Understanding Ecosystems : Pathways to Sustainability
Understanding how ecosystems function is crucial for our ability to live sustainably within them. Our films explore the true nature of ecosystems as something other than constructs which exist solely to provide "things" for us. These films challenge the view which places human beings as the most important outcome of the whole evolutionary process which has brought about this diverse world that we are part of. Sustainability issues are embedded within a rationale which views ecosystems themselves as the most important outcome of these evolutionary processes.
These films are for everybody !! - and not only for educational purposes in the formal sense of the word -- although they are a strong support for these as well ! A companion publication will also be available autumn 2021.
"This is an excellent explanation of ecosystems and really accessible".
Jane Jackson Borderlines Film Festival 2020
"This video is a good primer for students starting their studies around ecosystems. I especially liked the commentary on the moors, which can be tough ecosystems to explain".
Shankar Musafir UNESCO MGIEP
click below to access film
Inside Ecosystems : Pathways to Sustainability (26 mins)
2020 - 2021.
The first film takes an upland heathland ecosystem in mid-Wales as an example to introduce the concept of energy flows and nutrient cycles as built-in sustainability mechanisms, essential for healthy ecosystem function. The dynamics of peat formation and its importance for carbon sequestration and as a vast store and filter of freshwater for terrestrial and freshwater aquatic ecosystems is explored and emphasised. The impacts of negative exploitation as a file and as a horticultural compost on commercial scale is also considered. (completed and available click on images above)
The second film shows how industrially derelict landscapes in the UK are examples of collapsed ecosystems where these flows and cycles have been dislocated. It further considers how understanding these processes can provide a means of restoring collapsed ecosystems to landscapes with independent function.
The third film moves towards a global perspective by exploring different ways that humans interact with ecosystems in other parts of the world and emphasises how local and "traditional" interactions intersect with the present day global impacts.
These films reveal the complex processes which natural ecosystems have evolved to regulate and maintain themselves and how extremely vulnerable these are to unbridled resource exploitation using our increasingly powerful technologies.
Ron Johnston 14/09/22