Attenborough: 'There has been a revolution in attitudes towards the natural world'

If you're a fan of plants and the environment then you might already have heard of Sir David Attenborough's brand new series starting on BBC One this week.

The 95-year-old naturalist and broadcaster is back with a new five-part BBC series called The Green Planet, using ground-breaking filming techniques to show the intricate lives of plants and the ecosystems surrounding them.

He said thinks there has been an "awakening" worldwide about the importance of the natural world, and that this series "will bring it home" for people, as they see him travel across the globe, from the USA to Costa Rica and across Europe.

The programme will show how different habitats and terrains including deserts, water worlds, tropical forests and the frozen north, are being affected by climate change.

In November, the series had its global premiere in Glasgow during the COP26 summit.

The BBC said the five-part documentary series aims to show "how science and technologies have advanced, and how our understanding of the ways in which plants behave and interact has evolved".

Sir David explained: "Now we can take the cameras anywhere we like. So you now have the ability to go into a real forest, you can see a plant growing with its neighbours, fighting its neighbours or moving with its neighbours, or dying.

"And it's that in my view, is what brings the thing to life and which should make people say, 'Good lord, these extraordinary organisms are just like us'."

Sir David said: "The world has suddenly become plant conscious. There has been a revolution worldwide in attitudes towards the natural world in my lifetime.

"An awakening and an awareness of how important the natural world is to us all. An awareness that we would starve without plants, we wouldn't be able to breathe without plants.

"The world is green, it's an apt name (for the series), the world is green. And yet people's understanding about plants, except in a very kind of narrow way, has not kept up with that. I think this will bring it home."

Some lucky viewers got a sneak peak at the new programme at COP26 in Glasgow

The TV presenter also feels that lockdowns, by forcing people to remain at home more during the pandemic, have helped to give people a greater appreciation for green spaces.

He said "I think that being shut up and confined to one's garden, if one is lucky enough to have a garden, and if not, to having plants sitting on a shelf, has changed people's perspective.

"And an awareness (has grown) of another world that exists to which we hardly ever pay attention to in its own right."

The Green Planet series will begins on BBC One on 9 January.