JUST VISITING The wonderful and wild life of Liz Bonnin

Planet Earth II Live In Concert 2020, coming to Cardiff on 26 March, is a spectacular fusion of footage from the BBC1 natural history show accompanied by music from Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea and Jasha Klebe, performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and conducted by Matthew Freeman. The host is Liz Bonnin, who has presented over 40 primetime programmes including Blue Planet Live, Drowning in Plastic, Galapagos and Horizon. Liz says, “I have no doubt that it will create an incredible energy in the arena, connecting us all to the majesty of nature, to art and music, but also connecting us to each other.” Ever since I was very young I was lucky to be surrounded by nature. My sister and I used to have lots of adventures in the countryside where I grew up in the South of France, amongst spiders, snakes and hedgehogs.

You only have to be immersed in nature for it to work its magic. My parents’ families lived in the Caribbean and we visited them often so I also developed a love for the ocean from an early age. I didn’t realise it at the time but it instilled in me a deep passion and respect for wildlife that influences my life to this day.

I combined my passion for science with a new-found passion for story telling after taking some time out, trying out

unexpected opportunities and giving them my all, and now I have a job that I’m so grateful for every day.

I am constantly amazed at what Sir David and the team conjure up in their imaginations about how else they can deliver wildlife stories and spectacles to their audience, and how inevitably they succeed in the seemingly impossible, thanks to improving technology and lots of hard work. And with Planet Earth II they certainly didn’t disappoint! Just when you think they’ve done it all they manage to bring the natural world even closer to us.

I think the role of programmes like Planet Earth cannot be overestimated in helping people understand the world around us. I personally know so many people who were inspired to follow careers in science and conservation because of these programmes, and they played a big part in my own journey too.

I don’t think I, or any of my peers, ever think about stepping into Sir David Attenborough’s shoes – they are far too big to fill! But it’s a very lovely feeling to be part of something so special and to be able to continue to spread the awareness and joy that comes from his world class programmes. It’s a real privilege to be able to do that.

With the current zeitgeist young people are hungrier than ever for programmes that can reconnect them to the natural world and can offer up a better understanding of the vital role every species on earth plays in keeping the planet healthy. There’s also something incredibly powerful about discovering the capabilities all these species have evolved to survive – extraordinary adaptations we could hardly have imagined. It can be very humbling, challenging us to reassess our relationship with the wildlife we share the planet with.

My favourite Planet Earth II moments have been screaming at the television when that marine iguana was running for its life; and being completely awestruck at the tiny glass frog protecting its clutch of eggs from wasps using karate kicks – it is all stunning cinematography and natural history programming at its best!

My advice to anyone wanting a career in this field would be first and foremost do what you love, not what anyone else thinks you should do or what can make you the most money. Working at something you’re passionate about is far more rewarding than anything else. I believe that if you put your heart and soul into what you love doing, you can achieve anything.

Science offers up so many varied opportunities, some that you may not even know exist, so don’t put yourself under too much pressure to have it all figured out. It’s also never too late to try something new or choose a different path. n

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