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The earth is a garden and each of us only need
care for our own part for life to be breathed back
into the planet, into the soil, into ourselves.
- John Jeavons, Naturalist
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The How On Earth video collection is a journey through our country's natural heritage as we profile significant restoration projects in a variety of locations. By profiling compelling stories of dedicated individuals using innovative science to effect positive environmental change, the series will appeal to families, students, environmental scientists, resource managers, and the growing “green-conscious” audience that watches science and natural history programming on public television.
Working with our Advisory Board, we have identified compelling stories that represent a wide range of habitats and issues. The stories have been chosen for their diversity; each illustrates unique scientific underpinnings of restoration as well as their potential value, impact, and costs. The central theme connecting these stories is that environmental restoration, while often complex and costly, nonetheless can sometimes repair profoundly damaged ecosystems and thereby make vital contributions toward solving large-scale, systemic, environmental problems. By bringing these stories to viewers via digital distribution channels and PBS broadcast, How On Earth will allow millions of viewers to explore this relatively new approach to environmental stewardship and its intriguing prospects for renewal.
The following is a brief synopsis of the finished programs:
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A Simple Question: The Story of STRAW. This film chronicles the story of the STRAW project (Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed) from it's origins as a 4th grade class project to its evolution into an amazing program of The Bay Institute that has restored 20 miles of habitat, galvanized community, and led to educational innovation by connecting classrooms with their local watershed.
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FROM THE GROUND UP (1999). This documentary chronicles the challenges of managing and restoring one of California's most pristine watersheds: the Salmon River Basin. Multiple broadcasts, awards, and festival invitations.
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RETURNING HOME (2006). This documentary chronicles the effects of an oil spill and subsequent restoration efforts to save a seabird breeding colony just south of San Francisco. Broadcast nationally on PBS via the Emmy-winning series Natural Heroes. Multiple festival invitations and awards.
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RESTORING BALANCE (2003). Narrated by John Cleese, this documentary follows efforts by land managers and scientists to save endangered seabirds by removing the non-native rat from Anacapa Island, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. Multiple broadcasts, awards, and festival invitations.
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Programs in Production:
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El Lobo Returns.
This program highlights the re-introduction of the Mexican Gray Wolf in Arizona and New Mexico. The four-minute trailer underscores some of the complex issues and challenges facing managers and local citizens trying to restore a top predator into historic habitat.
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Hidden Treasure.
Reveals one of the West’s most threatened ecosystems: native grassland. Despite their hardiness and adaptability, less the 2% of Western native grass ecosystems remain intact. Human practices—principally agriculture and development—have nearly wiped out our native grasses. And yet, having co-evolved with grasses, numerous native invertebrate species are dependent upon native grasses for their survival. In Hidden Treasure, host Jerry Kay travels through a variety of watersheds to showcase the beauty and diversity of native grass and grassland habitats being re-established by ranchers, resource managers, and even highway department landscapers.
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