Ornithologist Bill Oddie is to return to BBC2 screens next year to front a huge interactive survey into the British springtime, writes Leigh Holmwood.
Springwatch, devised by BBC Learning, is billed as the biggest-ever study into the unfolding of spring across the UK and will ask the public to record signs of seasonal change via the BBC website.People will also be able to make pledges such as planting trees and installing bird baths.The findings will be compiled into a television series, Springwatch with Bill Oddie, which will air in the summer.It is hoped the project, commissioned by BBC2 controller Roly Keating, controller of learning Liz Cleaver and specialist factual commissioner Emma Swain, will contribute to scientists' understanding of how spring is changing and the effect on wildlife.Cleaver said: "It's a vital part of our strategy for learning to get viewers involved beyond watching the programme and encourage them to interact with the BBC."The series, to be made by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, follows June's Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie, which pulled in 3 million viewers. It will again be co-presented by Kate Humble and Simon King.