Protect & Restore Nature With Hamza Yassin
I want to tell you all about a brand-new Blue Peter Earthshot competition. I started the Earthshot Prize to search for solutions to the world鈥檚 biggest environmental challenges. And we want to find the next generation of young inventors who can make a change.
There are five Earthshot challenges, and now it's time to look at what we can do to help the natural world. I am on a mission to experience the wonders of nature right here in the UK, and who better to give me a tour of his beloved Scottish home than the legend that is鈥amza Yassin.
Top TV presenter and strictly winner Hamza has a day job filming wonderful wildlife. I鈥檓 heading to meet him near his home in the Scottish countryside to learn what it takes to become a wildlife camera operator and what efforts are being made to protect and restore nature near him.
Hey, what's up Joe? How you doing? I could not be better, it鈥檚 beautiful out here. I want to see some wildlife, OK.I want to learn how to use this. Yeah. Can you show me the ropes? Yeah. But first we have to lower our voice. Do you want to know why? Why? If you come this way slightly and have a look just down there. Oh. See that? Yes. That's a fallow deer. Stop it, it just looks like a rock. I know and that's it's camouflage.
Tell you what. Do you wanna jump on? Yeah, I do, I do. Obviously, camera, lens, tripod. Okay, there's your zoom right there. Right. We got it. Yep. And now if you zoom back in, slowly, that鈥檚 it. You see, yeah now you've got her perfectly in frame, but it's out of focus, I see, so your focus is just right at the top here. There you go, bingo! There you go, you've got a job! I heard you're pretty happy with that, that's good. You鈥檝e done well my man; you've done very well.
Scotland used to be covered in forest and over time here in the UK we've, deforested most of it. Yeah. Now we're beginning to replant the trees back again, rewilding it. Yes. The problem is we have a lot of red deer. Yes. And the red deer love to nibble on new shoots. I see.
Local conservationists are having to take steps to protect forests from the hungry red deer population. You see these little black dots everywhere? Yes, I do yeah. Yeah. These black dots are where they鈥檙e going to be replanting new forest. Oh I see. As well as helping combat climate change, forests will help provide a home fora huge array of plants and animals. And wow. Before they replant it, they have to fence it off. And that's because of the deer. Yes. They don't want the deer coming in, eating the beautiful shoots, they'll ruin everything. They'll ruin it.
That is a red deer stag. That is a red deer stag. Stop. There he is. I'm pretty pleased with that shot. But now we're about to see why tall fences are very important to protect the New Forest. So time to pass the camera over to a true pro. He's going to hop the fence. Ready? Watch this. Look how easy he's going to hop the fence. Ready? Ah! See? That is so good. It鈥檚 so easy. What a Legend. So easy. What a legend.
All right my friend, what have you got for me next? Get warm a little bit and then maybe go to the seaside. Sounds good to me. Fantastic. Let's go Come on then. It鈥檚 time to jump in a van and head to the beach. But I'm not on holiday, soon it's back to work as Hamza's camera assistant. How do you carry a tripod again? Ah. You see now it's over both shoulders. Better, right come on. I knew this all day long. Whoa! Told you ooh you're a bit slippery.
We鈥檙e here. What do you think? It鈥檚 absolutely incredible. I鈥檝e never seen so many seals at once in one place, that's phenomenal. This is the beauty of the West Coast. Yeah. Here in the west coast of Scotland, seals can be seen all year round. And local conservationists are trying to educate visitors to avoid disturbing seal populations, so under Hamza's expert supervision, we鈥檙e filming from a safe distance. Good job he's brought the zoom lens.
See some really big females and they're big at the moment because they've got babies, so they've got babies inside of them and they'll be giving birth mid-summer. Wow. You can see that one scratching away. Yes. They鈥檙e spotted, aren't they? They are. Their fur is a really important part of their, identification as such. We can see the individual seal because their fur is like a fingerprint.
These seals are so beautiful and a real inspiration as to why we should all help to protect and restore nature. So as part of the Blue Peter Earthshot competition we鈥檙e encouraging kids up and down the UK to protect and restore nature. Yeah. Why is that so important?
Mother Nature is so important. We are part of Mother Nature. Yes, we might be big brained and clever, but at the end of the day we are very minuscule. But we have a great effect on our natural world. Absolutely. So if we do every little bit to try and help Mother Nature, we can make this world a better place. Outstanding, absolutely correct. Well spoken. Well Hamzah I gotta tell ya, I think I was quite the camera operator today. You're not bad my man, ahh you are pretty good. You鈥檝e got an eye for this. Come on. Yeah.
Teacher notes
Humans have a big impact on the natural world: activities such as deforestation destroys habitats and harms ecosystems but there are ways we can protect and restore nature too. After all we are a part of nature, and we need it to survive and to thrive.
Supports learning about living things and their habitats and citizenship.
These teacher notes outline activities for you to try with your class and get pupils thinking about environmental challenges. The Blue Peter Earthshot competition is now closed for entries, for more info head over to the Blue Peter website.
Classroom ideas
Talk about protecting and restoring nature.
Help pupils join the conversation by discussing and creating your own glossary of key terms together:
Deforestation - clearing a wide area of trees habitat the natural home of a plant, animal or organism.
Reforestation - replanting and restoring an area of trees.
Rewilding - involves letting nature take care of itself and letting natural processes shape how habitats develop.
Moments in nature
Discuss with pupils what they think 鈥榥ature鈥 means and whether they think they are a part of it or not. Ask pupils to share any special moments they have had with, or in, nature and share stories, from listening to the dawn chorus to spotting a fox or listening to the wind in the trees. Discuss with pupils how it made them feel.
Remind pupils about needing to be quiet when watching wildlife and sit quietly outside in the school grounds to see what can be spotted, using a camera or a sound recorder 鈥 or both, to gather evidence. Pupils could then write or talk about their own 鈥榯op tips for watching wildlife鈥.
Daily diary
Have a rota of 鈥榳ildlife watchers鈥 to take turns doing a five-minute observation of a chosen place -this might be of somewhere that can be seen through a classroom window 鈥 and report their findings back to class or in a diary.
Habitat investigation
Carry out some fieldwork in the school grounds to gather, identify and record the names of some different plants and animals. Help pupils use different techniques such as sketching, photography and use of technology apps to help with the identification. Map the results on a plan of the school grounds and identify any distinct types of habitats that you find.
What could you do to improve your school grounds for wildlife? Could you plant any trees? Perhaps there is space to plant a small Willow shelter? Planting willow wands is one way to enjoy quick growth and provide some shade as well as early food for bees and other insects in spring. You may need to protect the delicate young stems from hungry rabbits though! Help pupils to research what can be done to protect any planting you do until it is strong enough to stand a chance of survival.
Supporting forests
The United Nations has designated 2021鈥30 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and many countries are making big plans to restore forests. Older pupils could examine Ordnance Survey maps to look for signs of remnants of ancient forest in your local area. Clues to ancient forests on maps might include non- uniform outlines, on difficult to access slopes and with place names that suggest their history. Investigate with pupils any rewilding or reforestation projects nearby that you could visit as a field trip.
Curriculum links
England:
Science, Geography, Technology, Citizenship
Northern Ireland:
The World Around Us, Personal Development and Mutual Understanding
Scotland:
Sciences, Social Studies, Health and Well Being
Wales:
Science and Technology, Humanities, Health and Well Being
