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ANALYSIS
THE INVESTOR
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T
he public’s adoration of
Sir DavidAttenborough is
not just a reflection of the
enormous enjoyment he
has provided through the
numerous landmark wildlife series he
has made with the BBC Natural History
Unit, it’s also his huge contribution to
promoting wildlife conservation.
Fiona Pitcher, one of the world’s
top executive producers of wildlife
programmes, says:‘Sir David is an icon,
and the person everybody looks to.
When he speaks, everybody listens.’
Pitcher says the sheer beauty of Sir
David’s documentaries has inspired
a love of wildlife in people.‘The
footage of the snow leopard in
Planet
Earth
has a power all of its own – it
doesn’t need us to say we must protect
snow leopards,’ she says.
But Pitcher believes that Sir David’s
contribution to conservation has
become even more valuable over the
past decade, during which he has
pushed the boundaries of wildlife film-
making and brought conservation issues to
life in a way that engages the audience.
What Sir David’s documentaries
have done for wildlife abroad,
Springwatch
has done for flora and
fauna in the British countryside,
sometimes even in our own back
gardens. Pitcher also led the team
that created
Springwatch
acting as the
programme’s executive producer.
It started as a week-long series
filmed in Bristol, screened at 8pm
and again after
Newsnight
.‘The first
programme was so bad that I thought
I might be fired, because nothing
happened,’ says Pitcher.‘But it was
so different that people loved it; it
became a cult programme for students
coming home from the pub.’
Eleven years on,
Springwatch
enjoys
a three-week slot – between the
Chelsea Flower Show andWimbledon –
in the BBC’s schedule.
Perhaps this increasing interest in
the natural world can be attributed to
programmes about wildlife and the
countryside; in any case, the good
news is that the audience is likely to get
bigger. Commercial channels are also
joining in, with ITV’s
Countrywise
and
Davina McCall: Life at the Extreme
, and
Channel 5’s
Loch Lomond:AYear in theWild
.
Each programme has a different way
of presenting wildlife and conservation
issues, but all are valuable, says Pitcher:
‘Whether a programme increases your
understanding of the world or inspires
you to give money to charity, dig a pond
in your back garden, or volunteer to
clean a beach, it all makes a difference.’
natural assets
Sir DavidAttenborough’s 90th birthday marked a milestone for a man who has
done more than anyone to increase public awareness of the natural world
By Jill Insley
Alamy, Eyevine, Rex/Shutterstock