Young wildlife filmmakers celebrated

Telling nature’s story – young wildlife filmmakers are celebrated at the Mini Panda Awards

Naomi Wilkinson of CBBC’s Naomi’s Nightmares of Nature, presented the first ever Mini Panda Awards yesterday, sponsored by BBC Earth, to winners of Avon Wildlife Trust’s ‘Wild Schools Film Challenge’ supported by Rolls-Royce plc.

Over 40 schools from across the West of England took part – using kit boxes provided by Avon Wildlife Trust – learning to plan, film and edit their own wildlife film of their school grounds or green space. Expert judges from BBC Earth, Wildscreen, Avon Wildlife Trust and Rolls-Royce narrowed the competition down to the lucky winners. The award ceremony, which took place as part of the Wildscreen International Film Festival, marks the first time this coveted accolade has been presented to children.

Jo Taylor, Learning Development Manager from Avon Wildlife Trust said: “We are delighted to recognise young talent across the West of England through the Mini Panda Awards, it’s fantastic to see children connecting with nature and learning new skills. We recognised that children are increasingly confident and interested in technology, but less familiar with the outdoors environment, and we used this as our inspiration to develop our Wild Schools Film Challenge.”

The winners in the older age group were children from Highdown Juniors (Portishead), who used puppets to tell the story of their local nature reserve, Portbury Wharf, and its wildlife. Winners in the younger category were from Staple Hill Primary (Bristol) who put the waterproof cameras to the test by filming tadpoles under water in their school pond.

Naomi Wilkinson said: “The Wild Schools Film Challenge is a great way for children to get outside and learn about the nature right on their doorsteps. All the films deserve a Mini Panda Award in my book.”

A special Gold Mini Panda for the overall winner was presented to children from May Park Primary (Eastville, Bristol) for their inspired film ‘A day in the Woods’ commended for its excellent narration and filmmaking.

Harry, aged 8, who took part in the Wild Schools Film Challenge said: “It was so fun because we got to look at animals whilst learning and getting fresh air.  The best lessons ever!”

The schools also got the chance to hear from 20-year-old Bertie Gregory, who is already making a name for himself as one of the new generation of wildlife photographers. Bertie is nominated this year for a Panda Award as part of the Bundu Youth Award. Bertie amused the audience with wild stories and noises of British wildlife and gave all the young wildlife filmmakers his top tips: “You don’t have to go far to find great wildlife. The most important thing you can do is take time to learn about nature and spend lots of time outdoors.”

Winners of the Gold Mini Panda Award, May Park Primary, also received a free residential trip for their class to Avon Wildlife Trust’s Folly Farm Centre.