Wendy Darke

Wendy Darke is a British television producer and marine biologist, and the former head of the Natural History Unit (NHU) at the BBC. She was the first woman to head the division in its then-56 year history.^[1]

Early life

She was born in Gloucester. She grew up in Weston-super-Mare.^[2] She attended Broadoak Comprehensive School (now Broadoak Mathematics and Computing College, a grammar school before 1971),^[2] then did her A levels at Weston-super-Mare College of Further Education (Weston College), studying geology, biology and chemistry.^{[citation needed]}

From the University of Bristol, she gained a joint-honours degree in Zoology and Geology in 1986;^[2] her degree involved visiting the Pyrenees, Mallorca, Falmouth and Osmington Mills, Dorset.^[2] She completed a three-year Ph.D. in marine sciences at James Cook University, funded by the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC).^[2]

Career

BBC

She joined the BBC Natural History Unit in 1991, making nature documentaries.^[1] She first served as a camera operator, then director and eventually producer over the following 10 years.^[1] Specializing in underwater photography, she swam with elephants in the Andaman Islands.^[1]

From 2006 to 2012 she was executive producer for the children's programming section of the NHU, creating programmes such as Deadly (Deadly 60).^[1] She became head of the Natural History Unit in 2012, the first woman to take that position.^[1]

After departing NHU in April 2016,^[3] Darke established her own production company, True to Nature, in Bristol in 2016.^[4]

Darke won the Cherry Kearton Medal and Award (Royal Geographical Society or RGS), for cinematography in 2016.^[5]

See also

• Category:Nature educational television series

References

External links

• True to Nature
• BBC

• v
• t
• e

Aquatic ecosystems

Aquatic ecosystems – general and freshwater components

General Acoustic ecology Adaptation Agent-based models Algal bloom Anoxic waters Aquatic animals (Insects Mammals) Aquatic plants Aquatic science Benthos Biodiversity research Bioluminescence Biomass Biomonitoring Cascade effect Colored dissolved organic matter Camouflage and mimicry Dead zone Ecohydrology Ecosystems Eutrophication Fisheries science Food chain Food web GIS and aquatic science Hydrobiology Hypoxia Isotope analysis Macrobenthos Meiobenthos Microbial ecology Microbial food web Microbial loop Nekton Neuston Particle Pelagic zone Photic zone Phytoplankton Plankton Pleuston Predation Productivity Ramsar Convention Respiration Schooling Sediment trap Siltation Spawning Substrate Thermal pollution Toxicology Trophic level Water column Zooplankton More... Freshwater Biology Biomes Ecosystems freshwater lake river Fish Hyporheic zone Limnology Lake stratification Macrophyte Pond Fish pond Rheotaxis Stream bed Stream pool Trophic state index Upland and lowland Water garden Wetland brackish marsh freshwater marsh swamp bog fen Environmental quality More... Ecoregions Freshwater (List) Marine (List) The Everglades Maharashtra The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre The San Francisco Estuary

Aquatic ecosystems – marine components

Marine Marine biology Marine chemistry Deep scattering layer Diel vertical migration Ecosystems large marine marine) f-ratio Food web Iron fertilization Marine snow Ocean nourishment Oceanic physical-biological process Primary production Ocean turbidity Photophore Thorson's rule Upwelling Viral shunt Whale fall More... Marine life Bacteriophages Census Fish coastal coral reef deep sea demersal pelagic Deep-sea community Deep sea creature Deep-water coral Invertebrates Larvae Mammals Marine life Microorganisms Paradox of the plankton Prokaryotes Protists Reptiles Seabirds Seashore wildlife Vertebrates Viruses Wild fisheries Marine habitats Coastal habitats Coastal biogeomorphology Bay mud Cold seeps Coral reefs Davidson Seamount Estuaries Intertidal ecology Intertidal wetlands Kelp forests Hydrothermal vents Lagoons Mangroves Marine biomes Mudflats Oyster reefs Rocky shores Salt marshes Salt pannes and pools Seagrass meadows Sponge grounds Sponge reefs Tide pools Issues Coral bleaching Ecological values of mangroves Fisheries and climate change HERMIONE Human impact on marine life Marine conservation Marine conservation activism Marine pollution Marine Protected Area  Oceans portal