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The vast open skies of Wiltshire’s Salisbury Plain are home to one of the England’s most successful conservation projects.  David Waters has spent the past twenty years gradually reintroducing the world’s largest flying bird back to its native home on Wiltshire’s chalk downlands. The Great Bustard!  John Craven meets David at the project’s HQ, against a backdrop of visible MoD manoeuvres.

Then, with project scientist Ruth or ‘Mummy Bustard’, John helps to feed the latest batch of chicks as they prepare to fly the nest. But they have to get in to character - donning dehumanisation suits before they can get anywhere near the chicks. These help keep the birds’ behaviour as wild as possible. 

We’ve talked about safety on farms quite a few times on Countryfile, but the numbers of those hurt and even killed are still too high.  The latest figures on farm deaths from the Health and Safety Executive show that in the past year 27 agricultural workers have died in work accidents. What’s even more shocking is that agricultural workers make up just 1% of our national workforce but account for a massive 20% of all deaths.  

Charlotte Smith meets some people who know all too well how a careless mistake can have a lifelong impact.

There’s a real buzz in the grounds of Marlborough College as Anita Rani pays a visit to the UK’s first international Gathering of Young Beekeepers. Hosted by the Association of British Beekeepers, the convention has participants from 22 different countries – and none of them are a day over 16! The youngsters are put to the test in a series of practical and mental challenges such as identifying and marking a male drone bee; building hive frames and making old-fashioned skep beehives.  With the average age of a beekeeper being 66, these are invaluable skills for our future, worldwide. 

At the foot of the Marlborough Downs, John meets artisan Polly Nicholson. She is using the rich, fertile soils not to grow wheat or corn, but seasonal and old varieties of English flowers. This is farmland turned flower fields, and is part of a growing trend for traditional British blooms. 

Imported flowers are often grown intensively, non-organically and then flown half way around the world to British buyers. Polly has established a flower farm with environmental welfare at its heart. She uses everything from the fringes of the stream at the edge of her field for marsh flowers; to the hedgerows and trees to provide interesting species not usually seen in conventional bunches of flowers. 

The Countryfile Team have decided to set Anita a little challenge, to up her rural credentials! Her mission is to learn how to herd ducks with dogs under the watchful eye of Stuart Barnes. This isn’t just a jolly though – Anita’s real test will be putting her skills into practice in front of a live audience at Countryfile Live.

Stuart uses rescue Collies to explain dog behaviour, dog-training and psychology. They show their skill by herding a flock of fast-moving flightless Indian Runner ducks that live with the dogs and are very used to them. They are also rescue animals.  Being male and skinny they can’t lay eggs and don’t make for good eating. But they do provide great entertainment!

Adam Henson is in Lancashire. Sheep have been a mainstay of British agriculture for centuries. Their wool and meat have kept many a farmer in business - but there’s one thing that’s never been not made much of - their milk. 

Simon Stott has been at the forefront of a quiet revolution in British farming for nearly a decade. He runs a co-operative of farmers producing sheep’s milk. They’re shaking up the world of dairy with their sheep’s milk yoghurt and cheese. And it’s so tasty, Adam could eat it till the ‘sheep come home’!

Anita’s in the woodlands that border Marlborough College, where the River Kennet runs through the rather lovely sounding ‘Treacle Bolly’. The Kennet is one of England's most important chalk streams. At 45 miles long, it is the largest tributary of the Thames and in summer months contributes up to half its flow.

But, like many rivers in the south of England, it’s running drier than ever, a victim of high demand for water and more than a year of below average rainfall. Anita meets the Action for the River Kennet group. She’ll pull on some waders to help out the volunteers working hard to keep this valuable chalk stream flowing.