills, your doctor recommended spending time in nature?

That's an interesting idea, Neil. Being outdoors always makes me feel better, and in Japan there's even a world for it- shinrin- yoku-  translated into English as forest bathing. Forest bathing is a type of relaxation that involves being calm and quiet amongst the trees and using all your senses to observe nature around you, whilst breathing deeply.

It sounds wonderful, Bethl in this programme, we'll be hearing how one of the world's oldest building materials, wood, is being used in new ways to build a greener future. And, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well. 

Great, but first I have a question for you, Neil. Like many other countries, Britan used to be covered in trees. In Roman times, it's estimated that as much as 40% of the land was forest. Trees provided wood, the building material needed for many things including buildings, funiture, ans ships. So how many trees do you think were needed to build the HMS Victory. Nelson's famous ship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805? Was it:

a) 4,000 trees? b) 5,000 trees? or, c) 6,000 trees?

Well, I have no idea. But I'll guess it was 5,000 trees. 

Ok, Neil, I'll reveal the correct answer at the end of the programme. Throughout history, buildings in Britan have been made of timber, trees that are grown so their wood can be used as a building material. But in modern times, this has mostly been done by man-made-materials-brick, concrete and stell. One of those arguing for a return to wood is architect, Micheal Ramage, talking here to BBC Radio 4 programme, Rare Earth:

There is some compelling evidence to show that children in schools made of wood learn better...they have greater concentration, lower stress, lower heartbeats. And there's compelling evidence to show that patients in hospitals recover better in both rooms made of wood or other natural materials, and also in rooms that have views of nature out the windows. 

Micheal believes there is compelling evidence for the health benefits of wood. If something is compelling, it's so convincing that you believe it. As evidence, he gives examples- that wooden schools help children learn. 

But there's another compelling reason to build with wood- the carbon which wood captures helps combat climate change. It's why many governments around the world want to replace the carbon intensive production of concrete and steel with bio-based materials like wood. 

Here's architect, Micheal Ramage, again, describing the possibilites of wooden buildings to BBC Radio 4's, Rare Earth:

We look at the possibilites of building with wood and other materials we can grow- bamboo, hemp, flax...and how we can use the intelligently as replacements for steel and concrete in the world that we create around us. And we've looked at skyscrapers, we've looked at housing, we've looked at schools, and there's a whole range of building that we can build if we use wood well. 

Micheal builds with natural matrials which can be sustained grown, including bamboo and hemp- a family of plants which are used to make many products such as rope and cloth. He thinks these natural, bio-based materials will work if they are used intelligently- in a clever, intelligent way.

A good example of this is plywood, the first new material in construction since the invention of reinforced concrete 100 years ago. Tests prove that plywod made from layers of pine, which are ladid crossways and then glued together, is as strong as steel, it's already been used to build skyscrapers, the very tall modern buildings you often see in cities- as 85 meters high skyscraper in Norway, and an even taller one, at 87 meters the world's tallest , in Milwaukee, USA.

Strong, relaxing and eco-friendly- it seems that building with wood is good for the future as well as the past, which reminds me of my question, Neil.