20 David Attenborough Quotes That Give Us Hope For the Future

Sir David Attenborough is one of Britain’s (and the world’s) national treasures, beginning his lengthy career when he joined the BBC (British Broadcasting Channel) in 1952. Since then, he’s brought nature into millions of homes around the world with his beloved narration, championing sustainability and conservation of the natural world. Here are 20 of the best David Attenborough quotes that remind us what he’s spent his whole life working towards, and inspire us for the future. 

Who is David Attenborough?  

Sir David Attenborough celebrated his 99th birthday in 2025, and has worked in television since 1952 when he started working at the BBC as a trainee – he oversaw the first color broadcasts in Europe in 1965. 

By 1954 he had his own show, ‘Zoo Quest’, which was partly shot on-location to give viewers their first glimpse of rare animals like chimpanzees, pythons and birds of paradise.  

However, what he’s best known for is his natural history programmes like Life on Earth, The Private Life of Plants and The Blue Planet, with which his voice has become synonymous. 

While many of David Attenborough’s earlier programmes and expeditions focused on bringing previously undiscovered animals or habitats to light, his later work over the last few decades has brought conservation and climate change to the front of the conversation.  

Our favorite David Attenborough quotes 

1. “It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”

2. “Every breath of air we take, every mouthful of food that we take, comes from the natural world. And if we damage the natural world, we damage ourselves.”

3. “We moved from being a part of nature to being apart from nature.”

4. An understanding of the natural world, and what’s in it as a source of not only great curiosity but great fulfillment.”

5. “The fact is that no species has ever had such wholesale control over everything on earth, living or dead, as we now have. That lays upon us, whether we like it or not, an awesome responsibility. In our hands now lies not only our own future, but that of all other living creatures with whom we share the earth.”

6. “We need to work with nature, not against it.”

7. “People must feel that the natural world is important and valuable and beautiful and wonderful and an amazement and a pleasure.”

8. “We live our comfortable lives in the shadow of a disaster of our own making. That disaster is being brought about by the very things that allow us to live our comfortable lives.”

9. “The best motto to think about is not to waste things. Don’t waste electricity; don’t waste paper; don’t waste food. Live the way you want to live but just don’t waste. Look after the natural world and the animals in it and the plants in it too. This is their planet as well as ours. Don’t waste them.”

10. “Nature is our biggest ally and greatest inspiration.”

11. “It is that range of biodiversity that we must care for – the whole thing – rather than just one or two stars.”

12. “I wish the world was twice as big – and half of it was still unexplored.”

13.”It’s surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth.”

14. “The whole of life is coming to terms with yourself and the natural world. Why are you here? How do you fit in? What’s it all about?”

15. “People must feel that the natural world is important and valuable and beautiful and wonderful and an amazement and a pleasure.”

16. “The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.”

17. “When people ask me, ‘How did you get interested in animals?’ I reply, ‘How on Earth did you lose your interest in animals?’”

18. “The fact is that no species has ever had such wholesale control over everything on Earth, living or dead, as we now have. That lays upon us, whether we like it or not, an awesome responsibility. In our hands now lies not only our own future, but that of all other living creatures with whom we share the Earth.”

19. “When I first saw the sea as a young boy, it was thought of as a vast wilderness to be tamed and mastered for the benefit of humanity. Now, as I approach the end of my life, we know the opposite is true.”

20. “If working apart we are a force powerful to destabilise our planet, surely working together we are powerful enough to save it…in my lifetime I’ve witnessed a terrible decline. In yours, you could and should witness a wonderful recovery.”

Do you have any favorite David Attenborough quotes? Let us know.