Name: Building a better world with wood? ⏲️ 6 Minute English
Uploaded: 2026-02-11T07:26:52.000Z
Duration: 6 min 22 s
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Six Minute English from BBCLearningEnglish.com hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.

Being in nature has benefits for our physical 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?

Being outdoors always makes me feel better.

And in Japan there's even a word 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.

In this program, 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.

But first, I have a question for you, Neil.

Britain 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, furniture and 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, 4000 trees, B 5000 trees or C 6000 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 Britain 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 brick, concrete and steel.

One of those arguing for a return to wood is architect Michael 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 window.

Michael 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 Michael Ramage again describing the possibilities of wooden buildings to BBC Radio 4's Rare Earth.

We look at the possibilities of building with wood and other materials we can grow bamboo, hemp, flax and how we can use them 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 are a whole range of buildings that we can build if we use wood.

Well, Michael builds with natural materials which can be sustainably 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 and 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 plywood, made from layers of pine which are laid 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.

An 85 meter high skyscraper in Norway and an even Taller 1 at 87 meters, the world's tallest in Milwaukee, USA.

It seems that building with wood is good for the future as well as the past.

You asked me how many trees were used as timber for Nelson's famous warship HMS Victory, and

I guessed it was 5,000, which was close, but the wrong answer, I'm afraid.

It was Even more around 6,000 trees, most of which were oak, with some timbers over half a metre thick.

Okay, let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt in this program, starting with forest bathing, being in nature and immersing your senses in the experience for its physical and mental health benefits.

Timber is trees grown, so the wood can be used for building.

If an argument or evidence is compelling, it's strong, convincing and believable.

The adverb intelligently means done in a way showing intelligence and skill.

Hemp is a family of plants, some of which are used to make rope and strong cloth.

And finally, a skyscraper is a very tall modern building, usually in a city.

But remember to join us again next time for more trending topics and useful vocabulary here at 6 Minute English.

6 Minute English from BBCLearningEnglish.com.