BBC Earth

The world renowned BBC Natural History Unit has been running for more than 50 years.

The NHU has more than 30,000 hours of audio and visual archive in its library, as well as a huge number of natural history photographs.

Each year the NHU outputs between 60-90 hours of finished television programming and 50 hours of radio, making it the largest wildlife documentary production house in the world.

Production of natural history radio programmes started in Bristol in 1946 and NHU Radio still broadcasts almost every week.

The BBC Natural History Unit was officially founded in 1957 and has since grown into the world's leading producer of wildlife programmes.

The NHU currntly employs about 200 staff.

One of the earliest NHU productions, David Attenborough's Life On Earth series (1979) was seen by over 500 million viewers worldwide. More recently, Planet Earth was seen by international audiences of 600 million.

The BBC film Earth (2007) became the most successful documentary feature film ever produced in Britain.

The first BBC Springwatch survey, undertaken by our audiences in 2005, was the largest scientific study of seasonal change ever, anywhere in the world.

Working with over 70 partners in the voluntary and public sectors, series such as Nature of Britain, Springwatch and Autumnwatch provide opportunities and advice for audiences to participate in improving their local wildlife habitat and green spaces.

The BBC Natural History Unit employs the largest group of specialist wildlife producers in the world.

In 2007, the Unit celebrated its 50th anniversary and was rewarded with a special award at the International Broadcasting Convention in recognition of its unique contribution to wildlife film and documentary making.

On television, the NHU's 50th anniversary was marked with the broadcast of Saving Planet Earth, a conservation-themed series which helped to raise over £1.5 million for the BBC Wildlife Fund.

The Natural History Unit as a whole was awarded the Gold  Medal at the 2001 Royal Television Society awards for its "outstanding contribution over the past 44 years to broadcasting about the natural world".