Grounded

"It was good for the skin to touch the bare Earth, and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with their bare feet on the sacred Earth. The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing"
~ Luther Standing Bear ~ Sioux Tribal Leader - 1868-1939

From a world older and more complete, a nomadic arctic animal, the wolverine, and all such creatures, help a man on a lifelong quest in a journey to explore life's profound mysteries. From ancient times, nature revealed an interconnected life force to humans, in the form of rhythms and patterns.

This is a true story of actual events unfolded over thirteen months, which changed this man's life. Could it happen to you?

Zaytuna Farm Tour (Part 2)

Zaytuna Farm, home of the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, is a demonstration site and education center in the village of The Channon in NSW Australia. The property is 66 acres/27 hectares of ex beef cattle/ex dairy farm land with a boundary on the Terrania Creek. It was first purchased in 2001 and has since been under constant development and evolution as a demonstration site of permaculture design and land use and operating as an education centre.

'Last year we took some time out to make a Zaytuna Farm Video Tour for you all. The positive comments, both on our site and on YouTube, along with additional questions, encouraged us to make another! This new video, shot 11-12 months after the original video, is twice as long and covers several aspects of the farm — some we hadn’t covered before, and some we had, but now with additional aspects and details. You’ll see Geoff talking about natural buildings, cattle laneways, and how to keep goats parasite free. Geoff will take you through the entire plant nursery process at Zaytuna Farm, from seeds and potting through to actually planting a tree. You’ll see food forests at various stages of development, a new purpose-built fish pond that will soon be in production, and much more.

Mixed throughout is footage that shows some of the diversity of plants and wildlife you can see at Zaytuna Farm — a permaculture paradise that’s far removed from the worn out old cattle property it used to be only ten years ago. This farm inspires me with what is possible with sensible permaculture design — i.e. when doing our best to cooperate with unchangeable natural laws. Beauty and diversity don’t have to be found only in ‘parks’, ‘reserves’ and wilderness areas — it can be found right where we live and work. I hope you’ll see that our gardens, streetscapes and farms can also all be full of life and beauty and can contribute to not only our own mental and physical health, but the health and well-being of the biosphere as a whole.' Geoff Lawton

See also: Zaytuna Farm Tour Part 1

Website: Permaculture Research Institute

La Belle Verte

As part of an intergalactic coalition, a well-meaning space alien volunteers to bring a message of self-actualization and harmony with nature to the one planet rejected by all her peers as incorrigible--Earth.

This family-oriented French sci-fi comedy chronicles her adventures on the chaotic planet. Mila is 150 years old and has five children; encoded in her brain are two telepathic programs designed to restructure the thinking of destructive humans. The first is a fairly mild program designed to inspire the humans to rethink their world and begin asking some difficult questions. The other is far stronger and rapidly indoctrinates subjects with lofty utopian ideals and makes them deeply aware of themselves.

IMDb: La Belle Verte

Midway (trailer)

The Midway film project is a powerful visual journey into the heart of an astonishingly symbolic environmental tragedy. On one of the remotest islands on our planet, tens of thousands of baby albatrosses lie dead on the ground, their bodies filled with plastic from the Pacific Garbage Patch. Returning to the island over several years, our team is witnessing the cycles of life and death of these birds as a multi-layered metaphor for our times. With photographer Chris Jordan as our guide, we walk through the fire of horror and grief, facing the immensity of this tragedy—and our own complicity—head on. And in this process, we find an unexpected route to a transformational experience of beauty, acceptance, and understanding.

Wonders Of Life (BBC 2013)

Professor Brian Cox explores the globe to reveal how a few fundamental laws of science gave birth to the most complex and unique feature of the universe - life.

Episode 1: What Is Life?



Episode 2: Expanding Universe



Episode 3: Endless Forms Most Beautiful



Episode 4: Size Matters



Episode 5: Home

Who Killed The Honey Bee (BBC)

Bees are dying in their millions. It is an ecological crisis that threatens to bring global agriculture to a standstill. Introduced by Martha Kearney, this documentary explores the reasons behind the decline of bee colonies across the globe, investigating what might be at the root of this devastation.

Honey bees are the number one insect pollinator on the planet, responsible for the production of over 90 crops. Apples, berries, cucumbers, nuts, cabbages and even cotton will struggle to be produced if bee colonies continue to decline at the current rate. Empty hives have been reported from as far afield as Taipei and Tennessee. In England, the matter has caused beekeepers to march on Parliament to call on the government to fund research into what they say is potentially a bigger threat to humanity than the current financial crisis.

Investigating the problem from a global perspective, the programme makers travel from the farm belt of California to the flatlands of East Anglia to the outback of Australia. They talk to the beekeepers whose livelihoods are threatened by colony collapse disorder, the scientists entrusted with solving the problem, and the Australian beekeepers who are making a fortune replacing the planet's dying bees. They also look at some of the possible reasons for the declining numbers - is it down to a bee plague, pesticides, malnutrition? Or is the answer something even more frightening?

Colony Collapse Disorder

Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is a phenomenon in which worker bees from a beehive or European honey bee colony abruptly disappear. While such disappearances have occurred throughout the history of apiculture, the term colony collapse disorder was first applied to a drastic rise in the number of disappearances of Western honey bee colonies in North America in late 2006.[1] Colony collapse is significant economically because many agricultural crops worldwide are pollinated by bees; and ecologically, because of the major role that bees play in the reproduction of plant communities in the wild.

12 things to prevent Colony Collapse Disorder:

#1 General approach: use organic practices
#2 General approach: strengthen bee immune system instead of "attack and kill" what nature uses to remove weak bees
#3 Don't use insecticide (for mite control or any other insect problem) inside of hives - bees are insects!
#4 Allow bees to create their own cell size (typically smaller) - no more pre-made foundation or cells
#5 Genetics based on "survival of the fittest" is superior to genetics resulting from mass production where the weak are medicated
#6 Swarming is the natural way to good genetics
#7 Local bees have adapted to challenges in your area
#8 Stop moving hives
#9 Feed bees honey, not sugar water
#10 Feed bees polyculture blossoms, not monoculture
#11 Stop using insecticides on crops - bees are insects!
#12 Raise hives off the ground

Visit the discussion at Permies

The Living Planet (BBC)

The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 19 January 1984. The sequel to his pioneering Life on Earth, it is a study of the ways in which living organisms, including humans, adapt to their surroundings. Each of the twelve 55-minute episodes featured a different environment. 

Episode 1: The Building of the Earth

Episode 2: The Frozen World



Episode 3: The Northern Forests



Episode 4: Jungle



Episode 5: Seas of Grass



Episode 6: The Baking Deserts



Episode 7: The Sky Above



Episode 8: Sweet Fresh Water



Episode 9: The Margins of the Land



Episode 10: Worlds Apart



Episode 11: The Open Ocean



Episode 12: New Worlds

A Silent Forest

The Growing Threat: Genetically Engineered Trees

This award winning documentary film explores the growing global threat of genetically engineered trees to our environment and to human health. The film features renowned geneticist and host of PBS' The Nature of Things David Suzuki, who explores the unknown and possibly disastrous consequences of improperly tested GE methods. Many scientists and activists are interviewed in the film, which serves as an effective and succinct tool for understanding the complex issue of GE trees.

"It doesn't matter how it gets there, destroying your crop. All of your crop, becomes Monsanto's ownership and they can lay a lawsuit on top of it against you. Even if the contamination rate is 1%, all your other 99% of your crop goes to Monsanto. And that's what startled the world, how farmers can lose their rights overnight, an organic farmer can lose his seeds and his rights overnight, and get subject to a lawsuit."

Vanishing Of The Bees

This documentary takes a piercing investigative look at the economic, political and ecological implications of the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee. The film examines our current agricultural landscape and celebrates the ancient and sacred connection between man and the honeybee. The story highlights the positive changes that have resulted due to the tragic phenomenon known as "Colony Collapse Disorder." To empower the audience, the documentary provides viewers with tangible solutions they can apply to their everyday lives. Vanishing of the Bees (2009) unfolds as a dramatic tale of science and mystery, illuminating this extraordinary crisis and its greater meaning about the relationship between humankind and Mother Earth. The bees have a message - but will we listen?

Colony Collapse Disorder

Jacqueline Freeman is the author of an upcoming book "Bees, the OTHER Way". She points out the different strategies that conventional bee keepers might try to save their hives from colony collapse disorder.

Throughout the video I count off the first twelve. There are several more points that ended up on the editing room floor. For that stuff, make sure to visit the discussion.

12 things to prevent colony collapse disorder:

#1 general approach: use organic practices
#2 general approach: strengthen bee immune system instead of "attack and kill" what nature uses to remove weak bees
#3 don't use insecticide (for mite control or any other insect problem) inside of hives - bees are insects!
#4 allow bees to create their own cell size (typically smaller) - no more pre-made foundation or cells
#5 genetics based on "survival of the fittest" is superior to genetics resulting from mass production where the weak are medicated
#6 swarming is the natural way to good genetics
#7 local bees have adapted to challenges in your area
#8 stop moving hives
#9 feed bees honey, not sugar water
#10 feed bees polyculture blossoms, not monoculture
#11 stop using insecticides on crops - bees are insects!
#12 raise hives off the ground

Fantastic Fungi

An excerpt from the feature documentary by Louie Schwartzberg following notable mycologist, Paul Stamets, as he discusses the important role mushrooms play in the survival and health of the earth and human species.

See also: Paul Stamets: 6 ways mushrooms can save the world

Janine Benyus: Biomimicry

12 sustainable design ideas from nature.
In this inspiring talk about recent developments in biomimicry, Janine Benyus provides heartening examples of ways in which nature is already influencing the products and systems we build.



Biomimicry in action.
Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look to nature first. There you'll find inspired designs for making things waterproof, aerodynamic, solar-powered and more. Here she reveals dozens of new products that take their cue from nature with spectacular results.

The Fairy Faith

A fairy is a tiny being with wings that looks like a person but possesses powers of magic and enchantment. According to legend, fairies can change the weather, alter aspects of nature and bestow magical gifts such as intelligence and plenty. They can also lure humans to their islands where all is happiness and no one ages or gets sick...however, once brought to these mystical places, there is no escape. Join filmmaker John Walker on a quirky and compelling journey through Ireland, England, Scotland and Cape Breton in search of the child's imagination in a rational world. This unique look into the realm of fantasy traces the popular fascination with fairies and is vividly brought to life with gorgeous cinematography and an enchanting soundtrack.

Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5



Part 6

Wild Europe (BBC)

All across the continent are clues that help us to shed light on the deep past and Europe's dramatic creation. In Genesis, we witness the birth of mountains as tall as the Himalayas, coalfields transformed in to leafy swamps roamed by giant dragonflies and plesiosaurs roaming our once-tropical oceans. In this educational BBC documentary programme we see the raising of the Alps and the ripping open of the Atlantic as Europe is finally born.

Part 1: Genesis



Part 2:  Ice Ages

2.5 million years ago, a periodic shift in the Earth's orbit, coupled with a tilt in its axis, triggered a sudden change in climate and Europe was plunged into an ice age. The wintry iciness of today's Alps spread across northern Europe as ice sheets extended as far south as London, Amsterdam and Berlin. Conditions were ideal for cold-adapted animals, forerunners of musk oxen and reindeer. Woolly mammoth bones dredged from the bottom of the North Sea are evidence that this was once icy tundra. The warm interglacial periods attracted very different creatures: fossil hippos, rhinos, lions and hyenas have been unearthed in London. This thermal pulsing has occurred around twenty times, the last ice age ending 15,000 years ago.

Part 3: Taming The Wild

The third programme explores the growing influence of people on the land. After the last ice age, Europe's mild climate and virgin forests attracted human and animal immigrants, including moose, bear, deer and wild boar. The agreeable climate also attracted immigrant farmers from Mesopotamia to the eastern Mediterranean, and reliable food supplies encouraged permanent settlement. By 3000 BC, civilization had spread to western megalithic sites such as Stonehenge and Carnac. Bronze Age Europeans discovered the smelting process, leading to a period of conflict and conquest over valuable metal ores. The Roman Empire was born, and a massive road-building enterprise ensued, enabling a flow of trade, livestock, ideas and culture.

Part 4: A New Millenium

Europe is home to more than 700 million people, most of them city dwellers. Much of its wildlife has suffered as a result, but efforts are underway to protect and reintroduce some species.

Sea The Truth

The state of our oceans and seas is the main focus in 'Sea the Truth'. Leading scientists such as Daniel Pauly suggest that if we continue to catch and eat fish at the current rate, the oceans and seas will be empty within 40 years. The hunt for fish is an economic monster on the run: large bottom trawlers are scraping the bottoms of the seas empty, taking with them all living things with destructive force. The massive amount of bycatch is thrown back into the sea, maimed or dead.

Under the guidance of Dutch MP Marianne Thieme, two young marine biologists Marianne van Mierlo and Barbara van Genne, are searching worldwide for scientific information about the condition of our biggest ecosystems, which cover more than two thirds of our planet. Underwater photographer Dos Winkel shows them the beauty of marine life and the enormous threats to which it is exposed. For the documentary the producers filmed in Newfoundland, on Bonaire, on the North Sea, the Azores and at various locations in the Netherlands. Authorities offer the solution of sustainable fisheries projects while leading scientists say that every fish that is taken now, is one too many. This documentary shows that, unfortunately, there is no such thing as 'sustainable fishing'.

Zaytuna Farm Tour (Part 1)

Zaytuna Farm, home of the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, is a demonstration site and education center in the village of The Channon in NSW Australia. The property is 66 acres/27 hectares of ex beef cattle/ex dairy farm land with a boundary on the Terrania Creek. It was first purchased in 2001 and has since been under constant development and evolution as a demonstration site of permaculture design and land use and operating as an education centre. 

Website: Permaculture Research Institute

See also: Zaytuna Farm Tour Part 2

Biomimicry: Ask Nature What Works

Can a leaf help us design a better solar cell? Biomimicry looks to nature for forms, patterns, systems and strategies that we can study -- and design in accordance with for maximum sustainability.

Mother Trees Connect The Forest

In this real-life model of forest resilience and regeneration, Professor Suzanne Simard shows that all trees in a forest ecosystem are interconnected, with the largest, oldest, "mother trees" serving as hubs. The underground exchange of nutrients increases the survival of younger trees linked into the network of old trees. Amazingly, we find that in a forest, 1+1 equals more than 2.

Anima Mundi

Anima Mundi is a poetic combination of music and images created from the finest existing footage from the naturalist film field, interwoven with original images and accompanied by a continuous soundtrack composed by Philip Glass based on rhythms and music from the most unspoiled traditional ethnic music.

This work was designed to celebrate the Biological Diversity Campaign of WWF and to create feelings and emotions which, through rich, striking and breathtaking images from Nature may lead its viewers to feel that they are truly a part of the natural world.

The title, 'Anima Mundi', reproposes a concept which, throughout the history of mankind from ancient times, conjures up a harmonic principle controlling the laws of life on earth in all its various forms and relationships. Natural order and beauty are based on differences and the endless variety of species, elements, beings and systems which together form a marvelous balanced and harmonious Whole.

Several ecological themes are firmly based on the idea of anima mundi, which attributes a cosmic breath to the earth. Nature, joyfully venerated for thousands of years by people all over the globe, supports the suffering of its generation simply because it is animated by a deeply rooted and mysterious vital force which justifies everything as well as the position of all elements in the complex order of nature.

Godfrey Reggio, the director of Anima Mundi, translated this concept into images to interpret WWF's campaign on biological diversity: the concept of anima mundi forms the basis of this film and requires a stylistic type of poetic communication, which is both immediately and deeply felt as it emotionally expresses the myriad of meanings contained in this concept, rather than to simply describe and explain them. Godfrey Reggio's intention is that of conjuring up a sense of the force of nature by following a path which goes beyond habit, calling forth the deep rooted and archaic sense of man's 'being a part' of nature.

Part 2

Deep Ocean Mysteries And Wonders

In the deepest, darkest parts of the oceans are ecosystems with more diversity than a tropical rainforest. Taking us on a voyage into the ocean -- from the deepest trenches to the remains of the Titanic -- marine biologist David Gallo explores the wonder and beauty of marine life.

Witness: Green & The Death Of The Forests

Witness is a silent film (without narration, but with music) which addresses itself both to the Indonesians and the consumers of wood/paper/palm oil around the world.
This important documentary was filmed in the fast disappearing Indonesian rainforest and is not narrated, however, its message is clear and frightening. The home of the Orangutan and many other wildlife species in Indonesia is being decimated at an alarming rate by consumer need and greed.
The film features the widespread practice of 'slash and burn' to clear the lush rainforest to make way for extensive palm oil plantations which we, the consumer, support in our demand for our favourite foods, magazines, cosmetics, and, increasingly, biofuel. The practice has also seen Indonesia move into third place behind the US and China with regard to carbon emissions due to the uncovering of peat soil which has lain, undisturbed, below the tropical rainforest for centuries. The film exposes the illegal pet trade that thrives in Indonesia and the sick, despairing lives of those Orangutan who spend years, often all their lives, locked in small cages, suffering, alone.
The story thread follows the fate of a female Orangutan who has been captured and brought in because her forest home has been decimated. She is one of the lucky ones - most are slaughtered without mercy when caught. Her fate though, is not a happy one, as her trauma at the hands of man is too great. Your heart will break with resounding pity, but it is even more sobering to know that she is only one of hundreds every week who will suffer a similar fate.
Make sure everyone you know watches this documentary. We owe it to our friends, the gentle Orangutan, we owe it to our planet, and we owe it to ourselves so that we can learn from it.

Palm Oil or Rainforests: You Decide

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