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Environment and Sustainability Films (Ages 12-14)

Environment and Sustainability Films (Ages 12-14)

This selection of insightful and engaging films will delight adolescent (and older!) audiences while educating them on the issues affecting the environment.

Pour visionner cette sélection en français, cliquez ici.

Films in This Playlist Include
Hothouse 8 - Meltdown
Island Green
Elisha and the Cacao Trees
Cafeteria
Hope Builders

  • Meltdown

    In this short animation, a polar bear must try his luck finding a job in the big city when the last of his Arctic ice environment disappears. It’s hard fitting into the human world, however, so this bear finds a more creative solution to his predicament.

    Produced as part of the 8th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship.

  • Island Green
    2013|25 min

    This short documentary takes a look at the changing face of PEI's agricultural industry. Once famous for its spuds and red mud, this tiny island province now has higher than average cancer and respiratory illness rates. Is there a link to industrialized farming? Rather than dwelling on PEI’s worrisome monocropping practices, Island Green dares to ask: What if PEI went entirely organic?

    The stirring words of PEI-born poet Tanya Davis are coupled with beautiful imagery and poignant stories from the island’s small but growing community of organic farmers, reminding us that we can rob the land only so much before it robs us of the nourishment we need for life. Island Green is ultimately a story of hope and healthy promise.

  • Elisha and the Cacao Trees
    campus 2010 | 17 min

    This charming short documentary takes us on a trip to Belize, where we meet 13-year-old Elisha, the daughter of a cacao farmer. What links a village in Belize and millions of North American kids? Chocolate! We learn about Elisha's daily life and her dreams as she and her father show how cacao is grown, harvested and turned into chocolate.

  • Cafeteria
    2015|24 min

    This short documentary looks at how an entire community mobilized to improve the cafeteria menu at a primary school in Cocagne, New Brunswick. Rallying behind this noble cause, residents put their shoulder to the wheel, promoting products from local farmers over those of multinational corporations. Everyone gets involved to make healthy eating a common goal as well as a learning opportunity.

    This film was made as part of the Tremplin program, in collaboration with Radio-Canada.

  • Hope Builders
    2010|1 h 29 min

    This feature documentary zooms in on a Grade 6 class in Quebec where a teacher is implementing an experimental teaching method aimed at preparing children to take up environmental challenges. Over the course of a year, Dominique Leduc’s students will learn to identify, analyze and resolve a problem that exists in their world. They also learn about the uncertainty faced by those who want change.