Episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03 | 01 | Ice | 20080115 | Gabrielle Walker meets Ola Johannesson, an expert on Arctic sea ice. Series about scientific specialists | |
| 03 | 02 | Fruit Fly | 20080122 | Julian Hector visits New York to meet fruit fly expert Max Levitan. Series about scientific specialists | |
| 03 | 03 | Lemurs | 20080129 | Gabrielle Walker visits Madagascar to meet lemur expert Patricia Wright. Series about scientific specialists | |
| 04 | 01 | Bears | 20090211 | Bear guide Derek Stonorov believes grizzly bears are not as fearsome as many people think. Series about scientific specialists | |
| 04 | 02 | Salmon | 20090218 | Grant Sonnex meets people whose lives have been inextricably linked with Alaskan wildlife. Grant visits Daniel Schindler and his wife Laura Payne, who spend their summers with their five-year-old daughter studying the spawning grounds of the world's last great salmon run. He finds out what is so exciting about studying a fish and what it is like to live surrounded by bears, wolves and wilderness. A couple who study the spawning grounds of the world's last great salmon run. Series about scientific specialists | |
| 04 | 03 | Tundra | 20090225 | Grant Sonnex meets people whose lives have been inextricably linked with Alaskan wildlife. Grant Sonnex talks to Pete Abraham, a Yupik Eskimo who grew up in a tiny settlement with pet seagulls, seals and otters. But when he sold his pet otter to the fur trader his life as a subsistence hunter began. Grant hears about Pete's life, Yupik culture and why brown bear is his favourite meat. Grant Sonnex talks to Pete Abraham, a Yupik Eskimo who grew up in a tiny settlement. Series about scientific specialists | |
| 05 | 01 | Microbes | 20090715 | 20091228 (R4) | Writer and naturalist Paul Evans meets Prof Lynn Margulis. Series about scientific specialists |
| 05 | 02 | Loons | 20090722 | 20091229 (R4) | Paul Evans goes to Maine to meet a conservation biologist who has spent a life with loons. Series about scientific specialists |
| 05 | 03 | Ospreys | 20090729 | 20091230 (R4) | Writer and naturalist Paul Evans goes to the Highlands of Scotland to meet Roy Dennis OBE, statesman of British conservation, who has spent a life with ospreys - the iconic fish hawks which are slowly returning to Britain. Paul asks Roy what other creatures he would like to see back in the British countryside. Paul Evans meets Roy Dennis, who has spent a life with ospreys, in the Scottish Highlands. Series about scientific specialists |
| 06 | 01 | Insects | 20120326 | A Life With.... Episode 1 of 5: Insects Insects are not everyone's favourite part of the natural world, but a doctor in Norfolk just loves them. Dr Phil Wilkins' day job is a palliative care consultant but his overwhelming passion is insects. Mary Colwell goes to his home to see his garden designed for insects and to try to understand what the connection is between being a doctor and an entomologist. Phil's garden is insect heaven, everything in it is there for a reason, to attract insects and give them what they need to breed, but the surrounding land is intensively farmed fields of crops with barely any insect life at all. Dr Wilkins wants to heal the land, and bring back a healthy, vibrant natural community. This is one man's battle to save Britain's creepy crawlies for future generations. Mary Colwell meets a doctor who has a passion for creepy crawlies. Series about scientific specialists | |
| 06 | 02 | Water Voles | 20120327 | 20120726 (R4) | A Life With... Water Voles Water voles are famous for being Ratty in Wind in the Willows, but they are disappearing fast from our waterways. Mary Colwell meets a water vole warrior who is determined to save them. Darren Tansley fell in love with water voles as a boy, messing around on a raft his dad made from an old barn door. 40 years later he is still messing about on the river, but now he is creating new, protected homes for water voles and makes sure their sworn enemies, the mink, don't get anywhere near them. Darren has a fascinating past. Not only has he always been monitoring and studying water voles he was a long haired eco warrior who played in a rock band and campaigned for Greenpeace. When he realised the conservation world didn't really listen to amateurs he went back to college to get the 'proper' qualifications. Now his projects are paying off and Darren takes Mary to see water voles that have just returned to a water-way in Essex. First broadcast on 27th March 2012 at 1.54pm. Mary Colwell meets a water vole warrior determined to save them from disappearing. Series about scientific specialists |
| 06 | 03 | Corals | 20120328 | 20120809 (R4) | A Life With... Corals Corals? In Devon? Believe it or not there are lots of corals around the British coastline. Mary Colwell meets a man who has spent his life finding out about them. Keith Hiscock was inspired to find out about the hidden life of the British seas as a child when he read books by the Victorian naturalist, Philip Henry Gosse. Keith began to retrace his steps, described in detail in his books, and re-discovered many of the treasures Gosse found in the 19th Century. Years later he became a marine scientist, discovering new species and helping protect the marine life of Britain. On a warm September day Keith took Mary to one of Gosse's favourite beaches, Tunnels Beach in Devon, to find a treasure that many pirates would covet - the Scarlet and Gold Star Coral. You don't have to go to the Barrier Reef to see beautiful sea life, it is right on our doorstep, although it has to be said, the sea is a lot colder! First broadcast on 28th March 2012 at 1.45pm. Mary Colwell meets a man who has spent his life searching for corals on the Devon coast. Series about scientific specialists |
| 06 | 04 | Mosses | 20120329 | A Life With... Episode 4 of 5: Mosses What makes a young man forgo parties with friends to sit at home every evening and weekend and study the intricate anatomy of mosses? What is it about liverworts, best known for smothering seedlings in greenhouses that pushes the buttons of a naturalist? Mary Colwell meets Simon Bosenquet who sees the beauty and the importance of the less glamorous parts of the natural world. Most of us would walk past these plants without a second glance, but we ignore them at our peril. The study of mosses and liverworts are a very 21st Century occupation. They are often the early indicators of change in the environment from pollution to warming temperatures. They are everywhere from city pavements to mountain gullies and each has a story to tell about the environment. Sam takes Mary to a remote standing stone in the Brecon Beacons to show how a small plant can tell us so much about how the landscape has changed. But what makes a young man so fascinated with this area of natural history? Mary Colwell meets a man whose life revolves around tiny green plants. Series about scientific specialists | |
| 06 | 05 | Seals | 20120330 | 20120802 (R4) | A Life With... Episode 5 of 5: Seals Grey seals are Britain's largest mammal, yet still remain a mystery. Mary Colwell Meets Sue Sayer on a windy cliff in Cornwall to view the animals she loves so much. Sue now spends all her time discovering their lives. She used to be a teacher, but as her passion for seals grew she found herself spending more and more time with seals. Eventually she gave up her paid job and became a champion of seals. Sue has developed a fur pattern recognition system that means she know 700 seals just by looking at them! What is it about seals that inspires such dedication? Is it their big eyes or their playful, curious character that is so alluring? Sue finds it hard to say herself, but acknowledges they have totally taken over her life. Sue still uses her teaching skills, but this time to educate the public about seals, how to behave around them and what to do if there is a lone pup on the beach. We may take them for granted she says, but there as many grey seals an red squirrels, its time to take their welfare to heart and grey seals could have no better champion than Sue Sayer to fight their cause. Mary meets grey seal expert Sue Sayer in Cornwall to observe the animals. Series about scientific specialists |