Outlook Mixtape: Into the Woods

Four stories from the Outlook archive about people whose lives have been shaped, transformed or completely upended by woodlands and trees.

When environmentalist Nate Madsen found that a grove of giant redwoods in Freshwater Creek Forest, California, was going to be logged, he decided to act. He climbed up a tree - which he named Mariah - and ended up living on its branches for more than two years to prevent it from being felled.

Next, we head to Pemba, part of the Zanzibar archipelago off the east coast of Africa. It's known as the Green Island but by the end of the 20th century significant parts of its forest were degraded or gone altogether. In 2018, Matthew Banister spoke to Mbarouk Mussa Omar, a man who set out to bring the forest back, though it wasn't exactly the career Mbarouk had imagined for himself.

Nalini Nadkarni is a tree canopy scientist, which means she spends her time dangling off branches secured by mountain climbing equipment in places such as Costa Rica. But Nalini's career nearly came crashing to an end when she fell from a tree. In 2019 she told Jo Fidgen how she recovered and returned to climbing trees.

In 2024 Andrea Kennedy spoke to Jair Candor, a Brazilian who moved into the Amazon when he was a child and never really left. For decades, Jair has been trying to ensure that the indigenous groups in the rainforests of Matto Grosso and elsewhere can continue their unique kind of existence.

Presenter: Asya Fouks
Compilation producer: Radek Boschetty

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: A transparent 60-minute cassette tape on a white background with a white label with the words: The Outlook Mixtape. Credit: Getty Images)