Sir David Attenborough changed my life

As Sir David Attenborough celebrates his 100th birthday, we bring together conservationists and filmmakers to discuss the impact of Sir David’s long career, and the influence he’s had on how we think about nature.

We hear how his tv programmes and books have reached audiences around the world and the inspiration they have provided.

Wendy Kirorei describes how growing up in Kenya, Sir David’s documentaries were shown constantly on televisions in public places, and led her to become a wildlife film-maker. “My dream was to do my first documentary in the Maasai Mara purely influenced by watching a lot of his work growing up,”
Conservationist Paula Kahumbu says, “His ability to tell stories about Africa's wildlife has kind of like woken everyone up. We should be telling our wildlife stories. We should be out there learning about these creatures, making films ourselves.”

As a champion of nature for over seven decades, he’s been a role model for many young people. “There are already millions of little Sir Davids out there,” says Indian conservationist Charu Mishra. “His impact has been generational, right? I mean, some people have impact around the world, but his goes across generations.”

Presenter: James Reynolds
BBC producers: Iqra Farooq, Lindsay Brown
Boffin Media producer: Anne McNaught
Editors: Arja Haikonen and Harriet Oliver

A Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC World Service Outside Source team.

(Photo: Charu Mishra who works to protect snow leopards in India, with Sir David Attenborough. Credit: Whitley Fund for Nature)