Radio Times

Review by:

Emma Sturgess

Springwatch’s Chris Packham takes a look at how different ecosystems survive, and the first stop is the jungle. The “emerald band” is a rather romantic name for the jungles that belt the Earth, but then there’s a lot of togetherness going on within them. He finds that although plants are under constant attack in the rainforests of Panama, everything needs everything else in order to thrive. The biodiversity that results from these relationships is at once robust and fragile.

In the Amazon, where the brazil nut tree flourishes in the wild at the heart of an ecosystem too delicate to re-create in order to farm the nuts, Chris learns the links between the tree, a small rodent, a rare orchid, a rare bee and the rare bee’s girlfriend. And we thought human relationships were complicated.

About this programme

1/4. Chris Packham embarks on a quest to highlight some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Along the way, he details the intricate - and often unexpected - connections between various species that thrive in symbiosis, and showcases the habitats that make life on Earth possible. He begins by exploring the web of life sustained by one of the mightiest trees in the Amazon, and the tiny rodent it relies upon for survival.

Cast and crew

Cast

Presenter

Chris Packham

Crew

Director

Adam White

Producer

Paul Bradshaw

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