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Biodiversity
 

Biodiversity was largely an unfamiliar concept only a few decades ago. But citizens around the world have been waking up to the multiple threats facing our common environment. The UN has recognized the urgency, designating May 22 as International Day of Biological Diversity. To mark the event CitizenShift has assembled a group of media environmentalists to explore the issue. Learn the finer points of biodiversity from filmmaker Caroline Underwood. View excerpts from Being Caribou, an epic film on caribou migrations in the Northwest habitat now threatened by oil development. Meet Rochelle Strauss, author of the kids' book Tree of Life. Check out short films used as conservationist tools from The Brock Initiative .

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Dossier Contents

South Fraser Perimeter Road: Part 2
Burns Bog...
Caribou
Caribou
tells a story he heard from a Inuvialuit hunter about caribou....
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 8)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 8)
How much did you know about caribou before following the migration on foot? What did you learn that surprised you? ...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 9)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 9)
The controversy over oil drilling in the arctic has raged for about 80 years. How do you feel that Being Caribou has fue...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 10)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 10)
Since your extraordinary adventure making Being Caribou , your son Zev was born. Does having a child motivate your filmm...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 11)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 11)
With the pressure on for oil drilling, do you think Being Caribou might be the last record of the Porcupine Caribou's mi...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 12)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 12)
Is arctic drilling as harmless as proponents claim?...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 13)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 13)
Is Arctic Refuge oil just a distraction?...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 1)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 1)
Are we just waiting for the Senate to pass the bill before the drilling begins in crucial wildlife habitat? ...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 14)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 14)
Can Canada turn a blind eye to Washington's politics and be concerned only about wildlife bound in our territory?...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 2)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 2)
What are the chances of a moratorium being declared on the drilling in the north in 2005? ...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 15)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 15)
If drilling in ANWR take place, what will happen to the Caribou?...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 3)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 3)
Studies have found that oil in the refuge isn't concentrated in a single, large reservoir. What stands to be gained by a...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 16)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 16)
Filming wild caribou and yourselves as part of a migration poses a unique set of challenges. What were the greatest obst...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 4)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 4)
How will pipelines and drilling platforms harm calving caribou, polar bears and millions of migratory birds in the Alask...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 17)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 17)
From the outset Being Caribou is imbued with irony. What prompted you to take the George W. Bush doll on your migration?...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 5)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 5)
Are caribou an "indicator species" of ecosystem health, and what does that mean in the long-term? ...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 18)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 18)
How has taking up the caribou cause impacted your lives professionally? Do you see yourselves making other films or writ...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 6)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 6)
Why should Canadians care about habitat preservation and the biodiversity of our northern territories? ...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 19)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 19)
While camping in the Porcupine Caribou calving grounds, you tried to disturb the herds as little as possible, sequester...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 7)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 7)
In one scene of the film, we witness Karsten swimming across an icy fast river. How did you manage delicate equipment in...
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 20)
Interview - Being Caribou (clip 20)
What can ordinary citizens inspired by Being Caribou do to stop habitat destruction and preserve biodiversity? ...
Age of the Buffalo (clip 2)
Age of the Buffalo (clip 2)
The Sioux people, deprived of their livelihood, were dealt a terrible blow at Wounded Knee in 1890....
Tsy Ho Leo Monina, Tsy Hiova Seranana (clip 2)
Tsy Ho Leo Monina, Tsy Hiova Seranana (clip 2)
Black and white ruffed lemurs live in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar....
Keepers of Wildlife (clip 1)
Keepers of Wildlife (clip 1)
The staff of the Canadian Wildlife Service work to protect threatened species in this 1972 film....
Tsy Ho Leo Monina, Tsy Hiova Seranana (clip 3)
Tsy Ho Leo Monina, Tsy Hiova Seranana (clip 3)
The Alaotra gentle lemur, endemic to these reedbeds, is disappearing faster than the lake....
Keepers of Wildlife (clip 2)
Keepers of Wildlife (clip 2)
Scientists track polar bears in James Bay, hoping to learn about their range and habits....
Tsy Ho Leo Monina, Tsy Hiova Seranana (clip 4)
Tsy Ho Leo Monina, Tsy Hiova Seranana (clip 4)
The communities of Lake Alaotra are sensitive to the plight of endangered species and threatened habitat....
Being Caribou (clip 1)
Being Caribou (clip 1)
Newlyweds Leanne Allison and Karsten Heuer set out to follow the caribou migration from the Yukon to Alaska. ...
Keepers of Wildlife (clip 3)
Keepers of Wildlife (clip 3)
Scientists place a radio transmitter on a grizzly in an effort to learn about its range and habits....
Richard Brock, founder of The Brock Initiative
Richard Brock, founder of The Brock Initiative
Richard Brock introduces himself....
Being Caribou (clip 2)
Being Caribou (clip 2)
Day seven: Leanne and Karsten encounter an obstacle in their pursuit of the great herd. ...
The Lady and the Owl (clip 1)
The Lady and the Owl (clip 1)
The McKeevers care for injured owls and talk about their fascination with the nocturnal hunters....
The Brock Initiative - Films that will make a difference!
The Brock Initiative - Films that will make a difference!
Richard Brock introduces us to the concepts behind the Brock Initiative, highlights some of the available footage, the p...
Being Caribou (clip 3)
Being Caribou (clip 3)
Leanne and Karsten hunker down to wait out a blizzard....
The Lady and the Owl (clip 2)
The Lady and the Owl (clip 2)
Owl specialist Mrs McKeever treats her resident owl to an extra-fresh meal....
The Brock Initiative - Using film locally for international conservation efforts.
The Brock Initiative - Using film locally for international conservation efforts.
The Brock Initiative - today in Kenya and Madagascar, tomorrow& The World....
Being Caribou (clip 4)
Being Caribou (clip 4)
May 22, 2003 - Leanne and Karsten enter Alaska, and the herd enters a danger zone....
Lords of the Arctic (clip 1)
Lords of the Arctic (clip 1)
Why is the Arctic marine environment particularly vulnerable to climate change?...
Being Caribou (clip 5)
Being Caribou (clip 5)
Summer has come to the tundra and it's calving time for the herd....
Lords of the Arctic (clip 2)
Lords of the Arctic (clip 2)
Why are polar bears getting smaller? Climate change may hold the answer....
Being Caribou (clip 6)
Being Caribou (clip 6)
Leanne and Karsten observe the cycle of life and death on the tundra and fight off summer blackflies....
A Great White Bird
A Great White Bird
The Crane flies again - conservationists score a success with the Whooping Crane....
Being Caribou (clip 7)
Being Caribou (clip 7)
Having completed their trip, Leanne and Karsten have come to Washington DC to register their protest....
Naivasha Adventure - An Animated Journey
Naivasha Adventure - An Animated Journey
A short animation for children in Swahili taking them on a journey through the different habitats around Lake Naivasha....
Nomads of the Ocean
Nomads of the Ocean
The endangered sea turtle is a global traveller and can only be protected through international coordination....
Naivasha's Web of Life (clip 1)
Naivasha's Web of Life (clip 1)
This film was designed to introduce Kenyan students to the ecology of lake Naivasha and to understand why it is importan...
Reefs : Rainforest of The Ocean
Reefs : Rainforest of The Ocean
Here's a short film that profiles efforts to protect coral reefs - the rainforests of the seas....
Naivasha's Web of Life (clip 2)
Naivasha's Web of Life (clip 2)
Traffic is causing problems with local wildlife. A solution exists: animal corridors....
Age of the Buffalo (clip 1)
Age of the Buffalo (clip 1)
The decimation of the buffalo herds is evoked through a blend of live action and 19th century paintings....
Tsy Ho Leo Monina, Tsy Hiova Seranana (clip 1)
Tsy Ho Leo Monina, Tsy Hiova Seranana (clip 1)
The diverse and rich biodiversity of Madagascar's Lake Alaotra, is under threat. This film helped to bring the local com...
A Hidden Gem, Pyramid Falls
Coffee-to-go... Early Morning Dew & Rustic Farmhouse
The Eagle's Gift
The Morning After Pill...9-1-2 Sunrise
White spruce laden with snow.
From "Walking With Ghosts": Canada lynx
From "Walking With Ghosts": Kluane Lake, Yukon
African Cape buffalo.
From "Being Caribou" : mother and calf
Dikdik at Lake Naivasha
From "Being Caribou" : Migrating caribou
Fish Eagle at Lake Naivasha.
From "Being Caribou"
A Green Turtle in Barbados.
From "Being Caribou"
Hawksbill Turtles, just a few hours old.
From "Walking With Ghosts": Snowshoe hare just before dawn
The Reef Ball Project in Qatar.
Caroline Underwood's camera team under camouflage netting
Sea anemone.
From "Being Caribou" - Caribou calves
"Split Pea".
Harsh working conditions
Boreal forest.

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Andy Robertson
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Knight Hawk
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Dan Gainsford
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Rex Turgano
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Citizen Shift
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Biodiversity
17 May 2005