When is Our Changing Planet on TV?
The first two episodes of Our Changing Planet will air at 7pm on BBC One on Sunday 24 April and Sunday 1 May.
The first episode on Sunday 24 April will feature Steve Backshall, Chris Packham and Ella Al-Shamahi, the second episode on Sunday 2 May will feature Liz Bonnin, Gordon Buchanan and Ade Adepitan.
Watch the trailer for Our Changing Planet
What is Our Changing Planet about?
This new BBC project is a highly ambitious one, spanning seven years with six presenters repeatedly visiting six countries to see how climate change, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, melting glaciers and wildfires are effecting the wildlife and people there.
“From Iceland's frozen wilderness to the rainforests of Cambodia, these habitats have been chosen because they are changing at breakneck speed,” says the voiceover at the beginning of the first episode. “In seven years time, life here could be very different.”
Who is presenting Our Changing Planet and where?
The six presenters will be familiar faces to natural history documentary viewers.
Steve Backshall, in the Maldives
Steve Backshall MBE is an explorer, author and presenter known for his Deadly 60 series (BBC) and The Really Wild Show (BBC). He recently presented Shark with Steve Backshall (Sky) and spoke to BBC Wildlife editor Paul McGuinness on why we should love sharks, and how social media could help save them.
He will be visiting the Maldives to see the effect of warming seas and ocean acidification on coral reefs, and how the people of the Maldives are working to prevent this destruction.
Chris Packham, in Iceland
Chris Packham CBE is a naturalist, author and TV presenter, and particularly well-known as one of the regular presenters since 2009 on the BBC's The Watches programmes (Springwatch, Autumnwatch, Winterwatch). He has also presented The Really Wild Show (BBC), Chris Packham: Asperger's and Me (BBC), co-presentedWaterhole: Africa's Animal Oasis with Ella Al-Shamahi (BBC), Chris Packham: A Walk That Made Me (BBC), and co-presented Chris and Meg's Wild Summer with his step daughter Megan McCubbin (BBC).
He will be travelling to Iceland, one of the eight Arctic States, to see the effect of climate change in the Arctic, including melting snow and ice, rising sea levels, the opening of the Arctic to navigation and the effects of increasing commercial shipping on humpback whales.
Ella Al-Shamahi, in Cambodia
Ella Al-Shamahi is a National Geographic explorer, paleoanthropologist, evolutionary biologist, and stand-up comic. She is the author of The Handshake: A Gripping History, and has presented Waterhole: Africa's Animal Oasis (BBC) with Chris Packham, Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors (BBC), and Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon (Channel 4).
She will be travelling to Cambodia in Southeast Asia, including a fishing community on the Tonle Sap lake, and a project rehabilitating illegally trafficked wildlife such as pangolins.
Ade Adepitan, in Kenya
Ade Adepitan MBE is a television presenter and wheelchair basketball player, having won a bronze medal in the 2004 Paralympic Games. He has presented a range of shows including Africa with Ade Adepitan (BBC), Climate Change: Ade on the Frontline (BBC) and episodes of Unreported World (Channel 4).
He will be visiting Kenya to learn how rising temperatures are effecting rainfall levels, in an area where millions of people, livestock and wildlife are dependent on rainfall. Plus, he will visit a project working to safeguard the future of African elephants.
Liz Bonnin, in the USA
Liz Bonnin is a biologist and presenter who has presented a range of TV programmes including Drowning In Plastic (BBC), Nature's Epic Journeys (BBC) and Penguins: Meet The Family (BBC), as well as hosting the What Planet Are We On? ...with Liz Bonnin podcast (BBC).
She will be travelling to California in the USA to see the links between climate change, droughts and wildfires, and how scientists are trying to save wildlife from the wildfires. She'll also be visiting the Pacific coast of California to see the impact of great white sharks, a new resident in these waters due to warming seas.
Gordon Buchanan, in Brazil
Gordon Buchanan MBE is wildlife filmmaker and presenter, well-known for his Animals & Me series (BBC), including Snow Cats & Me, Grizzle Bear Cubs & Me, and The Cheetah Family & Me, as well as Animals with Cameras (BBC).
He will be visiting the Brazil to meet those working on a project to save one of the Amazon's most iconic predators: the jaguar. In 2020, an estimated 17 million animals were killed by wildfires in the Pantanal, a large and vitally important wetland, and more than a quarter of the Pantanal's resident jaguars were directly impacted by these fires.
Main image: The six presenters of Our Changing Planet. © BBC
