Jem Stansfield talks

Which of the problems in the Wild Thing series did you find the most disturbing?

Helping the otters was probably the job that tugged my heartstrings the hardest. These animals had only recently ventured back to what was an industrial landscape and they were desperately trying to build a stable population, but having to cross a busy section of the A1 meant that many of their cubs didn't reach maturity.

As the otters seemed to be only just hanging in there, I felt a particular urgency to get them across the road safely. It felt that any one animal that didn't make it could have put an end to breeding otters in that area. On top of that, each otter invests so much in its young, that it really does feel very sad if it all comes to nothing.

What was your favourite solution in the whole Wild Thing series?

This would have to be the bridge that we put up for the dormice to connect two populations that had become split by a new road. Because dormice only travel in the tree tops, their populations remain completely split if roads are built through their woodland.

Initially I was sceptical about the concept, let alone actually building it. But Sasha's knowledge of genetics convinced me that was it needed and that it would only require one dormouse a year to cross the bridge and mate in order to keep the gene pools sufficiently diverse. So the bridge of love, as we called it, made a significant difference to the survivability of the dormice populations on both sides of the road.

I liked the fact that it was such an enormous construction for such a tiny creature and that we were well into unchartered territory with this kind of conservation work.

The man from the Highways Agency who gave his approval, was particularly important because it meant that this utterly new design could become a point of reference. Hopefully, it will lead to similar or even better projects connecting dormice communities split by other road schemes.

The guys at the quarry were also great to work with and I'd particularly like to thank Brian for the help he gave us.

What was your favourite build?

The hibernaculum for adders may well have been my fave build. This isn't because it stretched me particularly from an engineering point of view. But I loved just being out there in all weathers in that part of Cumbria. In a very basic way, I like digging and carrying. Being out in the fresh air with snow on the mountains was nothing short of great.

What was your most frustrating build?

Making the acoustic reflectors to keep deer off the A35 was technically pretty challenging. New electronics often bring a few unwanted headaches, but I was prepared for that. What I wasn't ready for was just how busy that section of road would be. I fully expected the New Forest to be a fairly tranquil part of the world. Spending days working on the edge of the A35 with constant high-speed traffic just feet away really got on my nerves. It was just one of those things I couldn't get used to. A great job to have done but not one I'd really relish doing again!

What is your favourite animal?

The sheep dog. I used to round up sheep in the Australian desert and I loved the dog I worked with. I really liked how you could pretty much see it smile when it was happy.

What is the most exciting wild experience you have ever had?

When we were building the new hibernaculum for adders up in Cumbria, Johnnie (one of the lads on the production) and I sneaked off to explore and look for wild snakes. We came through some bracken to a south-facing bank near a stream and right there was a big fat adder coiled up basking in the sun. It looked up at us and turned and slid silently back into its burrow. I'd never seen a proper wild snake before and it was just amazing to see one then.

Were you a wildlife enthusiast before the show?

I think it would be hard not to be inspired by the natural world. For years, I've built all manner of machines and structures for a living and although they rarely compare in subtly and efficiency with what's been created by millions of years of evolution, they're sometimes inspired by it.

Nature has often been a great place to look for answers to tricky engineering problems. It's always easier to make a slightly different version of something that's already been working well for years.

Making this show has been an absolute privilege for me. I've always found a deep satisfaction in creating new things, but I've rarely found work where I've been able to learn so much about nature as well as engineering.

My involvement in this production has been pretty intense but I got to go to places in this country that I'd never have thought of going, to see animals I'm sure I'd never have seen, and to learn from people who have such fascinating knowledge of things that I knew so little about.

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