Whatever subject you teach, grappling with issues that affect our environment (and thus us and nonhuman animals) is a vital part of helping your students become leaders and changemakers for a better world. Here’s a useful resource to add to your humane educator’s toolbox.
“Earth Focus” is a video news magazine that “features investigative reports and in-depth stories about our changing environment and how it affects people around the world.” A program of Link TV, “Earth Focus” features videos exploring environmentally-focused issues.
Recent topics include the “truth” behind everyday chemicals, coal ash, bee deaths, climate and national security, and Asian elephants in peril. Archived episodes, which go back to 2007, are available for viewing, so there are a plethora of topics to choose from, and the website is searchable.
Each episode ranges from less than 10 minutes to close to 30 minutes, so they’re an appropriate length for use in schools. The subject matter makes them most pertinent for older middle school and high school students, as well as for use with college students and even adult audiences.
Although the videos don’t spend a lot of time focused on solutionary action, they do provide a meaningful springboard for exploring important issues and offer a platform for helping students think critically and practice assessing information sources for accuracy and credibility.