Springwatch series pays homage to the “restorative power of nature”

Posted on 31 May 2022 • TV and radio

A chance to embrace all that is inspiring and engaging about nature is on offer with the brand new series of BBC/Open University’s Springwatch.

This ever popular co-production will be shown live from May 30 every evening Monday to Thursday across the next three weeks from 8pm on BBC Two. 

Springwatch 2022 reveals the seasons’ wildlife in real time. This series the theme is overarching: the “restorative power of nature”. Presenters Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan will be joined by the camera team on location to reveal the goings on in birds’ nests and provide insight into a bee colony amongst other delights. Later Megan McCubbin will take viewers on a spring road trip across the North of England, viewing osprey nests as well as forest activity on the ground.

“Nature … is something we are very much implicated in”

Springwatch explores, engages and simply wallows in the joy of spending time embracing our natural world. The privileged insights are brought to the small screen through macro filming, and the series introduces some of the most passionate people dedicating their time and immersing themselves in the natural world. 

The OU’s academic consultants to the programme are Dr Clare Lawson, lecturer in environmental sciences and Dr Andy Morris, staff tutor and senior lecturer in Geography. Dr Lawson’s research work has focussed on species-rich grasslands and how they respond to a changing environment, while Dr Morris has a background in social and cultural Geography. His main area of interest centres on the relationships between humans and wildlife, plus how they can challenge and inform understandings of nature and society. 

Dr Morris says this series content is “fantastically diverse”

“Springwatch certainly provides the affecting moments of renewal and rebirth that you would expect but it is also about communicating the findings of new and revealing research about wildlife and the environment, as well as our relationship too it, including the significant role it plays in our mental health – something we learned a lot about on the previous series we worked on at the height of lockdown in Spring 2020.

“The importance of Springwatch, and the connection it makes with my own research interests on the geographies of human-wildlife relations, is that it is not just about a detached understanding of nature as something that exists separate to us, but about something that we are also very much implicated in; how the effects of issues such as habitat loss and climate change highlight the interdependencies between our lives and those of plants and animals.”

This series was commissioned by Broadcast and Partnerships and is supported by the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths with particular relevance to: BSc (Hons) Environmental Sciences, BSc (Hons) Geography and Environmental Science, Environment: Journeys through a changing world and The Biology of Survival. 

This series is also support by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences with particular relevance to: BA (Hons) Environmental Studies, BA (Hons) in Social Sciences, Environment and Society and Environment: sharing a dynamic planet. 

• Commissioned by Dr Caroline Ogilvie, Head of Broadcast & Partnerships 
• Academic Consultants: Dr Clare Lawson (STEM) and Dr Andy Morris (FASS) 
• Media Fellow: Dr Julia Cooke (STEM) and Dr Alison Penn (FASS) 
• Broadcast Project Manager: Jo Weeks 

• Supporting online content: Andrew Hudson  

Supporting Online content: 

Visit the Broadcast & Partnerships site OU Connect where you can find extensive resources and information on topics related to Springwatch, along with an exclusive interview about uncovering urban wildlife, and how regenerative farming affects our countryside!