SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH’S message about the environment needs to be heard and acted on, for the good God’s creation, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, said on the occasion of the environmentalist’s 100th birthday, on Friday.
Bishop Usher, who is the Church’s lead bishop for the environment, gave thanks for Sir David’s decades of contributions on TV screens everywhere.
“Today, I join people across the world in wishing Sir David Attenborough a very happy 100th birthday. As a broadcaster, he has done more than anyone to communicate the joy, wonder, and fragility of the natural world. His message about protection, conservation and restoration needs to be heard — and acted on — for the good of us all and the care of God’s creation.”
The Archbishop of York posted his good wishes on social media: “Happy 100th birthday, Sir David Attenborough. Thank you for helping us to see the wonder of creation, and the responsibility we share to protect it. Many blessings and prayers on this special day.”
Sir David was born on 8 May 1926 in Isleworth, Middlesex. A natural historian, writer, and presenter, his career has spanned more than eight decades, beginning with the BBC in the early 1950s. He first came to public prominence through the BBC programme Zoo Quest in 1954, and went on to create and present landmark wildlife documentaries including Life on Earth, The Living Planet, The Blue Planet, and Planet Earth. He was knighted in 1985.
Sir David’s centenary was marked with tributes, broadcasts, and a celebration at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday. The King sent a video message, played at the venue, in which a birthday card was delivered by animals, including a fox, a hedgehog, an otter, and a duck.
The King reflected on the occasion when they had first met, in 1958. The then nine-year-old Prince Charles, with his sister Princess Anne, had visited the set of Zoo Quest.
“It is amazing to think that you and I have known one another for more than 60 years. Indeed, I believe we first met in 1958, almost a decade before the age of colour television. And, of course, our paths have crossed many times since.
“Over those decades you have revealed the beauty and wonders of nature to audiences around the world in new and marvellous ways. In so doing you have shared my determination to highlight the urgent need to protect and preserve this precious planet of ours and all life on Earth for future generations,” the King said.
Prince William, who was seated next to Sir David in a box at the Royal Albert Hall, said in his speech at the occasion: “It is a rare privilege to celebrate a century of life. But it is rarer still when that person has transformed the way we see the only home that we have — Planet Earth . . .
“Through your boundless curiosity, gentle wisdom and unwavering dedication, you have opened our eyes to the beauty of our planet, and to its fragility, reminding us of our collective responsibility to protect it.”
