BBC Filming Opportunities (Where they were invited).

[PhilBJohnson]

April 14th 2020.
It was thought that in these exceptional times, there were some superb opportunities to employ people filming wildlife in our Woods and Forests, when they were left, less disturbed from visitors. Government advice was to allow essential travel to place of work.

Forestry England Membership:

"Q: Are members still able to visit during the COVID-19 pandemic?

A: The most important thing for Forestry England is to keep you, the public, our staff and volunteers safe. The government has said everyone must stay at home apart from essential travel. Therefore our forest facilities such as car parks, cafes and bike hire are closed until further notice and regretfully we ask you not visit. Please remember, your membership is still supporting your local forest, and helps us to care for the land, trees and wildlife in them, so thank you for your support during this extraordinary time."

Reference: forestryengland.uk
Updated March 25th 2020

[CallumMac]

Government advice was to allow essential travel to place of work.

To be honest, I think you've slightly misinterpreted the guidance here. A better way to put it would be to allow "travel to place of essential work". Sadly, however you spin it and whatever your priorities, I can't see wildlife photographers and filmographers being classed as key workers at the moment.

However, I have seen a number of nature reserves and private citizens making good use of trail cameras at the moment. These can be placed and recovered during exercise walks with reasonable legitimacy. They are, of course, fairly useless for butterflies!

[PhilBJohnson]

“Where there was a Work Permit, there was a Way”
“Practice makes better practice”
#Best Practice

[David M]

All wildlife bodies seem to have adopted a similar position. For instance, Butterfly Conservation has advised against performing transects in the current lockdown.

[PhilBJohnson]

In theory, I thought that, as landowners, Butterfly Conservation could have employed a person (or people) to film on their own nature reserve, and then, for those person or persons employed, it would have become their essential place of “bread winning” work.

[David M]

It's not so much 'essential place' as 'essential work', Phil.

Right now, unless you are involved in critical work then you are meant to be staying at home. Filming wildlife, as far as the government is concerned, does not fall into the 'critical' category.

[CallumMac]

It's not so much 'essential place' as 'essential work', Phil.

Exactly - and "essential" refers to the national need rather than the individual's. Can the country function without NHS workers, emergency services, supermarkets, posties, etc.? No, so they're essential. Can the country function without new footage of butterflies shot in 2020? It remains to be seen.

By contrast, no individual's work is considered essential for the reason of being bread-winning, because the government will replace 80% of the wages of furloughed employees or 80% of the earnings of the self-employed (in theory - though my self-employed Dad says there's no evidence of that money arriving yet).

[PhilBJohnson]

"It was nice to read about the BBC filming Purple Emperor butterflies at Knepp this year in 2020.
I hoped that the edited version was more scientific and educational, possibly not just starring Matthew Oates and Neil Hulme (as educated as they were).
I had some Pieridae species to iPhone at home and allotment this year.
I was looking forward to a day when going out to work with my Wife, wasn't seen as:
"going the wrong way."