We're in one of the last strongholds of an animal that's already disappeared from much of the UK hope.

But it looks like another great it, but I'm not sure, actually, no.

Well, that's it, Then, to monitor and count the birds, the Net threw up.

The first to be untangled is a blue tit taken to the high to be measured rings and released 64 in good condition.

But it's the willow tex we're looking for.

Okay, we'll let this bird go.

Okay, Ready?

The charming.

They're endearing.

They inhabit places that you know.

People see his wastelands, and they're really kind of iconic species for the Serie of the world's Sophie's job is trying to save the willow text.

It's almost under threat.

Native bird with numbers down more than 90% in the last half a century planned.

A chest to root is a couple of miles from this reserve near Barnsley.

Other sites where the willow tit survives our closer.

Still, for your worries, extinction is a real possibility.

Well, it's it's needs dump scrubby young woodland, and this is often seen as wasteland in a very little conservation value.

A report out today claims to show the full environmental impact of the proposed A chest to root.

It warns 100 and eight ancient woodlands would be affected on that.

In all, more than 600 wildlife sites across England's will be damaged, including sites of special scientific interest on wildlife refuges that are protected by law as well as the willow tit.

The report says Many of Britain's best loved on most endangered species will be threatened.

Creatures like barn owls head shocks the water of old white Claude crayfish and harvest mice.

We've traveled south to Nottinghamshire.

This river will go under where the leads branch of HS two goes over the scale of the impact of HS to unprecedented environmental damage.

And when you put it into the context of losing places like this really valuable floodplain meadows wonderful for a whole range of species.

You think about that in the whole scale of of England.

Then you get a real sense that government need to be thinking much bigger and better about what they do for nature.

I mean, they say they're gonna plant trees, they're gonna have a green corridor going up alongside a chest to good enough.

It's no.

We want them to be much more ambitious, and we want the government to stop and rethink this project and really take the natural world into account, according to a chess to the figures in today's reporter.

Overstated and inaccurate, they say the new line will come with an unprecedented program of habitat creation.

So here will be looking at viaducts um, somewhere in the region of 20 meters above ground level, tearing way over the top of these trees and running with promises of new green spaces, aren't winning over people we met to the country park on the outskirts of lead.

The only environmental mitigation that we're likely to see here is that if a pond is removed upon this putting somewhere else on def, a 50 60 year old oak is cut down, a tree is planted somewhere else needs to be accountable and relevant to the communities that is going through, and it needs to involve them in how it works on at the moment you've got a scheme which is created by mandarins in Whitehall on Dhe, the community's air seen a sort of collateral damage.

Right now, HS two is under review.

Its supporters say it'll take cars off the roads and cut air travel.

It's haters say it's a waste of many billions.

But for some of the battle of climate crisis, the financial cost is not the biggest factor.

Well, joining me now environmental campaigner Chris Packham and director of the Northern powerhouse partnership Henry Morrison.

Thanks for coming on the both of you.

Let me start with you, Henry.

I guess the problem with a Chester is it's such a long project.

It's so drawn out that issues catch up with you, like the fact that we're now much more worried about the planet than we were when the project started.

I think the key answer to that is that the reality is we are in a climate crisis here in the northern powerhouse were absolutely committed to read to dealing with those environmental challenges, as well as to rebalance the economy on dhe.

If you were to do the alternatives to a justice, that's the bills.

More work, no motorways, more roads they generate, even with electric vehicles because of H E V s, significantly more carbon.

And what HST will do is take cars and Lorries off the roads.

Help us to reduce the amount of carbon emitting from our transport.

Because people like Chris and other environmentalists need to recognize that road projects are going to do a lot more damage if we have to go to more roads to get people around the North in the Midlands than HS two will do.

And this scheme has Bean optimized to it absolute and degree to mitigate the environmental impact.

Okay, I think that we need to do the same on all the major infrastructure projects in the UK because I think the HS two compares very favorably on that school.

All right, Chris, this is this is getting people out to their cars and out of their Lorries, perhaps, and onto the trains, which are much better for the environment.

Your response?

What?

Well, that's the spin that is presented.

But unfortunately, when you look into the detail of HS two and what it will facilitate, it's not that at all.

It's a project that won't be carbon neutral for many decades.

It's a project which is designed to enhance airport expansion on whilst we clearly have to invest in sustainable green infrastructure, andare on improved while network There's no ambiguity about that at all.

This is not a project that's been designed.

With that in mind, I think that comes back to your original point.

This is an old idea with old technologies, which are out of date.

Our government has declared a climate and environment emergency, and therefore we think that this project needs to be rethought.

We need to rethink HS two to make it compatible with our contemporary targets.

But one of the reasons why it's so expensive is precisely apparently because of the measures they've taken, like digging a tunnel under the Children's to protect them.

You know, I think that one of the reasons why it's it's so expensive is that this was designed to be a very high speed rail network.

The speed has been decreased.

The capacity to carry passengers has been decreased.

The efficacy of the whole thing has been decreased.

What's the environmental damage?

It continues to escalate.

Now we've heard in your report about how wildlife will be impacted.

But what we've got to think is that projects of this scale are having a global impact on Henry would have been watching the television watching Australia burn watching Indonesian Flood, Hearing your weather report at the top of the program, which has told us that we've had the consistently highest levels of temperature here in the UK throughout last year and particularly in December.

The climate crisis is coming home and it's going to bring a crisis to bear on the U.

K.

We have a responsibility on an obligation to make sure that this project is rethought with the environment critically in mind.

It's not just about lost.

It's about the reality of tomorrow.

Let's give Henry chance to Islam.

Isn't the simple truth nowadays in the year 2020 that there are simply issues that are more important than industrial growth on the climate and our planet are two of them?

Hello.

Yeah.

So you Henry, I think we've lost your audio.

Sandy, we've lost the audio.

We'll try and get back to the second.

Chris, let me turn to you that while we try and fix the line I mean, are you then saying Let me turn the restaurant are used effectively saying that any kind of industrial growth that involves infrastructure projects is going to be off the table in the near future.

No, not at all.

I think if HS two were offering realistic mitigation, then we would be far more content as conservationists and environmentalists.

But the mitigation that has been offered is frankly, in contemporary terms.

It's it's embarrassing.

It's absolutely embarrassing.

If there is no point in thinking that you can offer to plant seven million saplings, Little speaks of trees this big, which will probably the vast majority of which will never reach maturity to replace ancient woodland.

Okay, it is just not on the table.

I think we've got Henry back on the line.

Had me let me ask your response to that was embarrassing your mitigation.

It's no embarrassing.

So I I care about ancient woodland.

But less than 1 10/1000 of the UK is ancient woodland is going to be impacted by HS two, and I'm afraid the report today from the Trust has said in the package is flagrantly alarmist, complex.

All the figures wrong on HS two Limited actually are not necessarily could be depended on everything, and the project has got more expensive.

But the reason for that is, was a leader Tune.

Your questions to Chris is because they've done everything they can to minimize the impact on the environment by ripping up this project and instead, for instance, expanding existing rail routes.

Many of those are like the one I'm standing in front of now border onto other wildlife areas and to actually expanding the rail networks.

Existing routes, rather than building a new one, would have a higher world life impact.

So I think Chris needs to stop being so alarmist.

Understand that we have got a climate crisis.

I absolutely want to address the crisis.

We also need to deal with the huge regional inequality in this country which air behind so many of the challenges that we face in our society on.

If we're going to do that whilst we address the climate crisis, we need to electricity.

We need to build northern powerhouse rail on dhe on.

Both major political parties need to understands that.

Okay, the only way that we can address both our environmental on our massive economic challenges is by doing it.

Okay, gentle move no time.

And I apologize for the line issues early on.

Henry Morris and Chris back in.

Thank you very much indeed.