Once down to only 80 in the wild, the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow is at risk of extinction. Biologist Fabiola ‘Fabby’ Baeza-Tarin and an unexpected team work together to protect the sparrows, their shrinking habitat, and the headwaters of the Everglades. Through these efforts, America's most endangered songbird is saving a landscape, as told in the film Little Brown Bird.

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In Reviving the Forgotten River the film explains that he Anacostia River, nicknamed “DC’s forgotten river,” is an infamously polluted tributary of the Chesapeake Bay plagued by trash, industrial pollution and toxic sewage outflows. But after years of work from local activists, progress for the river’s restoration is being made—so much that the Anacostia may soon be swimmable for the first time in over half a century.

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The Buffalo Field Campaign has fought on the front lines for the last 27 years against the harassment and slaughter of Yellowstone’s buffalo — the last remaining wild, migratory herd of this keystone species. This film The Last Wild Herd explores the organization’s role in writing the story of the past, present and future management of buffalo in and around Yellowstone.

Follow up speaker is Asyas Joshi, Filmmaker

The award-winning feature documentary Plastic People investigates our addiction to plastic and the growing threat of microplastics on human health. Almost every bit of plastic ever made breaks down into “microplastics " becoming a permanent part of the environment.
Now, leading scientists are finding these particles in our bodies: organs, blood, brain tissue, and even the placentas of new mothers. What is the impact on our health?

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In Fire Lines the story is told of the Dixie fire that in 2021 devastated Northern California’s Lost Sierra region, burning multiple towns to the ground and upending entire communities, the result of climate change and 150 years of forest mismanagement. The Dixie Fire torched much of the Sierra Buttes Trail System, but also provided an opportunity to reimagine how bike trails could be used as a tool for fire management, economic recovery, conservation and connection to the places they call home.

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Chesapeake Rhythms explores the migrations of graceful tundra swans, beautiful monarch butterflies, elusive eels and flocking shorebirds that live in the Chesapeake Bay.

Follow up speaker is Lauren Hines Acosta, Environmental Journalist

American Southwest beautifully showcases the Colorado River’s abundant wildlife, confronts the ecological impacts of dams and river depletion, and boldly advocates for increased water and wildlife conservation. You will encounter wetland-building beavers, bugling bull elk, and desert-adapted rattlesnakes.

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After witnessing a massive fish kill on her ancestral home waters, Yurok tribal attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis dedicated her life to reversing the generations-long destruction wrought by the Klamath River dams. Undammed follows her journey to free the Klamath, from testifying before Congress to passing down fishing traditions within her young family. Now that the Klamath dams are finally coming down, she remains confident that the future of her tribe is bright.

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Exposing The Dark Side of America's AI Data Center Explosion is an investigative piece by Business Insider that explores the alarming proliferation of power and water hungry data centers in the US. Virginia is a focus of the investigation because it is estimated that one-third of the world’s internet traffic flows through the state.

Follow up speaker is Dakin Campbell, Business Insider Journalist

"A River Called Home" follows the journey of four women who launch at the headwaters of the James River and paddle to the Chesapeake Bay. For three weeks, the team faces challenges along the way, including whitewater rapids and a river with a history of pollution. Along the way, the team conducts a water quality study, asking how our waterways are being protected and what more we have left to do.

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline announced in 2014 was to have crossed over 600 miles through the Blue Ridge Mountains, critical ecosystems, and Indigenous communities. The pipeline’s compressor station was to have been sited in historic Union Hill, a community formed by formerly enslaved people after emancipation. Various groups worked together to fight the pipeline. Ultimately, the long fight caused delays and cost increases, and Dominion Energy withdrew the project on July 5, 2020 as told in Not On This Land.

Follow up speaker is Jessica Sims, Virginia Conservation Network

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In the centennial year (2016) of the U. S. National Park Service a young filmmaker and friend set off on a 10,000 mile journey throughout the National Parks that lasted over seven years. A deeply human portrait of the parks as a places of reflection, resilience and connection is created. Out There reimagines what it means to find belonging in the natural world and the power of public lands to bring us back to ourselves.

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In Look Down Not Up you join a team of mycologists, mountaineers, journalists, and adventurers on a trek high into the Himalayas on a mushroom foraging expedition. The group explores the remote mountains and forests of the Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park of Nepal, searching for rare and undiscovered mushroom species. Along the journey they connect with local villagers, experience Sherpa culture, witness the staggering natural beauty of Nepal, and have their spirits transformed through poignant moments of joy and sorrow.

Follow up speakers are Yehuda Goldman and Rick Silber, Filmmakers

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The last female bee-hunter in Europe must save the bees and return the natural balance in Honeyland, when a family of nomadic beekeepers invade her land and threaten her livelihood.

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The Street Project is an inspiring story about a massive movement across the US and around the world to reclaim our largest public spaces, our streets.

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An impassioned surfer, Taylor Lane, creates a functional surfboard with 10,000 littered cigarette butts collected from California beaches. The Cigarette Surfboard takes Taylor around the world to learn from professional surfers who are working to protect and restore the health of the ocean through science, education, art, business and political activism.

6:00-7:00 Reception with film maker, Ben Judkins, prior to film viewing

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The film profiles a hopeful and uplifting movement of white, black, and indigenous farmers who are using alternative “regenerative” models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy – before it’s too late.

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This film explores the work of a sanctuary in Northern California, where a team of injured, non-releasable wild animals become Wild-Teachers and are helping heal generations of hurt children.

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Through striking visuals and authoritative voices, The Little Things That Run the World uncovers the essential role insects play in sustaining life on earth.

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Damon Gameau takes eight kids on the ultimate school excursion: a road trip across Europe to meet with powerful leaders and find solutions to our greatest ecological challenges. This is a coming-of-age journey that dares to imagine a brighter future.

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