dr sergey gashchak came here in the immediate aftermath as one of the thousands of liquidators.ientist. although it's not legal to live here permanently, he still works here from this previously abandoned house. oh, this is a proper field station then. you have lockers for everybody‘s kit, somewhere to leave boots. yeah. this is very organised. is this a map of the exclusion zone? yeah. the red are the hot spots? yeah. where is the nuclear power plant? this is the power plant. for this international community of scientists, the zone is a vast laboratory allowing them to measure how a landscape recovers from nuclear catastrophe. altogether, this is the largest protected area in europe by a long way. they eat, sleep and discuss their work here but their days are spent out in the field. today, with the research team, we're looking for wildlife and following sergey, we eventually come across one of many now desolate villages. it's become a strangely rich habitat and a place sergey seems totally at home. i am a feral man. yes, you're a feral man! laugh. yeah, sometimes i see my famil