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Nature’s Big Year: What Happened When Humanity Hit Pause

  • November 16, 2021
  • Mountain Life Media
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You’d expect a sharp decline in human activity—i.e., the lockdown most of the world endured—to have an environmental upside. But scientists studying the effects of our temporary absence have been surprised at how quickly and dramatically animals reacted.

Big owl close up with sky background
Photo: Nature’s Big Year Productions

As seen in Christine Nielsen’s documentary Nature’s Big Year, lockdown helped turtles nest more successfully on Juno Beach, Florida. When humans changed their habits, wolves and their prey shifted theirs. Sea lions basked on the streets in an Argentinian port, and wild goats romped through the streets of a Welsh seaside town.

Trailer courtesy of Nature’s Big YearProductions

Even the birds were talking louder and prouder. Chris Watson, David Attenborough’s frequent nature-sound recordist, noticed that the blackbirds on his property were, “singing more vigorously,” without human noise. His observations are bolstered by animal acoustician Miya Warrington, who analyzed the avian “conversation” on Watson’s property, comparing it with pre-pandemic levels.

Natures big year PandemicSound
Photo: Nature’s Big YearProductions

Natures big year Wet Wolf
Photo: Nature’s Big YearProductions

An unprecedented study at the University of Manitoba revealed that many species of birds were attracted to communities with stronger lockdowns and a team from Laval University found that lockdown led to a fitter, fatter flock of migrating snow geese in 2020.

In one of the film’s most surprising revelations, atmospheric scientists were shocked to discover that those beautiful blue skies during lockdown were hiding a deadly secret. Ground-level ozone, a harmful invisible gas, accelerated as other pollutants dropped off.

Natures Big Year November 2019
Photo: Nature’s Big YearProductions

Natures Big Year March 2020
Photo: Nature’s Big YearProductions

Nature’s Big Year follows the scientists through the pandemic, as they discover the effects of the biggest controlled experiment of our time. 

“When we started our research and filming, we had no idea where it would lead,” says writer/director Christine Nielsen. “As a producer,  there are few things I find more unsettling than an uncertain conclusion—a situation where it’s impossible to know whether the results will be interesting or even relevant.

Natures Big Year Ozone graphs
Photo: Nature’s Big YearProductions

Some of those famous early stories were incorrect, or just plain fake. The cavorting dolphins weren’t anywhere near the canals of Venice—the photos had been taken hundreds of kilometres away.  And some of the wild animals that appeared to be ‘taking back’ the streets were, in fact, looking for the absent tourists who they usually rely on for food. 

Natures Big Year camera tripod beach
Photo: Nature’s Big YearProductions

What kept my team and I motivated was the support and enthusiasm of our participating scientists, and ultimately, their results …. Those results resonated deeply with me. Lockdown demonstrates the tremendous impact humans have on the world. It’s also a wake-up call. Nature can rebound and we can shift our behavior when we absolutely must.” 

Watch Nature’s Big Year on CBC Gem.

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