Hi there!
Here with something a little different… but time sensitive.
- Do you have kids 11+ years old?
- Do you know an educator or teacher who does?
- Are you interested in documentary filmmaking, conservation or the work of eco rangers.
If so, I’ve got something you may find interesting.
- 22nd April – 10AM EDT – Confronting Extinction
- 22nd April – 11AM EDT – Impacts of illegal wildlife markets
Background
I met Kate Brooks one year ago at a yoga retreat in India while she was recuperating from the grueling work of releasing her documentary The Last Animals.
Now her foundation, along with Encounter Edu and the University of Michigan School of Environment and Sustainability, will be doing a live event on Earth Day – 22nd April 2020 – at 10AM EDT (check your timezone).
The event is family friendly, hosted by 17 year old British conservationist & youth activist Bella Lack and will consist of two 40-minute panels in which you can submit questions to be answered by experts in their respective fields. There will be age group appropriate reading and writing exercises around these lessons posted on Encounter in the next day or so.
I personally love the work Kate and her foundation are doing and the online forum Encounter Edu uses is perfect for STEM online resources during the times we are in today.
If you are interested, select one or both of the lessons below, click the ‘Book Now’ button and sign you or your class up for it. The lessons are free and the documentary is also available for a small cost.
Stay safe, stay healthy.
— Daniel
How this all came together – in Kate’s own words
Nearly one year ago Sarasota Military Academy and The Inspire Project began organizing the Project Earth Day. I was honored to be invited to screen The Last Animals and speak to the students who would be in attendance.
Weeks before quarantine came into full force, we decided to prepare for a possible quarantine. Rather than cancel the event in response to the COVID 19, we decided that we would share the day with schools and students everywhere. On Earth Day 2020, it’s more important than ever for students to learn about and discuss the many consequences of wildlife trafficking, including zoonotic disease, and hear directly from people working to save our shared planet.
Encounter and SEAS are creating conservation literacy exercises for middle grade and high school students which will be posted in the next few days. The Last Animals educational distributor is providing streaming licenses for participating schools. Individual homeschool licenses are available for parents to reach students in places where schools have been suspended. This panel will be open to any school or individual, but of course more meaningful with the perspective of the film.
Encounter Edu specializes in open source education resources, which is why The Last Animals Foundation has partnered with Encounter. One of our primary goals is to raise awareness about wildlife trafficking and increase conservation literacy. Please check out this Earth Day live link: https://encounteredu.com/live-lessons/earth-day-live-2020 You will find details on the panels on the bottom of the page or can directly connect to them here: Panel 1 and Panel 2 which will be hosted by British conservationist youth activist, Bella Lack After years of working on these issues, the power and emotion of her speech at the IWTC in London in the fall of 2018 inspired me and also brought tears to my eyes.
Please spread the word with educators, parents and anyone you feel may be interested in tuning into the live event, and perhaps watching The Last Animals in advance of the event as a learning exercise. For all those struggling with the practicalities of homeschooling during quarantine, Encounter Edu is a wonderful resource, now and always, to creatively educate the next generation.
I am also pleased to share that The Last Animals Foundation has been supporting the construction of a new educational and community center in Garamba National park. For every dollar raised for this initiative, the EU has been match funding. I made a commitment to help the rangers and their families featured in the film, and I am proud to say that the foundation is honoring that commitment.
All my best,
Kate Brooks
No Plan Blog 