9 minute read
Sir David Attenborough
The Legend of Legends Sir David Attenborough
BY JENNY LIDANDER PHOTO: LELLE SPARRINGSJÖ / PETRA BJÖRSTAD
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I’m sitting in a crowded , temporary event space in the middle of the Botanical Gardes i n Gothenburg, Sweden . It’s lunch time on Thursday 6 September 2018 . The sun is shining and there are several hundred people here with me. Some are quite ordinary Gothenburgers like me, others are famous people from the worlds of politics, sports, T V, the British royal family, and the arts and entertainment industry. In short, the place is teeming with celebrities.
All of us in the audience, even the famous people, have one thing in common – we feel tremendously smal l compared to the giant on stage behind the speaker podium. Sir David Attenborough begins by confirming the state of our planet in his distinctive voice, and what we need to do. We’re all listening intently, captivated by every word he says. And we believe him. As you do w hen you first see and hear a legend speak.
HIS MESSAGE IS SIMPLE and terrifying, but also hopeful. Our planet and its environment are in grave danger. The situation is worse now than at any other time in the history of humanity, and we’ve brought about this dangerous situation ourselves. However, we also have the ability to manage the threat. One of the biggest problems is that we humans use fossil fuels, for energy, which leads to increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. This in turn leads to the enhanced greenhouse effect, and an unnatural overheating of our planet. The world’s oceans are becoming acidified, desertification is increasing, and the polar ice caps are melting. This imbalance is a threat to everything that lives on our planet.
We humans must be prepared to change our lifestyles. Attenborough believes that we must also convince our politicians that we understand the issues, and that we are ready to let them take the long-term decisions necessary to restore our planet’s health. These decisions won’t produce positive results immediately, and they might not help to re-elect politicians, but they can save our planet. He reminds us that in just a few years, we humans actually managed to take action and improve the hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica by stopping our use of aerosol sprays containing freons. He also reminds us of the tireless commitment of individuals and organizations that ultimately saved the whales from the threat of extinction.
A serendipitous chain of events led to this unique opportunity for me to hear David Attenborough speak in person. He is in Gothenburg as the keynote speaker at The Perfect World Foundation’s climate conference in the Botanical Gardens, and to receive the honorary ‘Conservationist of the Year’ award during the evening’s award ceremony. He’s also going to plant a tree. The tree symbolises the start of The Perfect World’s global tree planting project ‘The Attenborough Forest’. The goal is to plant one million trees, and Attenborough himself breaks ground first in the Botanical Gardens, surrounded by massive media attention.
IN THE UK, it’s basically a ‘crime’ not to love and admire David Attenborough, the British zoologist and presenter who has devoted his life to exploring and filming our planet’s wildlife. For over 65 years, he has educated us about our planet in his own dynamic way and let us experience animals and nature from all four corners of the world. Through his unique and convincing style, we’ve learned what the conditions are like on all continents – in deserts, rainforests, mountains, jungles, and oceans – both above and below the surface. Attenborough has arguably seen more of our planet than any other person, and through his extensive work has made us think about our responsibility as humans. His lifelong interest in wildlife, nature and environmental issues has made him famous all over the world, and in his home country he is called ‘a national treasure’. He was also voted Britain’s most trustworthy living person, in a UK survey.
David Attenborough knew early on what his calling was in life, and it has been reported that as a child he collected fossils and eggshells from birds and documented them systematically. Naturally, he also chose to study science, geology and zoology at the University of Cambridge. After his studies he was recruited by the BBC (UK’s public service broadcaster) in the 1950s, with the task of creating TV programmes. Using modern film technology coupled with his dedication, he created a completely new standard for nature and wildlife documentaries. Under his leadership, animals were always filmed and studied in their natural habitat, at a respectful distance. He has documented primates, sharks, birds, snakes, octopuses, whales, polar bears, lions, tortoises, insects, rhinos and many, many more well-known and newly discovered species. Through his innovative documentaries, Attenborough brought the natural world into the homes of the TV viewers. He didn’t only write, produce and film the documentaries, but also guided the viewers by narrating the episodes with his distinctive voice.
500 MILLION PEOPLE are estimated to have seen the television series ‘Life on Earth’, which premiered in 1979. In episode 13 of the series, Attenborough took viewers on a journey through the earth’s development – from the first signs of life to complex animal species. ‘Life on Earth’ included Attenborough’s encounter with a group of mountain gorillas in Rwanda (episode 12), and the famous clip where the gorillas took off his shoes while filming. The viewers didn’t want the series to end – this was something no one had never seen before. Life on Earth still counts as one of the classics from Attenborough’s long and world famous television career. Some of the other historic Attenborough productions include Zoo Quest, Planet Earth, Blue Planet, The Living Planet, The Life of Mammals, The Truth About Climate Change, Great Barrier Reef, Frozen Planet, and Dynasties. But there are also a large number of other masterpieces in the form of documentaries, films, books, lectures and TV series where Attenborough and his team travel the world to educate, delight, and astonish us.
OUR PLANET, Attenborough’s latest documentary series, was released in 2019 on the streaming service Netflix. During the course of the series, viewers are shown how they can help to save our planet, fight climate change, and preserve biodiversity.
IN ADDITION TO HIS WORK with nature and wildlife documentaries, Attenborough’s incredible knowledge and expertise in environmental issues has given him the opportunity to act as an adviser to many of the world’s leading politicians in the EU, the UN, the US, and the UK. He has sat down for talks with President Obama, Buckingham Palace, and many of major international environmental organizations, and most recently spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. David Attenborough is always up-to-date and active, and has no plans to retire despite the fact that he’s 93 years old. And as he says himself, why would he stop working while he can still contribute to the world? He acted as a genuine ‘influencer’ long before the concept was invented, and has inspired a huge number of people to think about how we should live in harmony with nature. When Sir David Attenborough speaks, people listen – and so they should.
SO WHY DO WE LISTEN so intently when Attenborough speaks? Many articles have been written about his voice, his knowledge and his significant contributions. But when I hear him talk, it still makes me wonder what it is that makes me feel such a reverence for him. His warm and wise voice creates a sense of security for anyone who has seen his programmes or listened to him in other contexts, and this extends across all generations and lifestyles. My 10-year-old son puts down his computer game and comes running when he hears Attenborough’s voice on television, shouting, “Oh, it’s him.” One of my best friends has told me, she and her family have a ‘sacred tradition’ on Sunday evenings – they all get together to watch Planet Earth. It’s something they all like, despite their different interests and packed schedules. And for the first time ever, my international colleagues were really impressed with my plans when I said, “Sir David Attenborough is in Gothenburg, and I’m going to see him.”
It’s obvious that Attenborough has a great sense of humour when you read about him or watch online interviews. He makes fun of himself, and his narrative style, by popping up in unexpected contexts like music videos and comedy programmes. Despite this, he still manages to get his important messages across through his more light-hearted contributions. He often says in interviews that he tries to focus on facts in his productions, but that he has often been sad and heartbroken behind the camera when witnessing animals suffering and difficult situations. This empathy and his personal style, together with his way of delivering his knowledge and experience, means that people look up to him in the same way as they do to a parent, a mentor, a great teacher, or a superhero. He’s just the kind of world leader we need today. The natural world, this mysterious thing, you can’t define, it’s larger than life. The climate change is the biggest threat to our planet in thousands of years and since I can still walk, talk and act, it would be a waste not to keep active and engaged and do what I can for the world.
AS I WATCH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH plant that symbolic first tree for the tree planting project in the Botanical Gardens, and as he receives his honorary award from The Perfect World Foundation later that day with the same tireless energy and joy, I think to myself – what I’m actually witnessing is pure happiness. David Attenborough probably feels happy that he’s able to contribute so much to the world, its animals, the environment, and mankind. It must be satisfying to have managed to live your life creating so much good that neither you nor anyone else ever wants you to stop.
“I’ve been so incredibly lucky,” says Attenborough in interviews with reporters from all over the world after the climate conference and tree planting in the Botanical Gardens. “I’ve been able to work with something I love, got to experience so many fantastic things, and travel to every part of the world I’ve ever wanted to see,” he states with a big smile.
But I wonder quietly to myself – is it really luck? I think it’s got more to do with talent and relentless commitment. Happiness probably comes from the feeling of making a difference to the world, at the same time as you’ve been able to work your whole life with what you love and value the most. That’s why when David Attenborough speaks – we listen.
