The film festival, Fast Forward: Our Environmental Future is Now, begins at the Legion here on Jan. 21.
The series of five provocative, award-winning documentaries runs monthly – every third Thursday at 7pm from January to May at the Legion Hall at 12 Dundas Street East. Admission is free, and each film night includes local experts focusing on how people can take action locally.
Think one person cannot make a difference? On Jan. 21, see Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai. It is the story of how one woman’s foresight, and the simple act of planting trees, grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard one country’s environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy. Maathai’s green belt movement in Kenya earned her the Nobel peace prize in 2004. The evening is sponsored by Baker Forestry Services.
The screening of Taking Root will be followed by an update on the state of local forests by Credit Valley Conservation’s terrestrial biologist, Dr. Aviva Patel. There will also be several local forestry groups at the event to help people keen to take action to improve our ecosystem’s health by planting trees. Other films in the series include:
– Feb. 18: Who Killed the Electric Car (sponsored by Rob’s Automotive Service, Erin)
– March 18, Waterlife: The Story of the Last Great Supply of Drinking Water on Earth (sponsored by Paul Morin Gallery, The Burdette Gallery, and Geo Foundations)
– April 15, H2Oil (sponsored by Wellington Water Watchers)
– May 20, Food, Inc. (Treehaven Natural Food, Erin, in honour of Helen Lakusta).
Fast Forward is a joint project of the Climate Change Action Group of Erin and Credit Valley Conservation.
For more information call Liz Armstrong, Climate Change Action Group of Erin at 519-833-4676, extension 1, or Lisa Brusse, Credit Valley Conservation 905-670-1615 extension 444.
