Latest news with #InternationalRangerFederation
ITV News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ITV News
Prince William praises guardians of the natural world in new docuseries highlighting work of rangers
The Prince of Wales has praised the 'unsung heroes' of the natural world in a new docuseries which highlights the work of rangers. The six-part series, 'Guardians', aims to redefine public understanding of rangers and the work they do to protect the environment. The 6-10 minute episodes will be released weekly on BBC Earth's YouTube and social channels – with the first launching online on Friday, May 23. Prince William, who has spearheaded the project, said: 'It started as a seed of an idea about 18 months ago and it came about from wanting to educate, showcase, highlight, spotlight the brilliant people – men and women – who are at the forefront and the frontline of conservation around the world.' The Prince, who has seen first-hand the work of rangers, has voiced the trailer for the series and the introduction to each episode. The series showcases the work of rangers across the world in a bid to 'understand and recognise Nature's Guardians' and the varied roles they play in protecting the environment. William made a surprise appearance at the press launch earlier this week. He watched as the first three episodes were screened and then joined a panel discussion with Rohit Singh, vice president of the International Ranger Federation, and TV presenter Michaela Strachan, a regular host on BBC's Springwatch. During the discussion, he said: 'I have been dying to do something around this sort of space for a while. What really struck me about doing some of the research on this was that this is now one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet and really is shouldn't be, we are protecting the natural world. '1,400 Rangers have died in the last 10 years – that's about two a week. They are unseen and unheard of and so many of these cases get forgotten about, don't get reported, people don't see them. We don't feel it back here. We all care about our natural world, back here, but sometimes we lose that connection with actually what it's like living and working in that space.' The series is filmed in locations across the world including the Himalayas in India, Mexico's Sea of Cortez and Kruger National Park in South Africa. The first episode follows the work of a reformed poacher who now dedicates his life to protecting wildlife in the Dzangha-Sangha area in the Central African Republic. William said: 'Another reason to do this series was about valuing what Rangers do. It was very important to me that the guys and girls felt like the rest of the world understood what they did and they valued their work.' United for Wildlife, founded by Prince William and the Royal Foundation, announced in November that it had committed to a five-year financial package for rangers. It is set to provide 10,000 rangers across Africa with access to appropriate, affordable in-service and medical evacuation insurance cover.
Rhyl Journal
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
Attenborough ‘inspiration' for William's new series celebrating wildlife rangers
William hopes the six-part series will help nature's wardens be 'valued, respected, seen' and promote the 'wonderful' regions they protect, just as the broadcaster and naturalist's films drew viewers' attention to remote parts of the globe. The series called Guardians features rangers who do 'one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet', said William, from safeguarding snow leopards in the Indian Himalayas, defending marine life in Mexico's Sea of Cortez to protecting elephants and gorillas in the Central African Republic. William said: 'Any progress, any future we want for the natural world, has to come from the ranger community being valued, respected, seen.' The prince's comments were made during a surprise appearance earlier this week at the press launch of the series, with each episode featuring an on-screen introduction by the future King who also appears in a trailer for the project. 'David Attenborough – big inspiration for me growing up and being able to present wonderful parts of the world to many of us most of us will never get a chance to visit, and I hope this does the same kind of thing. 'It reminds people that there are still wonderful parts of the world and there is still hope, and there's still amazing work being done.' With a shared passion for protecting the natural world, the prince and the naturalist have supported each other in their missions to tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges the planet faces. William has attended screenings of Sir David's nature documentaries privately, most recently his new film Ocean, while the broadcaster – whose Life On Earth natural history series was a TV landmark – has been a champion of the prince's environmental Earthshot Prize since its inception. The future King spoke during a Q&A session, after the first thee episodes were screened, attended by Rohit Singh, vice president of the International Ranger Federation, and hosted by TV presenter Michaela Strachan, a regular host on BBC's Springwatch. William told the screening that friends working as rangers had given him 'feedback' about 'how much more dangerous the job's become' with 1,400 rangers dying during the past decade. The reasons behind the increased threat was 'community conflicts or civil wars or illegal fishing or poaching – whatever it might be is just spreading further and further across the globe'. William stressed the work of rangers was more than their role safeguarding nature: 'It's about the community initiatives they do, it's the education, it's the teaching, the scientific research. These people do so much more than just protecting wildlife and looking after wildlife. 'And if we are to reach our goals, and we do generally as a world care about the natural environment, then we need more of these guys and girls.' Last November the prince announced a new life insurance cover for rangers who safeguard Africa's wildlife, a five-year Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative providing 10,000 rangers with access to the financial scheme. Mr Singh called for more rangers to be trained, working conditions to be improved and for the workforce to be 'accountable and responsible' and more women employed. He added: 'At the moment one ranger is managing an area equal to 11,000 football fields – it's impossible to do the job.' The first episode of the series, launched by the Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife and co-produced by Zandland, is available from Friday on BBC Earth's YouTube and social channels, with a new episode released every Friday.
South Wales Guardian
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Attenborough ‘inspiration' for William's new series celebrating wildlife rangers
William hopes the six-part series will help nature's wardens be 'valued, respected, seen' and promote the 'wonderful' regions they protect, just as the broadcaster and naturalist's films drew viewers' attention to remote parts of the globe. The series called Guardians features rangers who do 'one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet', said William, from safeguarding snow leopards in the Indian Himalayas, defending marine life in Mexico's Sea of Cortez to protecting elephants and gorillas in the Central African Republic. William said: 'Any progress, any future we want for the natural world, has to come from the ranger community being valued, respected, seen.' The prince's comments were made during a surprise appearance earlier this week at the press launch of the series, with each episode featuring an on-screen introduction by the future King who also appears in a trailer for the project. 'David Attenborough – big inspiration for me growing up and being able to present wonderful parts of the world to many of us most of us will never get a chance to visit, and I hope this does the same kind of thing. 'It reminds people that there are still wonderful parts of the world and there is still hope, and there's still amazing work being done.' With a shared passion for protecting the natural world, the prince and the naturalist have supported each other in their missions to tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges the planet faces. William has attended screenings of Sir David's nature documentaries privately, most recently his new film Ocean, while the broadcaster – whose Life On Earth natural history series was a TV landmark – has been a champion of the prince's environmental Earthshot Prize since its inception. The future King spoke during a Q&A session, after the first thee episodes were screened, attended by Rohit Singh, vice president of the International Ranger Federation, and hosted by TV presenter Michaela Strachan, a regular host on BBC's Springwatch. William told the screening that friends working as rangers had given him 'feedback' about 'how much more dangerous the job's become' with 1,400 rangers dying during the past decade. The reasons behind the increased threat was 'community conflicts or civil wars or illegal fishing or poaching – whatever it might be is just spreading further and further across the globe'. William stressed the work of rangers was more than their role safeguarding nature: 'It's about the community initiatives they do, it's the education, it's the teaching, the scientific research. These people do so much more than just protecting wildlife and looking after wildlife. 'And if we are to reach our goals, and we do generally as a world care about the natural environment, then we need more of these guys and girls.' Last November the prince announced a new life insurance cover for rangers who safeguard Africa's wildlife, a five-year Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative providing 10,000 rangers with access to the financial scheme. Mr Singh called for more rangers to be trained, working conditions to be improved and for the workforce to be 'accountable and responsible' and more women employed. He added: 'At the moment one ranger is managing an area equal to 11,000 football fields – it's impossible to do the job.' The first episode of the series, launched by the Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife and co-produced by Zandland, is available from Friday on BBC Earth's YouTube and social channels, with a new episode released every Friday.
North Wales Chronicle
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
Attenborough ‘inspiration' for William's new series celebrating wildlife rangers
William hopes the six-part series will help nature's wardens be 'valued, respected, seen' and promote the 'wonderful' regions they protect, just as the broadcaster and naturalist's films drew viewers' attention to remote parts of the globe. The series called Guardians features rangers who do 'one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet', said William, from safeguarding snow leopards in the Indian Himalayas, defending marine life in Mexico's Sea of Cortez to protecting elephants and gorillas in the Central African Republic. William said: 'Any progress, any future we want for the natural world, has to come from the ranger community being valued, respected, seen.' The prince's comments were made during a surprise appearance earlier this week at the press launch of the series, with each episode featuring an on-screen introduction by the future King who also appears in a trailer for the project. 'David Attenborough – big inspiration for me growing up and being able to present wonderful parts of the world to many of us most of us will never get a chance to visit, and I hope this does the same kind of thing. 'It reminds people that there are still wonderful parts of the world and there is still hope, and there's still amazing work being done.' With a shared passion for protecting the natural world, the prince and the naturalist have supported each other in their missions to tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges the planet faces. William has attended screenings of Sir David's nature documentaries privately, most recently his new film Ocean, while the broadcaster – whose Life On Earth natural history series was a TV landmark – has been a champion of the prince's environmental Earthshot Prize since its inception. The future King spoke during a Q&A session, after the first thee episodes were screened, attended by Rohit Singh, vice president of the International Ranger Federation, and hosted by TV presenter Michaela Strachan, a regular host on BBC's Springwatch. William told the screening that friends working as rangers had given him 'feedback' about 'how much more dangerous the job's become' with 1,400 rangers dying during the past decade. The reasons behind the increased threat was 'community conflicts or civil wars or illegal fishing or poaching – whatever it might be is just spreading further and further across the globe'. William stressed the work of rangers was more than their role safeguarding nature: 'It's about the community initiatives they do, it's the education, it's the teaching, the scientific research. These people do so much more than just protecting wildlife and looking after wildlife. 'And if we are to reach our goals, and we do generally as a world care about the natural environment, then we need more of these guys and girls.' Last November the prince announced a new life insurance cover for rangers who safeguard Africa's wildlife, a five-year Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative providing 10,000 rangers with access to the financial scheme. Mr Singh called for more rangers to be trained, working conditions to be improved and for the workforce to be 'accountable and responsible' and more women employed. He added: 'At the moment one ranger is managing an area equal to 11,000 football fields – it's impossible to do the job.' The first episode of the series, launched by the Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife and co-produced by Zandland, is available from Friday on BBC Earth's YouTube and social channels, with a new episode released every Friday.
Powys County Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Powys County Times
Attenborough ‘inspiration' for William's new series celebrating wildlife rangers
The Prince of Wales has described Sir David Attenborough as the 'inspiration' for his new wildlife documentary project highlighting the work of rangers. William hopes the six-part series will help nature's wardens be 'valued, respected, seen' and promote the 'wonderful' regions they protect, just as the broadcaster and naturalist's films drew viewers' attention to remote parts of the globe. The series called Guardians features rangers who do 'one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet', said William, from safeguarding snow leopards in the Indian Himalayas, defending marine life in Mexico's Sea of Cortez to protecting elephants and gorillas in the Central African Republic. William said: 'Any progress, any future we want for the natural world, has to come from the ranger community being valued, respected, seen.' The prince's comments were made during a surprise appearance earlier this week at the press launch of the series, with each episode featuring an on-screen introduction by the future King who also appears in a trailer for the project. 'David Attenborough – big inspiration for me growing up and being able to present wonderful parts of the world to many of us most of us will never get a chance to visit, and I hope this does the same kind of thing. 'It reminds people that there are still wonderful parts of the world and there is still hope, and there's still amazing work being done.' With a shared passion for protecting the natural world, the prince and the naturalist have supported each other in their missions to tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges the planet faces. William has attended screenings of Sir David's nature documentaries privately, most recently his new film Ocean, while the broadcaster – whose Life On Earth natural history series was a TV landmark – has been a champion of the prince's environmental Earthshot Prize since its inception. The future King spoke during a Q&A session, after the first thee episodes were screened, attended by Rohit Singh, vice president of the International Ranger Federation, and hosted by TV presenter Michaela Strachan, a regular host on BBC's Springwatch. William told the screening that friends working as rangers had given him 'feedback' about 'how much more dangerous the job's become' with 1,400 rangers dying during the past decade. The reasons behind the increased threat was 'community conflicts or civil wars or illegal fishing or poaching – whatever it might be is just spreading further and further across the globe'. William stressed the work of rangers was more than their role safeguarding nature: 'It's about the community initiatives they do, it's the education, it's the teaching, the scientific research. These people do so much more than just protecting wildlife and looking after wildlife. 'And if we are to reach our goals, and we do generally as a world care about the natural environment, then we need more of these guys and girls.' Last November the prince announced a new life insurance cover for rangers who safeguard Africa's wildlife, a five-year Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative providing 10,000 rangers with access to the financial scheme. Mr Singh called for more rangers to be trained, working conditions to be improved and for the workforce to be 'accountable and responsible' and more women employed. He added: 'At the moment one ranger is managing an area equal to 11,000 football fields – it's impossible to do the job.' The first episode of the series, launched by the Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife and co-produced by Zandland, is available from Friday on BBC Earth's YouTube and social channels, with a new episode released every Friday.
