New Irish wildlife documentary is a hymn to nature and a cry for help
A Note for Nature: Clare Sands and Susan O’Neill performing ‘Carry My Song’. Crossing the Line Productions. And a gannet, basking shark, and humpback whale tail
Music fans and nature lovers are beautifully catered for with the documentary, . It's a fusion of music and wildlife documentary, produced by award-winning filmmakers Crossing the Line Productions.
The beauty of this crossover approach is that I’m sure the filmmakers managed to bring a new audience to wildlife and perhaps a new audience to Irish music at the same time. There are probably people who watched this show on St Stephen's Day who wouldn’t normally stick with an hour-long wildlife documentary. Likewise, it may have introduced new Irish singers and musicians to wildlife lovers.
Producer/director Cepa Giblin explains: “With , we wanted to try something different. We hear about the biodiversity crisis and climate breakdown every single day, but it often doesn't seem to break through. We wanted to try and bring an extra emotional layer to the story and music felt like the perfect way to do this.”
The programme opens with close-ups of songbirds singing their hearts out, followed by a human orchestra beginning to play in a lush clearing of forest. It is actually quite emotional to watch this documentary — due to the mix of stunning images with poignant songs, from such amazing artists as Tolü Makay, Iarla Ó Lionard, Kila, and, of course, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
In addition to performances from such talented musicians, leading conservationists and writers, such as Professor Jane Stout and Pádraic Fogarty, provide great insights and hope in the form of solutions for our future.
What is very refreshing is that even in producing such a beautiful celebration of nature, the filmmakers do not shy away from including scenes of its devastation, too — for example, showing the vast blackened deserts we have left from decades of peat extraction; clear-felled woodlands, and wildfires.
A shot of a beautiful white swan slowly reveals it is swimming in a pool of litter. It even pulls up a large piece of plastic with its beak as it tries to get through. A seal has a noose of plastic netting around its neck. This spotlight on the damage we have done is complemented by 'As the Clock Winds Down', a wonderful song by the inimitable Christy Moore.
Pádraic Fogarty, of the Irish Wildlife Trust, reminds us of the abundance and diversity of wildlife Ireland once had, but even more importantly, gives solid examples of large parts of Ireland where rewilding could turn things around — both on dry land and in Irish waters.
“Rewilding, to my mind, is the cheapest, quickest and most effective solution we have to addressing the biodiversity emergency. Fundamentally our relationship with nature has to change. We have to stop looking at nature as something that’s just pretty and nice to have. We have to look at nature as absolutely essential to our wellbeing, fundamental to every aspect of our lives, including our economy.”
Surfer and scientist, Easkey Britton, explains: “We have created a world where there’s microplastics in the ocean, it’s in our drinking water, it’s in our bloodstream, but, for me, it really represents how entangled it all is. The ocean is our life support system. We would already be in a complete meltdown if it wasn’t for the ocean buffering us from the worst effects of the climate crisis, absorbing 90% of the excess heat already.”
This important message is followed by the most beautiful sequence combining shots of colossal waves, a pod of dolphins, a massive seal colony, and the majesty of a breaching Humpback Whale under the powerful song ‘Carry My Song’ by Clare Sands and Susan O’Neill, made even more dramatic by their performance on the edge of a cliff.
The final song, ‘Motherland’ by Niamh Regan, is a wonderful way to end this special programme as it weaves together a breathtaking montage of Ireland’s beautiful birds, mammals and impressive wildlife spectacles — including golden eagle, giant sharks, and the aerial ballet of a starling murmuration.
Never in human history has it been more important to encourage discussion around nature and how we manage our landscapes. This is exactly the sort of programming that we need from a public service broadcaster. More of this please, RTÉ!
- You can watch on RTÉ Player
