³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

There are 151 hope spots around the world, including the Galapagos Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. They are areas identified as critical to the health of the oceans, championed by their local communities.

Hamza Yassin visits the only one in the UK – the Argyll Coast and Islands. Hamza meets marine biologist Chris Rickard and discovers that the area was designated hope spot status in 2019 because it’s home to the only known nursery in the world of the critically endangered flapper skate. Hamza joins Chris as he conducts research, searching for more nursery sites in the hope of a better understanding of these mysterious creatures of the deep.

Hamza also meets RSPB Officer Dave Sexton in Oban to witness the highly unusual sight of black guillemots, which usually live far out at sea, residing in the harbourside alongside the townspeople. We also meet the team behind sea wilding, a community-driven native oyster and seagrass restoration project using a groundbreaking technique never seen before in the UK.

Adam Henson looks at the robots and artificial intelligence being developed that promise to revolutionise UK agriculture. And John Craven is at the Wilder Blean project in Kent, where he is on the lookout for ancient animal species such as long-horned cattle and bison, introduced to rewild a former commercial pine plantation. Cameras at the ready as John launches this year’s photo competition in aid of Children in Need.