03: The Challenger | How To Grow A Planet

Duration: 58'16''

Synopsis

Professor Iain Stewart explains how grass fought its enemy, the forests, how it transformed ocean life and how it triggered human civilisation.

Further Information

More clips from How to Grow a Planet

01: Life From Light | How to Grow a Planet

01: Life From Light | How to Grow a Planet

BBC One | 2012 | 59'29''

How plants have driven the greatest changes to the Earth. Prof Iain Stewart shows how they first harnessed light from the sun and ...

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

BBC One | 2012 | 59'05''

In the second episode, Iain discovers how flowers have transformed our planet. He journeys to the remote islands of the South...

01: Life From Light | How to Grow a Planet

01: Life From Light | How to Grow a Planet

BBC One | 2012 | 59'29''

How plants have driven the greatest changes to the Earth. Prof Iain Stewart shows how they first harnessed light from the sun and ...

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

BBC One | 2012 | 59'05''

In the second episode, Iain discovers how flowers have transformed our planet. He journeys to the remote islands of the South...

01: Life From Light | How to Grow a Planet

01: Life From Light | How to Grow a Planet

BBC One | 2012 | 59'29''

How plants have driven the greatest changes to the Earth. Prof Iain Stewart shows how they first harnessed light from the sun and ...

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

BBC One | 2012 | 59'05''

In the second episode, Iain discovers how flowers have transformed our planet. He journeys to the remote islands of the South...

01: Life From Light | How to Grow a Planet

01: Life From Light | How to Grow a Planet

BBC One | 2012 | 59'29''

How plants have driven the greatest changes to the Earth. Prof Iain Stewart shows how they first harnessed light from the sun and ...

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

BBC One | 2012 | 59'05''

In the second episode, Iain discovers how flowers have transformed our planet. He journeys to the remote islands of the South...

More resources about Ecosystems and Biomes

S01E01: Amazon | Earth's Great Rivers

S01E01: Amazon | Earth's Great Rivers

BBC Two | 2019 | 59'02''

Documentary revealing the animals, landscapes and people of the greatest river on earth. From transparent lagoons to pink dolphins, the...

02: Deserts - Life in the Furnace | Human Planet

02: Deserts - Life in the Furnace | Human Planet

BBC One | 2011 | 59'01''

A look at how the eternal quest for water brings huge challenges - and ingenious solutions - for millions of people in the d...

04: Jungles - People of the Trees | Human Planet

04: Jungles - People of the Trees | Human Planet

BBC One | 2011 | 58'58''

Series examining man's survival in extreme environments. A look at life in the rainforest, which requires great skill, ingen...

03: Arctic - Life in the Deep Freeze | Human Planet

03: Arctic - Life in the Deep Freeze | Human Planet

BBC One | 2011 | 58'48''

The remarkable stories of some of the extraordinary people who make their homes in the Arctic, the harshest environment o...

Dying for a Biscuit | Panorama

Dying for a Biscuit | Panorama

BBC One | 2010 | 29'06''

Reporter Raphael Rowe journeys into the rainforest of Borneo, where he uncovers evidence of palm oil companies developing plantations on prote...

Battle for the Amazon | Amazon Specials

Battle for the Amazon | Amazon Specials

BBC Two | 2005 | 29'06''

What has happened to the Amazon rainforest since the 1980s? This report reveals that the battle for the Amazon is now fiercer than ever.

S01E02: Nile | Earth's Great Rivers

S01E02: Nile | Earth's Great Rivers

BBC Two | 2019 | 59'02''

A look at the astonishing wildlife, landscapes and people of the Nile. From elephants and leopards to ancient wonders, its great length i...

02: Savannah | Africa

02: Savannah | Africa

BBC One | 2013 | 58'39''

David Attenborough takes a breathtaking journey through Africa, looking at the constantly changing landscape of east Africa and creatures found nowhere...

S01E02: Mashpi Lodge, Ecuador | Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby

S01E02: Mashpi Lodge, Ecuador | Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby

BBC Two | 2017 | 59'06''

Giles Coren and Monica Galetti head to the Andean Cloud Forest of Ecuador to work at Mashpi Lodge, a $1...

Borneo | Panorama

Borneo | Panorama

BBC One | 2021 | 28'37''

Coca-Cola sells more than 100 billion throwaway plastic bottles each year. Panorama investigates Coca-Cola's promises to crack down on plastic waste.

Episode 1 | Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough

Episode 1 | Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough

BBC One | 2015 | 58'06''

David Attenborough descends beneath the waves at night to meet some of the tiny coral animals that built the reef.

03: Alaska | Arctic with Bruce Parry

03: Alaska | Arctic with Bruce Parry

BBC Two | 2011 | 59'26''

Bruce travels to Alaska, America's last great wilderness, where modern-day pioneers are harvesting the vast natural wealth of the seas.

02: Greenland | Arctic with Bruce Parry

02: Greenland | Arctic with Bruce Parry

BBC Two | 2011 | 59'07''

Bruce Parry journeys to the far north of Greenland, home to the last traditional Inuit hunters, and learns how climate change is thre...

Saving the Orangutan | Natural World

Saving the Orangutan | Natural World

BBC Two | 2018 | 58'51''

Red Ape uses footage filmed by teams fighting to save critically endangered orangutans of Borneo, to reveal the reasons for their declin...

01: Tropical Worlds | The Green Planet

01: Tropical Worlds | The Green Planet

BBC One | 2022 | 58'43''

Tropical rainforests are plant battlegrounds. New filming techniques allow us to enter the world of plants to see it from their perspe...

05: Build a Waste-Free World | The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet

05: Build a Waste-Free World | The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet

BBC One | 2021 | 58'03''

Exploring the extent of our careless approach to producing waste, both non-biodegradable and biodegr...

06: Our Frozen Planet | Frozen Planet II

06: Our Frozen Planet | Frozen Planet II

BBC One | 2022 | 58'19''

Our frozen planet is changing. We meet the scientists dedicating their lives to understanding what these changes mean for animals, p...

Asia | Seven Worlds, One Planet

Asia | Seven Worlds, One Planet

BBC One | 2019 | 57'42''

Asia - where rarely seen animals roam the hottest deserts, tallest jungles and highest mountains on Earth.

05: Mountains - Life in Thin Air | Human Planet

05: Mountains - Life in Thin Air | Human Planet

BBC One | 2011 | 58'54''

Film exploring the ways in which people survive at extreme altitudes where nature becomes utterly unforgiving, from lush clou...

Episode 1 | I Bought a Rainforest

Episode 1 | I Bought a Rainforest

BBC Two | 2014 | 59'16''

Series following wildlife cameraman Charlie Hamilton James, who has bought 100 acres of Peruvian rainforest. Charlie establishes camp and m...

More from Iain Stewart

01: Deep Earth | How Earth Made Us

01: Deep Earth | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'24''

Series telling the story of how the development of civilisation was influenced by planetary forces. Professor Iain Stewart explores the ro...

05: Rare Earth | Earth: The Power of the Planet

05: Rare Earth | Earth: The Power of the Planet

BBC Two | 2007 | 58'54''

Life on Earth prospers because it enjoys the right amount of heat from the sun, and the atmosphere prevents meteorite bombard...

Episode 1 | Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered The World

Episode 1 | Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered The World

BBC Four | 2017 | 59'16''

From the moment we first drilled for oil, we opened a Pandora's box that changed the world forever. It transfor...

04: Eurasia | Rise of the Continents

04: Eurasia | Rise of the Continents

BBC Two | 2013 | 59'04''

Professor Iain Stewart shows that where the south of Eurasia is today there was once an ocean and how, in 250 million years, all of the ...

Iceland Erupts: A Volcano Live Special | Volcano Live

Iceland Erupts: A Volcano Live Special | Volcano Live

BBC Two | 2012 | 59'03''

Kate Humble heads to Iceland and meets the scientists monitoring the country's most dangerous volcanoes. She also inves...

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

BBC One | 2012 | 59'05''

In the second episode, Iain discovers how flowers have transformed our planet. He journeys to the remote islands of the South...

Trees and carbon dioxide | Making Scotland's Landscape

Trees and carbon dioxide | Making Scotland's Landscape

BBC One | 2010 | 2'35''

The important role that trees play in clearing carbon dioxide.

03: The Big Freeze | Men of Rock

03: The Big Freeze | Men of Rock

BBC Two | 2010 | 58'52''

In the final episode of the series, Iain Stewart finds out about daredevil scientist Louis Agassiz, who first imagined the world had been gr...

The Worst Avalanche In History | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

The Worst Avalanche In History | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

BBC Four | 2008 | 3'19''

The worst avalanche in history occurred in 1970 in Peru, when an underwater earthquake triggered a glacia...

Mount Merapi erupts and is followed by an earthquake | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

Mount Merapi erupts and is followed by an earthquake | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

BBC Four | 2006 | 1'28''

Mount Merapi erupts, followed by an earthquake.