Throughout April, we celebrate Earth Month as a way to bring our ever-shifting focus to our planet. Throughout the year, individuals, organizations and agencies around the world work to protect our one true home and encourage the public every Earth Day to reflect on climate change and vow to take action.
This Earth Day, WORLD presents new and streaming films that explore how everyday Americans, from organizers in small, rural towns to those with policy-changing influence at the highest level, are addressing the warming Earth. Join us in watching, sharing and mobilizing around the universal themes within each of these eye-opening documentaries.
Scha'nexw Elhtal'nexw Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life | Available now on YouTube
Despite wildfire smoke and a depleting fishery, Lummi families fish for sockeye salmon. The film, which explores the deep spiritual and cultural connection between the Lummi and salmon, lifts values of respect, gratitude and sharing as they are passed onto the next generation. Through the Scha'nexw Elhtal'nexw, the "Salmon People," we learn that protecting salmon and this lifeway is a full-time job.
Inundation District | Available now on PBS Passport
In a time of rising seas, one city spent billions of dollars erecting a new waterfront district - on landfill, at sea level. Unlike other places imperiled by climate change, this community with some of the worldâs largest companies was built well after scientists began warning of the threats. The city called its new neighborhood the Innovation District. Others are calling it the "Inundation District."
Freedom Hill | Available now on YouTube, PBS Passport, Prime Video & Apple TV+
Princeville, NC sits atop wet, swampy land along the river. In the 1800s, the land was deemed uninhabitable by white people. After the Civil War, this indifference left it available for freed enslaved Africans. Once called âFreedom Hill,â it was gradually established as an all Black town. But the town has been inundated with flooding...and with each flood, a little more of the small town erodes.
Fire Tender | Available on YouTube, PBS Passport, Prime Video & Apple TV+
Yurok people have been putting fire on the land since time immemorial. But for more than 100 years, this practice has been disrupted by California settlers. The recent spate of catastrophic fires in the West, however, has policymakers rethinking their commitment to fire suppression. FIRE TENDER shares the work of Margo Robbins, a Yurok grandmother and knowledge keeper, as she seeks to return fire practices to Yurok territory, and to restore the land and its people.
Against the Current: Life on the Eastern Shore | Available on YouTube, Prime Video & Apple TV+
A powerful look at how residents of Virginiaâs Eastern Shore, like many coastal towns, are subject to rising sea waters and the challenges it has on their lives and livelihood. Through resilience and perseverance, they learn to co-exist and celebrate their rural home. How can this community shed light on conversations happening around these issues of climate change?
Minnesota's Alt-Meat Revolution | Available on YouTube, the PBS app, Prime Video & Apple TV+
As the demand for plant-based alternatives to meat grows, so does the demand for new methods of farming and food production. In the small rural town of Dawson, Minnesota, âalt-meatâ is nothing new - soybean processing dates back to the 1950s. Now, PURIS, North America's largest manufacturer of pea protein (think âBeyond Burgerâ), has moved into town with a promise to revolutionize the agricultural system. What impact will it have on the residents of Dawson and surrounding rural communities?
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and use the hashtags #EarthDay, #EarthMonth and #OurWORLDPBS. Subscribe to our newsletter and YouTube for more features including events and interviews.
Enjoy our content? Consider donating to keep important storytelling like this going, and find more on PBS Passport.
