How I met David Attenborough

My PhD in Cambridge has given me many unique opportunities and memorable experiences. The highlight this year has been the launch of the university's new conservation hub — the "David Attenborough Building" (DAB). The building has been in use since December – and, in fact, my research group moved there at about that time – but the official launch only happened recently. The events around the launch gave me a better overview of the aims and challenges of conservation worldwide. They also inspired me to keep working towards solutions for the increasingly complex issues affecting the natural world, despite the barriers that we must still overcome.

The David Attenborough Building is designed made for students and professionals working on conservation and related topics. It brings university research groups out of their academic isolation by housing them with NGOs and conservation initiatives. The building itself is a high-tech, environmentally-friendly space, laid out to foster multidisciplinary conversations and collaborations. However, its most striking quality is the welcoming atmosphere. I don’t know if this is thanks to the vertical garden spanning three storeys, to the glass roof that gives plenty of natural light, to the free coffee served in the common room, or even to the feeling of purpose that arises from the common goal that unites us. This commonality of purpose was evident during the launch ceremony.

View of the green wall at the David Attenborough building

At least 450 people were gathered in the large lecture theatre, which was vibrating with anticipation. And how could one not be excited: Sir David Attenborough himself, the iconic figure on conservation in the UK and Europe, was the guest of honour. I was keen to see for myself the reasons underlying his popularity. In fact, coming from Brazil, I was introduced to ecology and conservation in a very different manner to my European colleagues. I had not even heard of David Attenborough until I arrived in Cambridge! I did not grow up with his documentaries, unlike so many of my British counterparts. I was influenced more by my surroundings and by Brazilian TV programmes, like Globo Reporter and Globo Ecologia. Unfortunately, we Brazilians and Latin Americans lack inspiring figures in ecology and conservation of the stature of David Attenborough.

Sir David Attenborough abseiling the green wall (credit: Toby Smith)

The ceremony started with a breath-taking film about the building. The short film included a helicopter flight above Cambridge to allow us to marvel at the city's skyline, followed by a landing on the roof of the DAB. The film is narrated by David Attenborough, who introduces the building as a "fantastic initiative". He then appears in person in the lecture theatre to deliver an enthusiastic speech. This is followed by a panel discussion involving himself and another conservationist and anthropologist, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Dame Alison Richard¹. They both expose their perspectives on conservation, and how these changed over the course of their careers. We then listened to short presentations by researchers, students and professionals working in the new building. Each one presented their work and their expectations regarding collaborations. The ceremony was inspiring and showed us, like the aerial view of Cambridge, the broader picture of our roles and opportunities as part of the conservation hub.

Bumblebee pollinating (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_ecology)

What I really took away from the ceremony was that conservation cannot be done alone, it needs multidisciplinary collaborations and lots of team work (and good will). The DAB symbolizes the need for collaborative work to tackle complex problems. This reminds me of a natural ecosystem, where different species are structured in communities that all contribute to the functioning of ecosystem processes; and that it is the final outcome, not the well-being of individual species, that really matters. It also made clear that the conservation challenges we face now are bigger than 50 years ago, and that it will take all the expertise, technology and creativity grouped in the David Attenborough building and around the world to address them.

I will end this post with David Attenborough's words, hoping that they will inspire you as much as they inspired me: “The building is open for business!”.