About the Films:
Produced specifically for Grades K- 5, these wonderful nature education films feature acclaimed naturalist-teacher and conservationist, Elizabeth Terwilliger. Her unique interactive, multi-sensory teaching techniques inspire children to respect and appreciate Nature. As adults, they will be prepared to make responsible decisions to protect and preserve our natural environment. The children in the films reflect our nation's ethnic diversity.
Bay Tidelands - 15 min.
Winner of the CINE Golden Eagle Award. At a drive-in restaurant, children follow "Mr. Raccoon" on an adventure through a magic door that leads to the discovery of winter migrating birds, crabs under rocks and plants along the shore. They make "Indian Chewing Gum" and share their new-found knowledge and discoveries with their parents.
Redwood Forest, Stream, Ocean Beach & Monarch Butterfly Trees - 15 min.
A girl living in the city falls asleep and dreams of being in a forest. She discovers the wonders of its creatures and holds a banana slug and a snake. Following a stream to the ocean, she sees spawning salmon, blows seed pods into the air, jumps rope with a long strand of kelp and then awakens to a new awareness of Nature in her own backyard.
Grassland, Chaparral and Fresh Water Pond - 15 min.
Winner of the John Muir Award at the National Education Film Festival. A boy bicycles in the city, then takes a ferryboat across the bay to the country where he joins his friend. While hiking in the chaparral, they learn the Spanish origins of a western saddle and chaps and see a variety of wildlife. They canoe and bike and learn the names of Spring wildflowers while singing happy songs.
Oak Woodland - 15 min.
Young viewers are led on a vicarious romp in this habitat. Frogs and rocks sing of their place in the ecosystem and tell how each contributes to the whole of the environment. Children make halos of bedstraw, discover a whole world of creatures under a log and end the day roasting marshmallows over a bonfire.
Sights & Sounds of the Seasons - 22 min.
A family moves to California and the children learn about the four unusual seasons from the Sierra Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. They magically visit pumpkin and animal farms, taste garden fruits and vegetables, and see migrating ducks and geese, California Gray whales and spawning salmon.