91Èȱ¬

Wildlife photographer and popular 91Èȱ¬ Springwatch presenter Chris Packham is looking forward to exciting viewers with a closer look at creatures that are often taken for granted.

No longer the new boy on the team, this series, Chris would like to introduce us all to the beauty of... flies. He says: "I want to do a few more different things – so while there is still the drama and intrigue that will come from our bird's nest, I want to do a something about crane flies and actual flies.

"I was pleased last year to bring wasps and stinging nettles to people and this series I am keen to do a snorkel safari down the river because I feel our freshwater fish are not really enjoyed by very many people, yet they are only just below the water.

"I came away from the series last year thinking 'that was really good fun'. I played a small role in a wonderful big team. Of course you can always find things that you could have done better, but we did our best and I think we brought even more new people to the programme.

"If I have a self-indulgent highlight from the series it was an email I received from a 16-year-old girl who said she had never heard of the bands The Smiths or The Jesus And Mary Chain before, but now she had all their albums and her dad was getting her a pair of binoculars so that she could carry on bird-watching. I had a smug few seconds when I saw that – it made me feel good – maybe I did bring a little something to the series!

"I was delighted to discover when I joined Springwatch that not only did the programme have great pedigree, the team were all just as fresh and keen to do big, new and exciting things – there was a tremendous energy – so it is the best of both worlds.

"Let's face it, I am one of the luckiest blokes on the planet to have this job and I have never forgotten that. I pinch myself regularly – this is incredible, I never dreamed that I could be here looking at this or listening to that, whatever it happens to be.

"Springwatch is essentially a programme about British wildlife for British people and I think it is as popular as it is because we make it for our audience and not for ourselves. It's all about satisfying our viewers and contributors and it's about engaging them. That's why I was very pleased to do it.

"Preaching to the converted is fine and Springwatch has its dedicated followers, but it is clearly a programme which is able to reach new audiences, bring them on board, and excite them about wildlife.

"We get many contributions from viewers on the website, people send their photos, films and comments – so it seems that we are scoring on that account too."

Chris finds it difficult to disguise his pride in the fact that his 16-year-old stepdaughter, Megan, has a natural gift for photography.

"She's much better than I was when I started – she's gifted and has got a natural eye for a photograph. She seems to be able to take photographs of anything and produce very good results and has won quite a few competitions already. But of course it isn't genetic, so I have no idea where she got it from!

"She has travelled quite widely with me and that has always been part and parcel of the deal – I wouldn't go if she couldn't come. She has been to all of the world's continents and we don't do five star hotels – we do real world trips.

"I think the younger generation have a much wider awareness of their environment and perhaps some of the wildlife issues and welfare than we did when we were kids.

"And I think we have to engage them through communication on their level. That's why I introduced all of the Smiths song titles! People who only have a peripheral interest, you have got to get them on the wider cultural aspects which play a role in their lives – and with young people it's fashion, music, and it is sport.

"I want to make a difference – and I can't do that on my own – I have to get people on board and to do that I have to engage with them. Young people are incredibly important as they are the most energised, they are the most opinionated and the most driven and they are the ones with their fingers on the pulse.

"Climate change is something that's happening – I think a lot of people think it is something that is going to happen, I think a lot of people think it is a big issue and therefore intangible but in fact while it might be a big issue – it is happening in their back gardens, it's happening in their living rooms.

"What we are looking at principally is making sure that we as a species adapt to our climate's change. If we are able to do that then it will take the pressure off all of the other species.

"Springwatch is very good at empowering people to realise that they can make a difference – they can do things themselves and if they do the things in their garden that they ought to do, then that is four million gardens that are better places for wildlife.

"If I have any personal ambitions it is to leave one or two beautiful things that I have made, and to leave whatever legacy I am capable of in making the planet a better place for us. I am very fortunate that television gives me that platform.

"There have been occasions when I have stood there and said you grew up in a two up two down, as a kid put ladybirds into matchboxes and tadpoles into jam jars, how on earth did you get here? It has just been remarkable."

And what do you need to be a successful wildlife film maker? Laughs Chris: "You need curiosity and enthusiasm and neither of them must ever run out!"