Documentary Unit - The Idea

As a part of our documentary unit, we have been put in groups of 3/4 (in my case 4) and have been told to create a wildlife documentary. However we must all come up with our own ideas and decide on who's idea we will implement into a 10 minute documentary. The idea I have come up with is a documentary about the advantages and disadvantages to the RSPB's methods of maintaining and growing the population of birds and other forms of wildlife.

I never really had a keen interest on bird watching or wildlife in general but I used to go to nature reserves, many of which were owned by the RSPB, a lot as a young boy with my family. For this reason I feel I already have a bit of a head start on research and I know exactly where to look for locations and what to expect when we are there. However my focus is not on the birds themselves but the way they are preserved. I got this idea when I saw a story about a wind turbine the RSPB built at one of their locations, a move that sparked a lot of controversy.

The Story

The construction of a large wind turbine was completed late last month at the RSPB headquarters in Bedfordshire. This is despite warnings that wind turbines are a dangerous threat to birds and bats. The Scottish Gamekeepers' Association (SGA) had previously stated that wind turbines kill more birds of prey than deliberate poisoning or shooting.

The idea is to save more energy as the RSPB state that climate change is the "single biggest threat" to birds and other wildlife and because of this have been involved in a number of wind farm projects to ensure nesting activities and flight paths amongst other things are taken into account. Many years of research were undertaken with Ecotricity to ensure that the location was suitable for a turbine.

"Climate change is the single biggest threat to our planet. This is about our birds and wildlife as well as our way of life. Around the world, and even in the UK, we can already see how these changes are affecting wildlife, the places where they live as well as damage to our homes and disruptions to the economy. It is down to everyone to play their part. In the UK, we have the potential to generate a significant portion, if not all, of our electricity from sustainable sources."

Martin Harper, director of RSPB