“The astonishing speed and variety of nature’s response [to the pandemic] has shown that even modest changes to our lives can make a vital difference to wildlife around the world.”
Richard Attenborough
Directed by Tom Beard, and hosted by Attenborough, The Year Earth Changed covers the dramatic improvements the Coronavirus pandemic has given the natural world. The film displays many abandoned urban environments around the world that became peopled with animals, improving their lives, and supporting much-needed expansions of their populations. The film includes interviews of several passionate caretakers of our natural world.
The lessons learned from the pandemic can be applied to humankind’s post-pandemic behaviors. We can institute modest reforms and rectifications such as small shutdowns in the summer, nightly beach closers, and countless more opportunities to improve our natural world.
“This extraordinary year, the year the Earth changed, has not only shown us that we can help wildlife to flourish, but if we chose to do so, we can also transform the health of the planet for all. And far from being separate from the natural world, we’ve discovered that our lives are interconnected in deep and surprising ways. If we are to thrive in the future, now is the crucial moment to find ways to share our planet with all the life on Earth.”
Richard Attenborough
The Year Earth Changed was produced by BBC Studios, and is distributed by Apple TV+.