What's on during Conservation Week?
TVNZ 6 is proud to bring you special Conservation Week programming every night, 6pm-10pm from September 12-18. This is a week of exciting programming that presents a green look at our planet.
In partnership with the Department of Conservation, TVNZ 6 will present a Meet The Locals Conservation Week Special . A two-part classic David Attenborough documentary about the effects of mankind on Earth is another highlight of TVNZ 6's Conservation Week line-up. Plus, thoughout the week, we learn about orphaned baby animals and meet children who invent an award-winning environmental solution to forest fires.
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A Tale of Two Rivers
- Monday September 13 at 7.30pm
- Tuesday September 14 at 8.30pm
- Thursday September 15 at 7pm
- Saturday September 18 at 7.30pm
New Zealand prides itself on its 'clean and green' image, and
maintaining that ideal means a commitment to renewable power.
However, even renewables come at a price. For many, the recent and
controversial consent granted to Meridian to dam the Mokihinui
River is a perfect example of going too far in the name of
renewable energy.
A Tale of Two Rivers joins a group of rafters and kayakers for a
trip down the wild Mokihinui, one of New Zealand's - and the
world's - increasingly rare, untouched rivers. The
fourteen-kilometre long lake that would result if the scheme goes
ahead would be the largest inundation of conservation land in New
Zealand's history.
But conservation has to deal with the reality of power generation.
The West Coast needs more power, and generating it locally is by
far more efficient than importing it from outside the region. But
is the Mokihinui the right river?
What makes the Mokihinui story unique is an alternative hydro proposal a few kilometres away on the Stockton Plateau. This has near unanimous support from conservationists, recreational users and business leaders. Since power generation is a function of height and water volume, by taking advantage of the altitude at Stockton, this alternative scheme would generate nearly the same amount of power using much less water. This scheme has the added benefit of using water from the Stockton Mine, thus cleaning up the polluted Ngakawau River.
A Tale of Two Rivers combines scenery and sport with a frank discussion by local leaders who are struggling to balance the competing demands on their region. Ant Black, the brains behind the Stockton hydro scheme, discusses how Stockton can serve as a real alternative to the Mokihinui.
Environmentalism can elicit strong reactions, both positive and negative, but A Tale of Two Rivers demonstrates that saving a wild river need not mean saying no to development. It is saying yes to smart development.
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Are We Changing Planet Earth?
- Sunday September 12 at 8.30pm
- Tuesday September 14 at 7pm
- Thursday September 16 at 8.30pm
Can We Save Planet Earth?
- Monday September 13 at 8.30pm
- Wednesday September 15 at 7pm
- Friday September 17 at 8.30pm
Are We Changing Planet Earth? and Can We Save Planet Earth? are two documentaries about global warming, presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Previously Attenborough had confessed to being cynical about the
idea that global warming is mainly caused by humans. Now he
declares the evidence is too overwhelming to ignore and he takes an
engaged stance in these documentaries. Are We Changing Planet
Earth? confirms that climate change does exist and that it is
undeniably human-induced. It investigates the effects and likely
causes of the phenomenon, and the probable outcome if we don't act
now to prevent further damage. Can We Save Planet Earth? examines
the future in more detail and identifies actions that we can take
to save our planet.
"This is our planet: planet Earth. It contains an astonishing
variety of landscapes and climates. Since life began, around 4,000
million years ago, it has gone through extraordinary changes in its
climate and in the species that live on it. But now it seems that
our planet is being transformed not by natural events, but by the
actions of one species: mankind." - Sir David Attenborough's
opening narration.
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Jean-Michel Cousteaus Ocean Adventures
- Sunday September 12 - Saturday September 18
at 9.30pm
Come and explore the underwater worlds with Emmy award-winning
Jean-Michel Cousteau as he reveals the surprising and often
devastating impact of human activity on our fragile ecosystems and
wildlife.
Accompanied by marine scientists and ecologists, Jean-Michel guides us through the northwest Hawaiian Archipelago to uncover varied wildlife populations above and below the ocean, and investigates these species' fight against extinction and the devastating effects of pollution, mining, fishing and development. He also examines the National Marine Sanctuary System, a collection of rarely visited ecosystems that promise to inspire an ethic of ocean preservation to transcend national borders. He journeys to the most powerful river system in the world, the Amazon, and looks at how its intense transformation will alter the global climate and finds solutions to exploitation. Finally, in the cold reaches of the high Arctic, Jean-Michel discovers why some beluga whales are flourishing and others are declining. Most surprising of all is that what is happening with the belugas may foreshadow similar health concerns for mankind. The team's inspiration is that with knowledge comes change and Cousteau and his team find reason for hope in their vast underwater adventures.
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Raising Baby
- Monday September 13 - Saturday September 18 at 6pm
Raising Baby is a series that shows the special bond between an
orphaned animal and their extraordinary caregivers during the
animals often chaotic first year of life.
Meet Charlie, a black bear cub rescued from the backyard trade
in wildlife for pets; Jing Jing the Giant Panda; two orphaned baby
gorillas found at an illegal hunting camp; three young hyena cubs;
five hand-reared moose; an orphaned seal; and the dedicated teams
of surrogate 'mums' and 'dads' who care for them. These are the
stories of helpless baby animals that desperately need the care and
attention of the conservation activists who seek to protect
them.
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Animal Atlas
- Sunday September 12 - Saturday September 18 at 8pm
Follow Animal Atlas and travel the globe to meet all kinds of
animals, from the every-day to the extraordinary.
Throughout the week, Animal Atlas takes a panoramic look at invertebrates and insects, spiders, snakes, scorpions and sharks. Check out the only mammal that can fly - the bat, and have a closer look at the relationship between water and animals that aren't fish. Find out which animals share physical characteristics, making them unlikely relations, and investigate whether or not animals are social like us. Meet those social and not so social, those frightening and gentle, small and tall animals and discover all the little things that make them unique to the world that we live in.
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Animal Academy
- Sunday September 12 at 7pm
Presented by Olympic Gold Medallist Sarah Ulmer with Wildlife Park
Ranger Jeremy Maguire, this weeks Animal Academy brings you
heart-warming tales of animal preservation.
First the pair venture to the Nelson ranges to catch up with those cheeky native parrots, the kea, and meet Tamsin Orr-Walker, a kea researcher who makes sure that they not only survive but thrive. Later theytravel into Arthurs Pass National Park with conservationist Sandy Yong in search of NZ's most wanted predator... the stoat. She leads one of 30 DOC teams who trap predators in an effort to protect the native species in our forests with the intention that our native bird population can be sustained and increased.
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The Forest Guards
- Sunday September 12 at 6pm
- Wednesday September 15 at 8.30pm
- Friday September 17 at 7pm
- Saturday September 18 at 8.30pm
This documentary presents a whirlwind year in the life of six
home-schooled children from a community in the foothills of
Northern California who have developed an ingenious invention for
the early detection of forest fires. What starts as a local
environmental solution evolves into an idea that could have a major
global impact after they win top prize at the Global Childrens
Climate Competition and with it, the chance to have their dream
become reality.
Their invention is a network of cameras located around forests
that send real-time pictures to hundreds and thousands of desktops,
turning people all over the world into Forest Guards. Their Forest
Guard concept catches the eye of a top R&D specialist at Sony
who invites the kids to work with some of the best engineers and
designers in the business to help the Forest Guards develop their
concept into a workable prototype.
Real-world experience at the forefront of technological design is
contrasted with the everyday lives of the kids at home in Meadow
Vista, a picture-perfect foothills community of rolling hills,
farms, forests, and lakes. But during the worst summer in
California history for fires, a major blaze rages dangerously close
to their homes - many of them are forced to evacuate. With no sign
that things will get any better in summers to come, it couldn't be
a better time to raise awareness of forest fires and what can be
done to prevent them. As the first prototypes are tested near Tahoe
National Forest, the Forest Guards are invited to the UN's Global
Environmental Conference in Copenhagen to present their idea to
global environmental and world leaders - and they become
ambassadors for the innovations of young people in the ongoing
dialogue about the future of our planet.
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The Conservation Week message this year is simple: We love you New Zealand. We need to protect the things that make New Zealand unique, and TVNZ 6 and DOC hope to inspire us to get out and show New Zealand just how much we love it with this fascinating special programme on New Zealand wildlife.
Meet the Locals presenter James Reardon first takes us to Anchor
Island to check on the much-loved kakapo and discusses the
contentious strategy of moving bird populations back from remote
islands to the mainland for all New Zealanders to enjoy. He then
ventures to Whareorino forest with DOC's Lisa Daglish to find out
more about The Archey's Frog; another critically endangered local
that has remained genetically unchanged for 70 million years!
Finally, Reardon flies into the Murchison Mountains to check on the
takahe chicks that were relocated here last year and assesses how
these birds are coping in their new environment. Don't miss this
rare opportunity to see some of our most endangered natives.
