Wild Isles: The book of the BBC TV series presented by David Attenborough

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Do you think people will engage with the extraordinary wildlife on our doorsteps as much as they have with natural history programmes about other parts of the world?

Gisle Sverdrup is a natural history filmmaker specialising in programmes about the underwater world. His passion for the oceans has previously seen him film all around the world, working on major projects for the BBC, Netflix and Disney. He combines his knowledge of biology and technology to find engaging stories and tell them in new and exciting ways, often using equipment developed specifically for each project. Credits The BBC will be inviting local communities to Get Into Nature, be that for their mental or physical health, for their community, for the environment or simply for fun. BBC Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will also be reflecting the focus on nature in their output. I particularly enjoyed the episodes dedicated to the 19th century poet John Clare (part of his autobiography, as well as the consequences of the Enclosure on his mental health). The chapter about woods proved to be a compelling read, with contributions by Sara Maitland (on how forests have created themes for fairy tales), Robert Macfarlane (the wood wide web, mosses and funghi) and John Fowles (on the spellbounding Wistman's Wood). I also enjoyed the texts gathered in the rather original chapter urban nature (about plants on dumps, urban foxes, the decline of moths and house sparrows). Hilary Jeffkins is a keen naturalist and award-winning wildlife Filmmaker, Producer and Director. After graduating from York St John University with a BSc in Biology she joined the BBC Natural History Unit and worked there for over 25 years. In her early career she produced and developed live programmes, including Heading South, Wild Britain and Bird in the Nest, precursors to Springwatch. She has worked with film crews in Britain and abroad, in the field and in studios to produce a variety of programmes including the Really Wild Show (BAFTA), Wildlife on One, Bill Oddie Goes Wild and David Attenborough’s Life in Cold Blood (BAFTA). Sir David says: “In my long lifetime, I have travelled to almost every corner of our planet. I can assure you that in the British Isles, as well as astonishing scenery there are extraordinary animal dramas and wildlife spectacles to match anything I have seen on my global travels.”You also filmed Lords and Ladies plants that release a foul-smelling scent to attracts flies, what technology did you use for this scene? We are still one of least biodiverse countries in the world, making it important that we protect and restore the wildlife we have [Source: Biodiversity Intactness Study] Environmental and sustainability issues have long been reflected in the content we make and broadcast, so it’s important to us that they are also embedded in the way we operate and run the BBC.

Britain and Ireland have some of the most diverse wildlife and beautiful landscapes on Earth. In this major new landmark series, Sir David Attenborough will celebrate the wonders of the islands that we call home, revealing the surprising and dramatic habitats that exist right on our doorstep. It’s our home, as you’ve never seen it before. BBC Radio 2 with BBC Children’s and Education, supported by The One Show and others, are launching Let it Grow – an initiative to turn grey spaces into wild and colourful places, with a focus on tempting even the least green fingered to join in. Blue Peter viewers can earn their Blue Peter Green badges by getting involved and there will also be an OZT Goes Wild in Britain special on domestic wildlife. BBC Sport will be highlighting grassroots clubs up and down the country doing great work in preserving and promoting nature – as well as reflecting what is happening at the elite level – challenging more to get involved. Britain and Ireland have some of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes on Earth. We have more ancient oak trees than the rest of Europe put together; sixty percent of the world’s chalk streams flow in southern England; our remaining flower meadows are a vital refuge for breeding birds and butterflies; and our coasts are home to internationally important numbers of seabirds. Yet our wildlife is increasingly fragmented and fragile – this series explains the challenges nature faces today, and what can be done to make our wild isles even wilder in the future. A pleasurable anthology that reflects nature writing over two centuries. Prose, not poetry. Many novelists appear, Hines, Lee, Hardy, Grahame, Williamson, Woolf (as novelists), Fowles and Maitland (as essayists). The real stars, however, are the nature writers. Jay Griffith's contributes a beautifully written essay on Clare -- "Kith". Excerpts from Clare's autobiographical writings are deeply moving. In Episode 1 there's a scene where you filmed barnacle geese who come to a Hebridean island in the autumn and are hunted by white-tailed eagles. Can you tell us about how you filmed that scene?There are a number of reasons. Firstly, we have among the most varied geology on the planet. Our temperatures range from subtropical in the far south to arctic conditions on the top of the Cairngorms in Scotland. Our coastline is over 22,000 miles long and we benefit from the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. Our position on the globe is perfect for summer visitors from the south and winter visitors from the north. All these factors combine to create one of the richest natural histories in Europe. We have more ancient oak trees than the whole of Europe put together*, most of the world’s chalk streams flow in southern England and we are globally important for the sea birds. The landscapes of Britain and Ireland, together with the creatures and plants that inhabit them, have penetrated deep in our collective imagination. From Gilbert White and Dorothy Wordsworth to Laurie Lee and Nan Shepherd, literature inspired by the natural world has become an integral part of our shared identity, and shaped our relationship with the islands we call home. Power, Ed (12 March 2023). "Wild Isles, BBC One, review: Attenborough's local series sits proudly along his more far-flung adventures". i . Retrieved 15 September 2023. Wild Isles - Behind the scenes secrets and wildlife stories from the new series, presented by Sir David Attenborough After the wonder and majesty, though, you know what’s coming. Attenborough usually doles out the bad news carefully, gradually, before ending each episode on more of a doomsday warning. The idea, I think, is that this makes it more palatable. Celebrate, then hit hard. He throws wonder after wonder at the screen, before gently informing us that, despite the preciousness of hay meadows, 97% of them have been lost in the past 60 years; that, despite the sheer beauty of design that allows a specific moth with a specific proboscis to extract pollen from a specific flower, 60% of the British Isles’ flying insects have vanished in the past 20 years.

Camerawoman Katie Mayhew said: “Surprisingly the ripe flowers only stayed hot for a few hours during their life cycle and at their hottest they really did smell - you could even feel the heat by touch. Capturing the colour to thermal transitional shots was a complicated task, like filming a puzzle. First, we captured a series of images on a low light colour camera which we then could stitch together to create a very large image. Then we had to capture exactly to the sequence of images with the thermal camera so that the overall stitched images from the colour and thermal would match. These master images could then be transitioned from colour to thermal to take the viewer from what we humans see and what really is going on with the flower.” Filming Feat/Remarkable BehaviourI hope that after watching this series our audience will be wowed by the wildlife and spectacular places in Britain and Ireland but also that they get a strong sense of how fragmented and fragile they are. I want the audience to come away with a sense of pride and hope for the future too. Alastair Fothergill, Executive Producer, said: “I have always wanted to make a landmark series that really does justice to our own extraordinary wildlife. I am sure people will be amazed at what is happening right on their own doorstep”. Each chapter focuses on a particular kind of wild space. Britain and Ireland are dominated by a wide variety of grasslands from lowland water meadows to upland moors, and we will see how these human-shaped, semi-natural landscapes thrum with insect, bird and mammal life. Life requires water to flourish, and streams and rivers carry freshwater through our landscape, creating unique ecosystems and interrelations within and beside these waters, which are revealed in a third section. While Britain and Ireland’s woodlands are comparatively thin on the ground compared with most of continental Europe, we will see some of the forests and trees that remain are unusually ancient and, great repositories of life. Finally, of course, we are surrounded by sea, and our position on the continental shelf before it plunges into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean gives rise to an often overlooked plenty of marine life. A glorious richness divided into five breathtaking sections. White-tailed eagles hunting geese – first time the whole hunting sequence has been filmed. White-tailed eagles have a two-metre wingspan and are the largest bird of prey in Britain. Formerly extinct in the British Isles, around a dozen now spend winter in Islay. Britain is listed as the worst country in the G7 for wildlife and wild spaces lost due to human activity*, but these eagles are a good example of how the restoration of habitats and the reintroduction of species has enabled us to film behaviours once lost to our isles*. White-tailed eagles are a good example of how the restoration of habitats and the reintroduction of species has enabled us to film lost behaviours [Source: The Wildlife Trusts]