Sir David Attenborough: A Voice for Our Planet
Sir David Attenborough is a broadcaster, writer, naturalist and conservationist who inspired millions of people fall in love with the nature.
Some of his documentaries such as Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Life on Earth took us to every part of the world without leaving the home.
How it all began
David Frederick Attenborough was born on 8th May 1826 in Isleworth, England. Since he was a boy, he was deeply interested in nature and he would spent much of his free time collecting fossils. His fascination led him to graduate in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University in 1947. After his graduation, he spent two years in Royal Navy.
In 1952, he joined BBC as a trainee and this is the start of his long fulfilling career. He made his first TV appearance on 21 December 1954, in Zoo Quest – a series which captivated everyone.
Later, he worked in BBC2 as Network Controller for 4 years and eventually became Director of Programmes. In 1973, he resigned from his position to follow his passion of making films.
Documentaries and Books
Sir David Attenborough has drawn everyone’s attention to the nature through his spellbound documentaries. His notable docuseries Life on Earth took three years to make, which was first aired in 1979. He travelled 1.5 million miles to film the series which would redefine the history of nature and was hugely acclaimed for his endless devotion to the nature. The series was viewed by 500 million people, making it so popular. Over the five decades of his career, he has written and narrated many documentaries such as Living Planet (1984), The Life of Birds (1998), The Life of Mammals (2002), Blue Planet I & II (2001 & 2017), A Life on Our Planet (2020), Green Planet (2022), Wild Isles (2023) and many more.
Alongside documentaries, he has also written books such as Adventures of a Young Naturalist: The Zoo Quest Expeditions, A Life on Our Planet, Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster, Life on Earth: The Greatest Story Ever Told and more.
Environmental Advocacy
Showing the hidden wonders of the world to our doorsteps, he went for advocating the environment after witnessing the devastating situation of the planet. He is vocal about reversing the effect and living in harmony with the nature in his documentaries.
Study shows that people are more interested in plants after watching nature documentaries. Another study shows that 88% of people changed their lifestyles for better after watching Blue Planet II.
He appeared and spoke as “People’s Advocate” at COP26 climate summit, where he urged the world leaders to take action to tackle climate change.
In 2015, he met the President Barack Obama at the White House for a conversation about natural world. In 2020, he became the first member of the Earthshot Prize Council, an initiative of Prince William to find solutions for the environmental issues.
Awards & Recognition
Sir David Attenborough has been called as “voice-of-god narration”, the “peerless educator”, the “greatest broadcaster of our time” in his career.
He has been knighted twice by Queen Elizabeth II and given the title of Sir David Attenborough. He has won 3 Emmy awards and 8 BAFTA awards.
In 2021, he has been awarded with UN Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award, UN’s highest environmental honour for dedicating his life towards research, documentation and protecting the nature.
Alongside awards, over 40 species have been named after him such as Attenborosaurus (a prehistoric swimming reptile), Nepenthes attenboroughii (a carnivorous plant), Euptychia attenboroughi (a butterfly).
Sir David Attenborough truly is showcasing the miracles of the nature through his lens and changing the world one documentary at a time.
