Happy Birthday Sir David!

1985 with environmentMinister William Waldegrave and Badger supporters. How times change... Photo: the Wildlife Trusts
1985 with William Waldegrave MP (and Environment Minister of State, Housing) and Badger supporters. How times change… Photo: The Wildlife Trusts

 

Happy Birthday Sir David!  90 years young and an inspiration to so many of us.

Last week Sir David launched London Wildlife Trust’s Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve, where he said:  ‘Contact with the natural world isn’t a luxury… it is actually a necessity for all of us.  All we know about the natural world gives us pleasure, delight, expertise, continuous interest throughout the year – joy on many occasions and solace on sad ones.  Knowing about the natural world and being in contact with the natural world is the most precious inheritance that human beings can have.

We should be grateful indeed for all the work that The Wildlife Trusts have done for children to see the seasons as they pass, to see not just asphalt and concrete and brick – but reeds and willows; to see birds coming up from Africa; to hear above the hubbub of the traffic – birdsong; to catch a glimpse of a kingfisher, one of the most wonderful sights that Britain has to offer – that flash of blue as it flies up-river.‘.

Stephanie Hilborne OBE, The Wildlife Trusts’ chief executive, said:  ‘Our archives are filled with photographs of Sir David Attenborough visiting or opening Wildlife Trust nature reserves and centres over the last 50 years.  He has travelled the length and breadth of the country to do so, and was in Hackney this Saturday last to open Woodberry Wetlands.  David has given brilliant lectures and talks and launched numerous campaigns including our British Wildlife Appeal in the 1980s.  He has honoured some of our greatest people – not least amongst them Ted Smith.  Like us, David cares passionately about the wildlife and countryside of this country and about the fundamental need for children to live close to the natural world.  We’re delighted to share some of our archive ahead of David’s 90th birthday so that we can all celebrate his dedication to UK wildlife as well as that of the wider world.‘.

 

Sir David last week Photo: Penny Dixie
Sir David last week Photo: Penny Dixie

 

 

 

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6 Replies to “Happy Birthday Sir David!”

  1. Happy birthday. One of the most inspiring people in the world at the moment.

  2. I wonder if Sir David has signed the BDGS petition? Or is even aware of the plight of our raptors on driven grouse moors?

    1. I am slightly puzzled by this comment. Are you implying that DA is not active enough in supporting the ‘right’ causes or that he doesn’t somehow deserve the plaudits he receives? Or are you just saying that he is a very influential person who’s public support for the BDGS campaign should be sought?
      If he chooses not to speak out on driven grouse shooting I’d say he is perfectly entitled to choose the campaigns he supports and need apologise to no-one for his lifetime contribution to conservation.

      1. I agree, but if he did speak out about raptor persecution in general and driven grouse moors in particular the issue would be much more in the general public’s awareness than it appears to be now.
        I cannot believe that he is not aware of this massive problem! But it is, of course, his prerogative to do exactly as he chooses, he has already been a great influence for the benefit of th world’s wildlife in so many ways.

  3. Sir David came to Derbyshire for a whole day to support our big Wildlife Appeal in 1989 or 1990 and I had the pleasure of being with him all day. He visited a potential new reserve and a new visitor centre under construction, called at a junior school where I remember he was most impressed by a little girl dressed up as a jellyfish (“how unusual and so far from the sea!”) and then went on to give a brilliant evening lecture in Chesterfield in a hall packed to the rafters.
    He charged us nothing , not even his rail fare.
    A special day to remember for us but just another day for Sir David of giving up his time voluntarily for a small, local charity (the county wildlife trust).
    Bravo and happy birthday to the great man!
    Nick

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