The "greening" of Ascension Island is simply a most amazing story. Cheers to Darwin and Hooker !

I was lucky enough to spend 4 years on Asi, a beautiful place, it truly is the Jewel of the South Atlantic and the world's best kept secret.

@lindaseru2401

5 жыл бұрын

Gary Preston - from Fiji 1981ish?

@stanleybuchan4610

3 жыл бұрын

Well said Gary.

@deepbludude4697

2 жыл бұрын

Same, ive worled on every continent and many many little islands, but Ascension was my fav place in the 80s

@KumarKumar-kq3qc

Жыл бұрын

Hi sir hello i want to come india to Ascension Island is it possible sir i love Ascension Island

Ascension, like Diego Garcia, are simply strategic assets that possess little societal, historical or cultural value other than sites from which to extend influence and perform operations in secret on a remote setting. The British government will never give up this vital island, for years it was used as a stop over for flights to and from the Falklands. We owe it to communities of St Helena, Tristan and The Falklands to maintain a travel corridor to the UK without having to stop at a foreign airport. The government would be mad to give away any of our South Atlantic acquisitions.

I understand that the introduced plants were able to survive beautifully by trapping the rain at the highest elevation and formed the ecosystems necessary for survival down the mountain. How did it make water available to the humans trying to inhabit the island? Is enough rain stopped by the trees to fall to the ground that form streams that flow down to the lower land? I want to know so much more!

My dad was there in the 1980s (I think) working on the USN's communication antennas. I think he had more fun hanging out with officers from both British and American navies, I don't remember him talking much about the landscape. It looks really interesting.

How wonderfully beautiful and telling, what plants will do with the most natural soils and skies ❤

This is an amazing island. The plants and other trees are amazing. great job friend.

I love these terraforming stories

One of the remaining bits and pieces of the greatest empire in world history - the British Empire! Three big cheers for the Brits for allowing its former colony of America to make use of this island/base.

@Ronbo1948

3 жыл бұрын

@lindowan123 I stand corrected! The sun will never set on the British Empire...It's no mistake that of the top ten countries in the world, the majority of them were former British colonies like America. Great Britain: " The Land of Hope and Glory, the Mother of the Free..."

the norfolk island pine was never really used for a mast because it wasn't resilient enough...it was noted by James Cook that they were straight enough to be used as masts and yard but it was later discovered that like most pine woods just proved to be to soft but could be used as a temporary

@oldfrogdivin8534

8 жыл бұрын

The Norfolk pines on Ascension made an outstanding place to drink copious amounts of Bonesfarm and Capt Morgans!

@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367

3 жыл бұрын

its harder than any pine.. the issue was not it being "soft" its that like a pine it has radial knots down its trunk.. that and vastly superior mountian eyucalypts in tasmania and sydney were used as mountain ash and others. these trees have mostly a bare trunk and a small leafed area at the top. norfolk pines were used for ship building more than masts

thank you for making this documentary...

This island due to it's location, will have sunshine for 10hrs most days. At an initial high upfront cost, put in several solar power collectors and some wind turbines. These are to power a large scale desalinisation plant. This would supply fresh water to passing ships , but can also irrigate the land to grow tropical fruits & vegetables for others to buy.

@stephennelmes2537

4 жыл бұрын

Ships make their own water via reverse osmosis plants.

@williamfulgham2010

4 жыл бұрын

You have just described the the desalinization plant that operates on the island for the military, the BBC, and all the research organizations and support groups that live there. The UK government operates diesel engine generators. There is some solar power used for outlying devices and remote radio communication repeaters and Etc.

@mybrotherkeeper1484

2 жыл бұрын

@@williamfulgham2010 thankful they thought of the obvious, because sometimes I wonder….

Good blue print for terra forming Mars!

@vermicelledecheval5219

3 жыл бұрын

And Venus as well... Although both are infinite challenges to go through compared to this. But it shows humans being pro-creators and promotors of life rather than mindless destroyers we are at the time being...

@AmanVerma-qh9jv

Жыл бұрын

There's not even the air present on Mars unlike this planet :(

@rogerdodger8813

Жыл бұрын

@@AmanVerma-qh9jv terra forming will take care of that!

That was so awesome Thank you! :) I loved it!

@paulhoskin5353

8 жыл бұрын

+padkirsch I agree. Fantastic. I want to go and hike there now.

Lovely, thank you.

I was here a few days after the voyage back from the Falklands on SS Uganda! I went NUT BROWN! It is SCORCHIO! Dossing around at Wide-awake airfield awesome mega bake off!

What a lovely place.

very interesting! thank you

An excellent video. Thank you.

Indeed the trees bestow the greatest ,the most thrilling prettiness upon the Earth's landscape ! This landscape of this middle atlantic island is so spellbindlgy pretty with the trees on it !!!

I think this is different footage and commentary than was on the TV series, great to get a bit extra.

I ran the 'Due Pond Run' with the TA Territorial Army long ago, you touch your foot in the sea at the Town below & run, well, walk as you climb higher right to the top at the Due Pond, an experience I can tell you, I was last & most unfit 1.58hr, but it was an achievement, Ascension Island is an experience you will never forget,,worth having a good wonder round

@OldhamSteve52

10 ай бұрын

If I remember well Deon McNeilly set the record around 1985, he was NI cross country champion at one time. One of the great RAF runners of the 80’s.

@paulbutterworthbillericay

10 ай бұрын

@OldhamSteve52 Well, I reckoned he enjoyed it, all I remember is jogging up hill for 2 hours, the Army brass saying can't let the side down, must have been 27°c, I can understand folk driving up there lol

A delight. I wanted more.

Very interesting, thanks

your book is amazing, I am up to Bermuda. great photos,

Beautiful place

Also its amazing that plants "fix" energy from the sun onto the earth, and increase the soil of the Planet, thicker and thicker, as it decays.

Awesome beautiful island

Absolutely incredible story 😮😊

Landed to refuel in 1990 on return from 4 months at RAF MPA. Happy days.

I love this channel community best side of youtube

Did a small stint there , before going to the Falklands.

@billypoppins9138

5 жыл бұрын

Falklands from when I was a kid.

@alisonhilll4317

4 жыл бұрын

@@billypoppins9138 So that makes you 6 now does it ? .

@luciano2003.

3 жыл бұрын

Malvinas* 🇦🇷👍🏻

@raquelalvarez296

2 жыл бұрын

@@luciano2003. COMO ESTOS INGLESES PLANTARON TODO ESA VEGUETACION CLARO ATRAVES DEL TIEMPO SE FUE EXTENDIENDO SIEMPRE EN DESARROLLO REINO UNIDO TERRITORIOS DE ULTRAMAR QUE SERIA OCCIDENTE SIN UK PILAR XXI

@harryp6484

2 жыл бұрын

@@luciano2003. nah get good

3:10 imaginary microphone

@patdonnelly9392

4 жыл бұрын

haha...great call! I didn't noticed that first time around.

Awesome 💙

The "Norfolk Island Pines" shown here are actually Cook Island Pines (Araucaria columnaris, not A. heterophylla)

@douglemmikey1082

6 жыл бұрын

You are correct. I just checked that.

@alecblunden8615

4 жыл бұрын

@Bill Carson The Aracurias are a different and rather limited species - the Bunya Pine, Hoop Pine, Norfolk and Cook island Pines - all from Oceana /Australia - and, interestingly the South American Monkey Puzzle trees, indicating a distant link between Oceania etc and South America. None are "Pines" - and, as mentioned above, none are suitable for masts.

Great video, but you failed to inform us on the success or other wise of the attempt to get water.

Fascinating concept. I understand how plants and trees will capture moisture from the atmosphere, but how does it supply enough water to provide water for the human inhabitants

I spent some time there back in 1967 or 68 with aerospace rescue and recovery

@tomfrench5189

3 жыл бұрын

That's awesome, why were you there, how was it?

I love your video's Love from Pakistan

Interesting. I looked it up because it's listed as part of a surveillance network. Presumably, a ground dish run by the RAF at their base. A bit bigger than I expected for an island seemingly in the middle of nowhere in the South Atlantic not fat from St. Helena ( as ocean distances go :) Roughly half-way between South America and Africa, and a quarter of the way around the world from the UK.

I thought you would illustrate how water was extracted from those plants.

So the plants were such they could be cut open and safely provide water, obviously.

Would enjoy a visit here maybe even move here one day. :)

@budnwiser0

6 жыл бұрын

It would make a brilliant British Gitmo style prison for Terrorists and suspected Terrorists. They could be disappeared from UK in chains during the night, 9 hours later they are in a nice cell where they live out the rest of their lives with only a bible to keep them company and a ration pack a day to sustain them. no cameras or media allowed. well we do not need a repeat of mistakes made by our friends in the past now do we.

@S3l3ct1ve

6 жыл бұрын

Just like Australia back in the day.. :D

@williamfulgham2010

4 жыл бұрын

Richard, the problem is, no one is granted permanent right to live there. If you were to get hired by a company that has a contract for the various services needed for the military, or NASA, or the BBC, or various other entities that have interests in being there, you could stay during the duration of your contract. Other than that you are not allowed to actually move there and you must have a reason to be granted passage for a visit. if you are ham radio operator you may be able to be allowed transport for a brief period of time, and be allowed to use an exchange amateur radio callsign during worldwide ham radio communications contests. There are only a couple of hotels which cater to official visitors of the like and that can be extended to family members of the military for only short visits.

Did it make water for animals or was it only enough for plants? This was never answered and it was the reason for the planting.

@WolfF2022

10 ай бұрын

It is on the equator so it should rain enough, probably it is more about holding back the rain-water, which is not performed by a rock ground.

5:59 Lord Ashcroft. Major Tax avoider. Yeah, many thanks

Is it just me, or was the host hella baked? Lol.

@fullysickshuffler666

2 жыл бұрын

Man looked like he just downed 2 full bottles of vodka and ripped a bong to finish 😂

@mybrotherkeeper1484

2 жыл бұрын

Explains why he never finished the original question….

It just shows, we can create as well as destroy environments... very interesting indeed.

there is still much of the island that is bare, why? It would be nice to see if they could manage to turn the entire island into a forest, with plants from every corner of the planet. that would be an interesting artificial ecosystem, seeing which plants thrive when placed together.

@kyl0875

2 жыл бұрын

If it's to windy then trees won't survive or thrive so a forest isn't possible. It looks far to windy for trees or they would have naturally grown already.

Salud a tu pueblo

So did the plants help trap water? Don't think that was resolved.

@sycodeathman

6 жыл бұрын

Yes, their high surface are plus the shade they make allowed moisture from the clouds to condense as dew and collect in the soil. In fact the plants collect so much moisture that they can't use it all, and most of it seeps down the flanks of the mountain as ground water. As time has gone by, the plants have been able to grow farther and farther down the mountain as the soil becomes moist, which allows more and more water to be caught by the increasing number of plants, in a positive feedback loop. Being so close to the equator, the plants on Ascension receive lots of sunlight year-round, and with a constant supply of ground water they can grow very quickly. The native crabs and insects on the island have benefited from the moisture, shade, and large amounts of food that this artificial cloud forest is providing. They help to break down leaf litter and other plant waste back into useful nutrients for the plants to use again, which over time is increasing the soil fertility on the island. Eventually the moist rainforest-like conditions on Green Mountain may spread across most of the island, transforming Ascension from a barren volcanic cinder cone into a fertile island paradise home to hundreds of species not found together anywhere else on Earth.

@patrickwentz8413

4 жыл бұрын

@@sycodeathman well thank you for the great explanation

@noguruespanol

3 жыл бұрын

@@sycodeathman thanks a lot tyler. Have they dug a well or something... In Chile, Peru & Bolivia cloud moisture on hilltops are blocked by a cloth mesh and become droplets. Its unbelievable in Chile they hv a restaurant run purely on this water and food cooked by solar cookers directly.

@vermicelledecheval5219

3 жыл бұрын

@@sycodeathman This is the exact opposite history than the Easter island though. Rapanuis discovered a lush island and turned it into a nearly desert barren world... Guess we are more rapanuians than ascencioners in this challenge with Earth ecosystems...☠

@mybrotherkeeper1484

2 жыл бұрын

@@noguruespanol neat!

Disen que fue un gran silbador

These videos are as remote as the islands

What is the name of the first music track on this film?

@aidangm7419

Жыл бұрын

I’ve been wondering as well. It sounds pretty powerful.

The Pain of the Animals.

I would think they also planted fruit trees and berries on this island to supply food 🤔👍

I agree with you on plants ant Tree's are the answer and so do lot's of others. But I live in the American West and yes Blue grass and lawns are one extreme of needing too much water in a Desert. There are Native grasses plants and Trees that don't. The Current on going trend is pull out your plants and put in rock. The City's have been promoting it for about 25 here and longer eslsware. We need the middle ground. I have 28 years in a water utility. The people putting in rock are convinced they are saving water yes but they are stopping it when it rains or snows from recharging the aquifers it just runs off and floods down hill. Darwin was one of many ahead of the times on water.

William Dampier's ship HMS Roebuck sank at Ascension Island on his return trip.

Yes Chef!!! 🙉🙊🙈

0:08 Anyone have a name for this bgm?

Disen que alli quedo lo que podria haber cambiado la historia de los colores

Still didn’t tell me how they got the water from the plants!

@sycodeathman

4 жыл бұрын

They didn't, the plants were only able to use a tiny fraction of the water that collected on their stems and leaves, and the majority of it soaked the ground. This ground water is what was collected in basins on the island for drinking water supplies. This worked because plant tissues maintain a temperature slightly cooler than their surroundings, as well as shading out the ground and any other plants beneath them, which has the double effect of both increasing condensation rates and decreasing the rate of evaporation out of what would otherwise be barren volcanic soil.

I love how this guy always looks appropriately disheveled.

So the trees/plants trap the water and then what? this guy never finishes a story.

@kevinjoseph517

5 жыл бұрын

rain

@sycodeathman

4 жыл бұрын

The plants capture the water as dew, but capture way more water than they can possibly use, so most of it seeps into the ground and runs downhill. This water can then be collected in artificial basins and used as drinking water. In fact, like the plants, the garrison suddenly had access to much more water than they could possibly want, which meant their dehydration issues were solved.

@willscarlet3620

4 жыл бұрын

@@sycodeathman Amazing ! you should have done the documentary

@williamfulgham2010

4 жыл бұрын

@@sycodeathman Today, the military for the UK and US, as well as the BBC, various space and weather research institutions, the Saint Helena government, and anyone else on the island providing support functions, operate a desalinization plant that provides all the water necessary for survival.

@sycodeathman

4 жыл бұрын

@@williamfulgham2010 Of course, and that makes perfect sense. However, I wouldn't want to be the person to propose building a desalination plant on Ascension island back in the 1800's, haha.

You what is crazy strange about that place, hundreds of species of trees and plants that are thriving, and nowhere in the video do you see a coconut palm tree.

@sycodeathman

4 жыл бұрын

Kinda makes sense, because almost the entire coast of Ascension is rough and barren volcanic bedrock, with a couple tiny beaches. Until the cloud forest was planted artificially, there was pretty much no ground water on the entire island. Even coconut seeds blown well inland by hurricanes which landed on actual soil would have had no chance of survival. Nowadays though I'm sure if you brought a coconut to the island and just pitched it into the bush it'd be growing and thriving in no time.

I bet those smoke/fogs are not there when the island is still barren and empty... Did they introduced new animals in there too? Not just rats, mice and cats(I'm still sad that they need to kill the cats there). How about introduced endangered species of birds in the island and protect it... That will be a very beautiful idea!

@RCSVirginia

5 жыл бұрын

@Yazmarohma42 I was thinking the exact same thing myself. There are all sorts of endangered and rare birds from Chatham Island Robins to Seychelles Magpie-Robins to Guam Rails to Seychelles Paradise Flycatchers to New Caledonian Kagus, as well as other extremely rare birds, that could be released on Green Mountain to give them a chance to see if they could survive and thrive there. Of course, the rats and mice would have to be fully eradicated first.

@Yazmarohma42

5 жыл бұрын

@@RCSVirginia There is a comment I read that they already eradicated mice , rats and cats there...

@stephennelmes2537

4 жыл бұрын

Been there many times and I've seen rabbits down by jetty in George town. Probably introduced as a food source in times gone bye. A diet of tinned beef, fish and captured turtles which they kept in ponds must have been very monotonous for the troops stationed there. Fishing's superb. Been all over the world and this is the best place by far. Real monster tuna. The trigger fish are a real pain though.

@mybrotherkeeper1484

2 жыл бұрын

It’s either kill the cats, or have no birds and or edible animals on the island. Yes I said edible. Man she will not live on bread Aline

Es cierto que es una isla que vonose el mar en un solo lado ??

@mybrotherkeeper1484

2 жыл бұрын

No, I’m sure it isn’t. Otherwise it wouldn’t be called an island. And also what would be on the other side? That would

@mybrotherkeeper1484

2 жыл бұрын

Make you go loco figuring out!

that is why Brits were called Limey's well back in time.

how much work was it to plant the island?

@sycodeathman

4 жыл бұрын

They commissioned the military ships that were headed there anyway to carry seedlings of many plant species, and as many as 100 seedlings would have been planted per arriving ship by several sailors. Almost all of the work was done by the plants themselves, however. A large fraction of the seedlings planted would have died due to unfavorable conditions, but those that survived to grow bigger would have had no competition as they grew and would have had more and more water from the mists condensing onto their foliage over time. Once the plants reached maturity and could release their own seeds, the process would have sped up dramatically. These new seedlings would have the benefit of the shelter and water provided by the parent plants and would have grown faster, creating an ever larger patch of wet ground perfect for colonization by more seeds. That's the cool thing about Ascension island, the conditions were perfect to allow this sort of 'terraforming' project to be accomplished. There was plenty of plant-available moisture on the peak of the mountain, but no native plants to take advantage of it. Ascension island was pretty much a garden just waiting to have seeds sewn in it.

Very interesting indeed. Wonder if those gentlemen knew about the pros and cons of introducing alien species to the island. There are always dangers associate with artificially introducing non-indigenous species. I guess the island was barren enough to introduce any vegetation new. Not so with animals, the feral cats have driven out much seabirds.

@KenrickLeiba

2 жыл бұрын

I'm fascinated by this island and what they did to so I did a bit of reading about it. One of the scientist (I can't remember which now, not Darwin though) did express regret. He realised that by doing this they had put the few native endemic species at risk of going extinct. That being said every NEW ecosystem essentially goes through a process of introduced species moving in and producing a new equalibrium. The main difference here is of course that it is artificial and rapidly accelerated whereas natural processes are very slow and might give more time for the native species to adapt. Apparently one of the native ferns on the island that was initially ground dwelling has taking to growing in trees as an epiphyte so this has happened to a certain extent. It is an interesting ethical dilemma.

@michaelyblam

2 жыл бұрын

@@KenrickLeiba Thanks for sharing your insights. Can you list a few references from your reading and research? I am interested to learn more!

@KenrickLeiba

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelyblam I think I initially found the the thing about the fern from another KZread video (I'm pretty sure it was by the same people that made this video) but I can't find it now. There is reference to it in a paper called: A plan for the conservation of endemic and native flora on Ascension Island. The scienitst I was referring to was Sir Joseph Hooker and the thing about him regretting it was from his diaries (I found an article on a National Geographic Website, however I was pretty sure there are actually more scientific sources out there). There is an article called: Mysterious Island Experiment Could Help Us Colonize Other Planets on the National Geographic website, but I'm sure there are better primary or secondary sources for this information. It would take me a while to rediscover everything I found before since i was just reading for fun and not making a reference list :) Happy Googling!

4:06 background music ?

@j9t5

2 жыл бұрын

Correct

how does plants growing actually give water to the troops though?

@kevinjoseph517

4 жыл бұрын

a stream from the top?

men turned that island the way it is so its only fair that we fix our mistakes

Is this narrated by Viserys Targaeryen?

Draco !! If you know you know

Too much music.

Asc....Ascension Island

@THARG67

4 ай бұрын

Ive been there!

Alhamdulilla amazing കേരളത്തിലെ എന്റേ വീടിന്റേ വേലിയിലെ കണ്ടലും മറ്റു ചെടികളും അവിടെയുണ്ടല്ലോ

Genesis scientists are V clever.

What is the US doing there? The island is British!

@Mswayward

7 жыл бұрын

The US used Ascension as a reserve station for the manned space program and as a ground base to assist the GPS system.

@devoyinator

7 жыл бұрын

Max, you're the only adult in this comment chain.

@DavidJones-ti3kv

7 жыл бұрын

A 100 Five this Where This Banter is still a thing ;-)

@RJM1011

7 жыл бұрын

We have shared the Island with the US since WW2.

@DavidJones-ti3kv

7 жыл бұрын

Kim Hu LOL what a twat

This is like really rudimentary terraforming

Who is the reporter/guy in video? Hes cute haha

With respect, Norfolk Island pine is not suitable for ship's masts.

John 3.16-21

Bloody Good FUCKING LAD!

🇦🇨

I want to get married in this country.

@shable1436

3 жыл бұрын

Thats romantic

Did you have to use kilometers? Good vid otherwise.

Very interesting history. However Britain and UK are not interchangeable!

Is old mates head unhinged? Wobbles all over the place

Ich würde euch da ins Meer werfen und dann Mal sehen

Das Sport Angel Angeln überhaupt sollte da verboten werden .

Wenn ihr Kinder habt solltet ihr die Mal ins Wasser schicken.

Stop already with the background music! Makes it unwatchable, for me. Honest opinion.

very good propaganda for England - as to science - not so magical - in the Equator, the tropical peak of the Earth, seeds would grow especially if picked from the best sources.

@benwilson6145

4 жыл бұрын

what a totally incoherent reply

@stephennelmes2537

4 жыл бұрын

SassyHershsey...???????????

Someplace more England stole..shame

@lauren9373

4 жыл бұрын

Why do you speak english

@noifurze6397

4 жыл бұрын

It was uninhabited you moron

@mybrotherkeeper1484

2 жыл бұрын

No, England “developed!” If you are interested in theft all you have to do is look at countries you would’ve liked to have seen develop it. Or perhaps you would rather sailors die in the middle of the sea. We didn’t even think this out?

Shouldn't be British.

@darkleader5962

6 жыл бұрын

F. OPE fuck off, it should be, it will be, it still is, it always has been.its British get over it

@budnwiser0

6 жыл бұрын

That is what the Argies said. look how that turned out for their junta. didn't end well.

@samuelmontgomery7931

6 жыл бұрын

Then what the fuck should it be? Fact is, Britain is exceptionally good at exploiting barren islands in ways no other nation has or will ever be able to. People only started caring about these islands after they saw what a good job the British had done inhabiting them.

@darkleader5962

6 жыл бұрын

Sam Montgomery Thank you for agreeing I couldn't put it better myself.Also totally agree who would they be?they're in the middle of the ocean 😂😂 UK and US millitary use them for millitary ops

@liamailiam

5 жыл бұрын

finders keepers i say. it would have been Portuguese if they bothered to claim it.