Landmarks: Earthwatch
Earthwatch is a unit of the BBC Schools TV series Landmarks from the 1990s, covering Geography for primary school pupils.
Programmes about conservation, pollution and other environmental issues, investigated by schoolchildren looking at their local areas, in the UK and around Europe.
This unit coincided with an international project by the organisation Greenpeace called 'No Time to Waste' which united the same schools taking part in these TV programmes to investigate and share information about environmental issues that affected them.
More footage from these investigations was used to make a separate unit of Landmarks Special Reports programmes.
In 1993 the Landmarks Weather Watch programmes were repeated alongside this unit, and listed as part of it in the teaher's notes.
Memorable Moments
In the first episode on The Water We Use children at Primet County Primary School form the Primet Environmental Action Squad - P.E.A.S. - to tackle river pollution in their local area.
They take their campaign as high as possible, first challenging their local MP to smell a sample of river water, and then writing to the Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Mrs. Margaret Thatcher:
“Dear Mrs Thatcher,
My name is Greg Thompson and I was wondering if myself and some classmates could come and interview you. We would ask you questions about water and water pollution.
If you wanted to you could just tell us to shut up and go home. We are the top class so we would behave.”
The result was positive.
“And a couple of weeks later we got a reply from her and she went 'yeah'.”
— Greg Thompson
Six of the squad visit 10 Downing Street and ask questions of the Prime Minister in person. Although she does not smell their water sample herself, she does explain how she has set up the National Rivers Authority and confirms that she dislikes open water swimming.
Episode List
| # | Title | Broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | The Water We Use | 15 Oct 1990 |
| 2. | The Air We Breathe | 29 Oct 1990 |
| 3. | The Land We Live In | 5 Nov 1990 |
| 4. | The Food We Eat | 12 Nov 1990 |
| 5. | The Waste We Make | 19 Nov 1990 |
| 6. | The World We Share | 26 Nov 1990 |
Broadcasts
| Year | Term | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Channel | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-91 | Autumn 1990 | Monday, 1:40pm | Thursday, 11:00am | BBC2 | from 15 Oct | |||
| 1992-93 | Summer 1993 | Monday, 1:40pm | Thursday, 11:10am | BBC2 | from 26 Apr, not Bank Holiday Mon 3 May |
Credits
| Narrator | Nicola Davies |
| Producers | Peter M. Evans Kerena Marchant (episode 3) |
Resources
There were teacher's notes available.
1990 Teacher's Notes
1993 Teacher's Notes
Related programmes
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