DOCUMENTARIES

Redfern Natural History Productions produces broadcast documentary films for TV channels (listed below), and non-broadcast films released on YouTube that can be viewed free of charge on our channel (which has tens of millions of views to date).

Many of the non-broadcast films that we produce document animals, plants and expeditions that relate to the books that we publish. Click below to visit our YouTube channel, and please take a moment to subscribe so that you are updated when we upload new content.

Our Films

Broadcast
Documentaries

Over the last decade, Redfern Natural History Productions has produced, co-produced and contributed to dozens of broadcast documentaries for BBC, National Geographic, SBS and many other channels. A selection of our most recent broadcast projects are listed below.

Britain’s Secret Islands

So… you think you know the United Kingdom? England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland…

…what about the 6,000 smaller islands of the British Isles?

Join Stewart McPherson on a journey around the UK on the spectacular ship Pelican of London, to discover the wildlife and secrets of the most remote British Isles shimmering in the sea mists.

In this three-part series, we will discover the UK’s greatest concentrations of wildlife, including whales, seals and vast seabird breeding colonies! We’ll meet orcas in British waters, introduced (Australian) wallabies on islands in Loch Lomond, sea otters and more!

We’ll meet unique people, surprising cultures, ancient history, legends, diverse wildlife, and the breath-taking scenery which our islands harbour.

Presenting by Stewart McPherson.

Produced by Redfern Natural History Productions/Warehouse 51 Productions.

Britain’s Treasure Islands

Britain’s Treasure Islands is a three part series that explores the wildlife, cultures, history and heritage of all of the UK Overseas Territories.

The Territories are a secret side of the UK that few know exist. Scattered across all seven seas, they comprise an area seven times the size of the UK and have twenty times the biodiversity, including over 1,000 unique species that are found nowhere else on earth. Join naturalist Stewart McPherson on a 70,000 km journey to the Caribbean, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Southern Ocean, Indian Ocean, Pacific and Mediterranean, to discover the furthest flung outposts of Britain.

Join naturalist Stewart McPherson on a journey to all of Britain’s treasure islands.

Broadcast on BBC4, SBS and (as Nature’s Treasure Islands): National Geographic.

Presenting by Stewart McPherson.

Produced by Redfern Natural History Productions/Warehouse 51 Productions.

Visit www.britainstreasureislands.com for details

Plants Behaving Badly

Once, the world seemed full of strange natural wonders….but few more strange than mysterious plants that ate people…. In this episode of Plants Behaving Badly, we explore the wonderous world of carnivorous plants.

Narrated by David Attenborough.

Presenting sequences by Stewart McPherson.

Original music by Steven Faux.

Produced by Sky Vision for Terra Mater Factual Studios.

In partnership with Redfern Natural History Productions.

Online Series

Non-broadcast Nature, Exploration and Lecture films

Hundreds of non-broadcast films produced by Redfern Natural History Productions are viewable
free of charge on our YouTube channel.

We have created and released the following series of online (non-broadcast) films to further understanding
of the natural world and to complement various books that have produced.

World’s Most Spectacular Plants and How to Grow Them

Plants are incredible: from flowers that tower over two metres tall to iridescent leaves that sparkle electric blue. Some plants can survive in the most extreme corners of the planet and live for thousands upon thousands of years. A few plants catch and kill not only insects, but on rare occasions… even animals as big as rats. The diversity of plants is astounding… they come in virtually every shape, colour and form imaginable. We literally owe our lives to plants. Directly or indirectly, plants have sustained every human that has ever existed, and as the lungs of the Earth, animal life (including us!) could not survive without plants!

Yet why do so many people think plants are boring? The average punter in your local pub would much sooner talk about football than plants. Especially as an adult male, if I talk about how amazing plants are, the response is likely to be rolls of eyes, yawns of boredom and sometimes even ridicule.

Through this website, and the accompanying films and books I have created, I hope to showcase a dazzling array of spectacular plants to showcase, many of which you can grow at home!

14 episode series – view all episodes online – visit www.spectacularplants.com

This series accompanies the book title Spectacular Plants and How to Grow Them

Narrated / Presented by Stewart McPherson.

Produced by Redfern Natural History Productions.

Weird and Wonderful Pets and How to Keep Them

These days, not enough parents show their children the beauty of spider’s web sparkling with dew in the morning light, or explain the miracle of the metamorphosis of a butterfly, or turn over a log to see that intricate world of alien creepy crawlies below our feet. Those magical early encounters with nature imprint on children’s minds, and can be the most powerful memories that stay with us for our entire lives. Do you remember seeing a butterfly as a child? Or perhaps birds and flowers in your garden?

All children are born in total awe of nature, but that curiosity and interest often gets lost along the journey to adulthood – especially during teenage years. This is especially true nowadays, with more and more people living in cities, disconnected from wildlife and wild areas.

But never has the world needed more passionate naturalists, scientists and conservationists than now.

This series showcases a range of small exotic creatures that can be kept ethically and legally at home. From mantises, stick & leaf Insects, butterflies & moths, beetles, giant millipedes, scorpions, tarantulas, dart frogs, tree frogs, harmless snakes, geckos, bearded dragons, iguanas, chamaeleons, freshwater turtles and more. Welcome to the world of weird and wonderful pets!

15 episode series – view all episodes online – visit www.spectacularplants.com.

This series accompanies the book title Amazing Pets & How to Keep Them.

Narrated / Presented by Stewart McPherson.

Produced by Redfern Natural History Productions.

UK Overseas Territories Mini-documentaries

Separately from the broadcast Britain’s Treasure Islands series, the Redfern Natural History Productions team created 42 online “mini-documentary” films which can be viewed free of charge here.

The Overseas Territories are an incredible side of the United Kingdom. Scattered across all Seven Seas, they cover an area seven times the size of the United Kingdom. They are home to 270,000 British subjects and harbour over 20 times the UK’s biodiversity, with over 1,000 unique plant and animal species, fascinating cultures and rich history.

Spread across a range of latitudes that extends from the equator to the South pole, the Territories are home to every major habitat-type, including rainforests, coral reefs, volcanic deserts, polar tundra and icy wastes. Yet few Briton’s know the Territories exist, let alone that they form part of the UK today.

The series of 42 mini-documentaries include one film on each of the Overseas Territories, systematic films exploring the various animal and plant groups of the Overseas Territories collectively (e.g. mammals, reptiles, birds etc.), selected, specialist subjects (e.g. coconut crabs, stories of ex-whales) as well as several general films about the Britain’s Treasure Islands TV series and a detailed lecture by Stewart McPherson in the Royal Geographical Society.

42 episode series – view all episodes online – visit www.britainstreasureislands.com.

This series accompanies the book titles Britain’s Treasure Islands, Britain’s Distant Seas and Britain’s Distant Lands.

Narrated / Presented by Stewart McPherson.

Produced by Redfern Natural History Productions.

Botanical Expedition Documentaries

The Redfern Natural History Productions team has filmed, produced and edited a wide range of non-broadcast documentaries following botanical expeditions by Stewart McPherson.

Many of these films follow real journeys to discover new species of carnivorous plants, or to rediscover species lost to science. Species covered in these films include Nepenthes attenboroughii, N. ceciliae, N. clipeata, N. epiphytica, N. leonardoi, N. mollis, N. mapuluensis, N. paniculata, N pulchra, N. sp ‘Anipahan’ and many others!

These short expedition documentaries are intended to complement many of the carnivorous plant books that Redfern Natural History Productions has published. Several of the expeditions featured were organised as tours by Redfern Adventures.

These botanical expedition documentaries are also intended to showcase the science behind the discovery and naming of new species, and equally, the difficulty of undertaking journeys to the remote habitats of many of the animal and plant subjects documented in the books that we publish!

Many of these botanical expedition documentaries also document interesting indigenous cultures and peoples as part of their stories, as well as varied wildlife and 19th century explorers.

All of the botanical expedition documentaries are free to watch online, and can be viewed as part of a playlist on the Redfern YouTube channel. To view the playlist, click here.

This series of botanical expedition documentaries accompanies the three volumes of Nepenthes – The Tropical Pitcher Plants.

Narrated / Presented by Stewart McPherson.

Produced by Redfern Natural History Productions.

Stewart McPherson Lectures, Presentations and Interviews

Over the years, the Redfern Natural History Productions team has filmed a wide range of lectures, presentations and interviews by Stewart McPherson which are viable on our YouTube channel.

These lectures, presentations and interviews cover a wide range of subjects, from specialist talks on carnivorous plants, the lost worlds of Venezuela, the tribes of New Guinea to the wildlife of the UK Overseas Territories. All can be viewed via this playlist on our YouTube channel.

Donations to Schools

Perhaps most significantly of all, the Redfern Natural History team has worked intensively with the Don Hanson Charitable Foundation to create a wide range of books and resources that have been donated to tens of thousands of schools for the benefit of millions of students. Please visit www.hansonbox.org for an overview of this project.

We have created a series of short films about each new set of resources that we have sent. To view them, please watch this playlist.

Connect with Redfern

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Watch hundreds of our free documentaries on our YouTube channel.

Animals, plants, expeditions of explore remote jungles and more!

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