Ben Law has always had a passion for healthy, biodiverse farms and woodlands. He previously worked on a smallholding; growing fruit and vegetables and looking after livestock. Having gained an Advanced National Certificate in Agriculture, Ben became a shepherd and set up a conservation landscaping business, specialising in ponds and wild flower meadows. Woodlands were a natural progression and, after seeking out a few experienced coppice workers, he began work in the woods and in associated coppice crafts.
Ben endured a 10 year struggle to obtain planning permission to build a house in his own woods, made mainly out of materials from the woodland itself.
Ben’s appearance on Channel 4’s Grand Designs is the most watched in the series’ history, is the host’s and public’s favourite episode and was one of the 25 programmes chosen to represent Channel 4’s 25th anniversary. The show, and his Grand Design’s Revisited episode, are repeated constantly in the UK and worldwide. Ben has also appeared on the BBC’s Countryfile and The Green Team. In America, Ben has featured on The World’s Greenest Homes, The World’s Most Extreme Homes (HGTV) and Nightline (ABC), and various shows worldwide including Japan’s El Mundo (the equivalent of their One Show).
Ben visited the Amazon in the late 1980s looking for positive solutions to deforestation and on his return set up and directed the charity, The Forest Management Foundation, working primarily with community forestry in Papua New Guinea. He has also worked for Oxfam as a permaculture consultant.
Ben was a founding member of the Forest Stewardship Council and has lived and worked at Prickly Nut Woods in West Sussex, UK, since 1991; training apprentices and running courses on sustainable woodland management, eco-building and permaculture design. He runs a specialist eco-building company, The Roundwood Timber Framing Company Limited.
