The one lesson I’ve learned from life
Springwatch’s Gillian Burke
GILLIAN BURKE, 43, trained as a biologist before joining BBc’s Springwatch team last year. a single mother, she lives in cornwall with her son, 11, and daughter, nine.
ENJOY THE JOURNEY NOT THE DESTINATION
Neither of my parents put pressure on me about what i should do with my life. they were strict, but their attitude was: ‘Do what you want, but do it well.’
there was never any expectation i should enter a profession. they were principally interested in my long-term happiness. there was never a fear-driven approach regarding money or any feeling i should pursue success at all costs.
My early years were spent in Kenya. When i was ten, we moved to Vienna as my mother got a job as an information officer with the United Nations. i’d been used to running barefoot and suddenly found myself in the freezing Austrian capital. i missed the sights, sounds and smells of Africa, but the hardest thing was saying goodbye to my dog. i loved him unconditionally.
i remember being absolutely astounded the first time i saw white people collecting the rubbish, but my teenage years spent in Austria are an important part of who i am today.
People would stare at me because of the colour of my skin, especially on school trips to the countryside. i’m mixed heritage — i have claims to African, Native American, european, Polynesian, Asian and Oriental ancestry — so to an extent i’ve always been an outsider. that’s good in a way; i’ve never felt the need to be accepted. i’m a citizen of the world.
i opted to do a biology degree in england with the idea i might return to Kenya to work for the Wildlife Service, but i started making documentaries and doing voiceover work, which led me to Springwatch. My break came when i submitted an idea for a short film about a hermit crab thought to be extinct, but rediscovered quite near to where i live.
i’ve always believed that, if you demonstrate your commitment to whatever it is you’re doing, the journey will be every bit as interesting as the destination.
i often get asked to give talks to schoolchildren who want to know how i got to where i am. i emphasise that all experience is valuable. i can do no better than to repeat my parents’ mantra: whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability. Springwatch returns next month