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Pocket Desert - Confessions of a Snake Killer

This personal documentary is the story of Teresa Marshall, who grew up on a British Columbia ranch. Every child needs a demon, and Teresa took battle against rattlesnakes. In the dry interior of B.C., the south Okanagan and Similkameen valleys form the bio-region known as Canada's "pocket desert." As settlers' dreams of creating an agricultural Eden erase fragile desert lands that support a breathtaking array of wild species, the narrator and her snake-hunting neighbours are forced to examine their environmental attitudes.
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This personal documentary is the story of Teresa Marshall, who grew up on a British Columbia ranch. Every child needs a demon, and Teresa took battle against rattlesnakes. In the dry interior of B.C., the south Okanagan and Similkameen valleys form the bio-region known as Canada's "pocket desert." As settlers' dreams of creating an agricultural Eden erase fragile desert lands that support a breathtaking array of wild species, the narrator and her snake-hunting neighbours are forced to examine their environmental attitudes.

Animals Environment and Conservation All subjects
Our Planet in Focus All channels
  • director
    Teresa Marshall
    Craig Berggold
  • producer
    George Johnson
  • executive producer
    Svend-Erik Eriksen
  • script
    Teresa Marshall
    Craig Berggold
    Margo Harper
  • cinematography
    Craig Berggold
    Glen Winter
  • sound
    Velcrow Ripper
    Dieter Piltz
  • editing
    Heather Frise
    Ileana Pietrobruno
  • sound mix
    Sharpe Sound Studios Inc.
  • narrator
    Teresa Marshall
  • music engineer
    Cy Garber
  • music
    Ellen McIlwaine
  • participation
    Carleton MacNaughton
    Michael Sarell

Education

Ages 12 to 18
Study Guide
Guide 1
School subjects
Geography - Environmental Issues Science - Biology Science - Environmental Science Social Studies - Environmental Challenges

Warnings: Some disturbing images: a box of dead birds, roadkill, snake swallowing a mouse.

This documentary explores the northern desert in British Columbia known as the Pocket Desert. This unique ecosystem has struggled under pressures from human development in agriculture, ranching, road expansions and urbanization. Species like the rattlesnake have suffered the most. Students will learn interesting facts about the flora and fauna of the region and how some people have changed from being snake killers to naturalists who do animal rescues. There is potential for further research after watching this film, and the class could debate the right to kill animals that are considered dangerous to humans. What is the history of Indigenous Peoples in this desert?

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Pocket Desert - Confessions of a Snake Killer
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