TV as a conservation tool?

Forest and Bird, Issue 282, 1 November 1996, Page 7

TV as a conservation tool?

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University of Otago

Rachel Keedwell

Henrik

TELEVISION IS A very effective source of information for many people. But what role do natural history television . programmes, such as Our World, play in enhancing environmental knowledge and

positive attitudes towards conservation? Researcher Davina Hunt from the Zoology Department at the University of Otago set out to find out. In one experiment, she tested the knowledge of school children before and after viewing a natural history video about New Zealand’s animals. It was clear that the children learned a great deal from just one showing of the video. In another study, Davina found that knowledge about species and the environment was significantly correlated with support for conservation, and respondents who watched natural history programmes also displayed a higher level of conservation knowledge and support for conservation than those who did not watch these programmes.

But correlation does not prove causation. These results simply might indicate that conservationists are more likely to watch natural history television. Nevertheless, this study and others show television to be one of the top sources for information on the environment. Children also listed television as a fun way to learn about the environment, second only to seeing nature first hand — with most of them watching natural history television at least once a week — so it is possible that this is a potential key source of information and a potential tool for raising conservation awareness. Sometimes, television is the only practicable and safe way that New Zealanders can see and experience some of the rarer and more inaccessible animals and wild places. Rod Morris’s documentary on the black robin, for instance, beamed into thousands of New Zealand homes and gave us all a chance to watch a tale of hope without going near the bird’s windswept rock haven. If television really is that important, what then is the quality of information being given by natural history programming? This has so far received little study. In order to sell well, programmes tend to be entertaining first and informative second with the result that conservation messages may not even make an appearance, or may be distorted.