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Every Third Bite: TAKE ACTION PACK

Published on July 15, 2008

Welcome to our first monthly Take Action Pack!

Twelve Months, Twelve Films, Twelve Issues.

Here at MediaRights.org and the Media That Matters Film Festival, we decided to crew up and give you a fresh, focused, all-in-one package of brand new short films, background information, resources, tips and activities on each of the films covered in the eighth annual Media That Matters Film Festival.

The mission of the festival is to take the concept of “audience” a step further and use short-form, big issue media as a tool to educate and inspire activism.

Kicking off this series in July - with summer in full effect - is the film Every Third Bite. Watch the film, then read on to find out more about how to take action.

The Issue

Two years ago, honeybees across the country began to disappear. An estimated one third of the bee colonies that left their hives never returned. This prompted much speculation within the science and agriculture world and inspired the eighth annual Media That Matters Film Festival winners, the Meerkat Media Collective, to make a short documentary called Every Third Bite.

It is now known that we are losing the bees to a disease called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which directly affects humans because Every Third Bite of food that we eat is the work of bee pollination.

Without pollinators, humans and ecosystems cannot survive. We are losing pollinators world wide and at an alarming rate. The cause is due to biodiversity threats such as land development, pollution, and pesticide poisoning. Organizations such as Pollinator Partnership have come forward to raise more awareness for CCD.

Although there is currently a growing awareness and interest in CCD and its causes, we still have a lot to learn about the significant loss of honeybee colonies. The reality of CCD is our wake-up call that we can no longer take honeybees and other insect and animal pollinators for granted.

The National Resource Defense Council tracks Congressional hearings on the issue of vanishing honeybees and the importance of taking immediate action to help beekeepers affected by the disorder to revive their hives so our crops can continue to grow. Community apiaries and non-commercial beekeeping are also becoming increasingly popular and legislation about preserving hives is being discussed. Stay updated on the latest news and happenings with the rapid decline of the bee population.

The Film

Every Third Bite

This film takes a closer look at the process of non-commercial bee keeping and explores why the disappearance of these bees is so detrimental to our every day lives.

The Meerkat Media Collective visited private beekeepers in Manhattan, Long Island, Nantucket and Chicago, interviewing a range of subjects including scientists and elementary school children, to highlight the community who are affected by the phenomenon of CCD. Find out more about the issue, the filmmakers and join the conversation online.

The Action!

For Educators:

Use Every Third Bite in a classroom or after-school group as an introduction to the environmental and science studies. We will have available, at the end of the summer, a free discussion guide that will offer questions and activities around the film. In the meantime, you may download last year’s guide and use our Take Action Activities to spark some ideas.
The New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE) has put together a fantastic book called Planning to Change the World. It is intended to help teachers inspire their students to have confidence in their power to make necessary (environmental and social) changes. This unique resource includes lesson plans and resources, tips from social justice teachers across the country and thought-provoking questions to spark classroom discussions.
Educate students about pollination and learn about how you can attract pollinating insects to your neighborhood. Visit the Pollinator Partnership website and get an Eco-regional Planning Guide and to download a specialized curriculum.

Family Activities:

Teach your children the importance of environmental preservation as well as the preservation of bees for our own survival with films like City Of Bees: A Children’s Guide to Bees, Biodiversity vs Extinction and Biodiversity: The Variety of Life. Other incredible shorts in the Media That Matters Film Festival concerned with the environment can be found here.
Did you know that there are environmentally friendly, “green,” methods to cure a cold? Find out how you can green your colds.
Create a pollinator friendly environment in your own back yard or from a window box! See the Pollinator Partnership’s website for information on how to get started. They also have information about how to reduce your impact on the environment and bee eco-friendly meal ideas.
Want to start your own hive? Learn the ins and outs of becoming a safe beekeeper and help fight Colony Collapse. Just visit beginningbeekeeping.com to see what you can do to help. You can also help to get others involved in fighting CCD.

Community Activities:

Plan a night to screen Every Third Bite using our free DIY Screening Guide, and host a community potluck. Fill out our online Pre-Screening form so we can check out how you are using our films and, if it’s a public event, we can even help you publicize.
Learn how to cook by using solar power with aboutmyplanet.com.
Come together and start a community garden or, if you’re so inclined, try your hand in guerilla gardening. It is both beneficial to the environment and can really give your town a facelift!

Other ways to get involved:

Learn how to convert your car into a hydrogen vehicle.
Want to help others become self-sufficient and get your hands a little dirty too? WWOOF.org is a world-wide network helping people share more sustainable ways of living. In return for volunteering, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles.
Want to see who else is screening Every Third Bite? Check out our screenings map and see details on where all of our Media That Matters Films will be showing across the globe, all year long!

In Conclusion

May these resources add to your use of film in the classroom. Beyond Media That Matters, we invite you to search around MediaRights to find others films, organizations and to read articles about other important environmental issues.

Lastly, if you have any ideas or feedback on this new Take Action Pack feature, we welcome your comments and hope to bring more resources like these to the table.

This article is available for noncommercial use under a Creative Commons license. It was originally published on MediaRights.org, a project of Arts Engine, Inc. This notice must accompany the article at all times.

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