One woman’s flight to save the planet
LUMLEY brings her trademark enthusiasm and sense of wonderment to this one-off documentary about an extraordinary conservationist called Sacha Dench.
Sacha recently embarked on a green paramotoring tour of Britain to raise awareness of climate change.
Paramotoring is like paragliding, but with a heavy motor strapped to your back (in this case an electric one), and if you’re wondering who the “human swan” is, it’s a nickname Sacha picked up on a previous challenge.
When she embarked on her journey, she aimed to cover thousands of miles through the air ahead of the COP26 climate change conference.
Joanna visits Sacha at various stops along her route, learning about the engineering and physical strength involved in paramotoring.
But the main aim of the programme is to give a greater insight into the climate emergency and to meet the people inventing genius solutions to this urgent crisis.
From beach cleaners in Swansea, to food growers proJOANNA
Sacha flying over the Yorkshire Moors, above, and over Redcar Beach, below ducing crops without a scrap of soil, Joanna hopes to prove that there is still lots of positive action that can make a real difference to global warming and that there are practical steps we can all take to help.
You may have read about the outcome of Sacha’s challenge.
At the start of the programme, we hear that Sacha was involved in a horrendous mid-air collision during filming, which left her badly injured and killed her support paramotorist, Dan Burton.
Joanna explains that their families were still keen for the film to be shown, and it is dedicated to Dan’s memory.
JOANNA LUMLEY AND THE HUMAN SWAN
ITV, 9pm