CBC is offering a week-long slate of programming in recognition of Earth Week 2022, running from April 18-22 and culminating on Earth Day, the largest civic observance in the world now in its 52nd year, on Friday, April 22. CBC will offer Canadians thoughtful and engaging original content about the environment and climate change for all ages across multiple platforms, in addition to its year-round commitment to cover the latest environmental developments under the banner of Our Changing Planet.
New and original content available on CBC platforms during Earth Week includes the following (full CBC broadcast schedule for Earth Week is below):
- ARCTIC BLUE WITH PETER MANSBRIDGE (World Premiere – Mon. April 18 on CBC and CBC Gem, 1×60, directed by Kevin McMahon, 2022, Canada) As Canada’s Arctic melts, a new ocean emerges, filled with peril and promise. This new CBC Docs original documentary takes an in-depth look at Canada’s claim to the North and asks who will have authority over the Arctic when it isn’t covered in ice. Filmed during the summer of 2021 while traversing the Northwest Passage on Canada’s brand new Arctic warship, the film looks at sovereignty as defined both by the nation and by the Inuit who live on the Arctic coast. ARCTIC BLUE is hosted by veteran CBC journalist Peter Mansbridge, capping five decades of reporting on the changing north, and features a sit-down conversation with Canada’s Governor General Mary Simon, whose life work has been building bridges in the circumpolar region. Produced for CBC by Toronto’s Primitive Entertainment, the film was written and directed by Kevin McMahon, who has been documenting the collision of geopolitics and Arctic communities since the 1980s.
- CORAL GHOSTS (documentary Channel Original, CBC TV Premiere – Tues. April 19 on CBC and CBC Gem, 1×78, directed by Andrew Nisker, 2020, Canada) combines one hundred years of underwater photography with the timely quest of Dr. Tom Goreau, a marine biologist who inherited the family legacy of protecting the world’s coral reefs at a time when they have never faced greater threats. Told through intimate verité, never-before-seen archival film and photographs, and stunning underwater photography, this character-driven film brings viewers from a dusty attic in Cambridge to the shores of Jamaica, Australia, Bikini Atoll and Bali on a “mad” scientist’s journey to protect the coral that his father died documenting.
- THE FIFTH ESTATE – Bait and Switch: Recycling’s Dirty Secrets (Wed. April 20 on CBC and CBC Gem)
A new special episode of CBC’s award-winning investigative series THE FIFTH ESTATE in partnership with Radio-Canada’s Enquête, the joint investigation will show how Canada still routinely ships plastic waste to developing countries, often illegally mixed inside containers of paper recycling. THE FIFTH ESTATE asks Canada’s activist-turned-environment minister what he’s prepared to do about it and why the names of companies breaking the law are being protected.
- ANOTE’S ARK (documentary Channel Original, CBC TV Premiere – Thurs. April 21 on CBC and CBC Gem, 1×77, directed by Matthieu Rytz, 2018, Canada)
The Pacific Island nation of Kiribati (population: 100,000) is one of the most remote places on the planet, seemingly far-removed from the pressures of modern life. Yet it is one of the first countries that must confront the main existential dilemma of our time: imminent annihilation from sea-level rise. While Kiribati’s President Anote Tong races to find a way to protect his nation’s people and maintain their dignity, many Kiribati are already seeking safe harbour overseas. Set against the backdrop of international climate and human rights negotiations, Anote’s struggle to save his nation is intertwined with the extraordinary fate of Sermary, a young mother of six, who fights to migrate her family to New Zealand. At stake are the survival of Sermary’s family, the Kiribati people, and 4,000 years of Kiribati culture, and serves as a cautionary tale for low-lying populations everywhere.
- EDEN: UNTAMED PLANET (Exclusive Canadian Premiere – Fri. April 15 on CBC Gem and Fri. April 15, 22 and 29 on CBC TV, 6×50, BBC Studios, 2021, UK)
Travel to the far corners of the planet with narrator Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown, The King’s Speech) and discover the secrets of Earth’s few remaining untouched lands, all brimming with life. From the Namib Desert to Patagonia, only a handful of places on Earth can claim to be largely unchanged. Isolated from the rest of the world, these places have been protected from the most damaging effects of human interference.
- CBC NEWS is bringing the conversation around climate change to high school students across the country in a virtual event, CBC Asks: How Should Media Talk About Climate Change?, on Thursday, April 21 at 1 p.m. ET. Hosted by CBC Radio What on Earth‘s Laura Lynch, the panel features: Anand Ram, a Senior Producer with CBC News responsible for climate change, health and science coverage; Johanna Wagstaffe, broadcast meteorologist and science reporter for CBC News Network and CBC Vancouver; and Avneet Dhillon, a multi-platform journalist with CBC News based in Toronto. Educators can learn more and register for the virtual event by visiting their local CBC community page.
- Throughout the week, family-friendly Earth Day-related videos will air during CBC KIDS programming on CBC and CBC Gem including the Earth Boogie and Earth Helpers shorts featuring Gary the Unicorn and Mr. Orlando the Moose. The CBC Kids website will highlight “Everyday Heroism” on how kids can save the Earth in small ways, as well as unique ways people are protecting the environment, alongside the Earth Day is Every Day! CBC Kids YouTube playlist. CBC KIDS NEWS will publish a new KN Explains segment looking at the origins of Earth Day and what it has (or hasn’t) accomplished.
- The Webby-winning CBC PODCASTS series TAI ASKS WHY returns April 20, kicking off its fourth season with Tai asking the important question, can we keep eating meat without destroying the planet? “Plant-based” foods like beefless burgers and chickenless nuggets have made their way into grocery aisles and fast food chains. But are those actually better for the environment? What exactly is our appetite for meat doing to the planet? Tai investigates. And later in the season, Tai asks, how do we fix recycling? Available on CBC Listen and everywhere podcasts are available.
CBC continues its environmental coverage year-round, with in-depth programming across platforms for audiences of all ages:
- Under the banner of Our Changing Planet, CBC NEWS is deepening its commitment to ongoing special coverage of the global climate crisis and the solutions needed to make a difference for future generations. CBC NEWS is determined to be the undisputed leader of climate journalism in Canada and an essential trusted resource for Canadians of all ages from communities across the country. Watch, listen and follow Our Changing Planet coverage on cbcnews.ca, the CBC News app, CBC News Network, The National, CBC Radio One and CBC TV.
- CBC NEWS also produces the weekly WHAT ON EARTH newsletter on all things environmental, highlighting trends and solutions that are moving Canadians to a more sustainable world.
- Winner of the Canadian Journalist Foundation’s inaugural Award for Climate Solutions Reporting, weekly radio show and podcast WHAT ON EARTH (Sundays 11 a.m./11:30 NT and Wednesdays at 2 p.m./2:30 NT on CBC Radio One and CBC Listen) is on a mission to move and challenge listeners to think about climate change in new ways by hunting down climate solutions, kicking the tires on them, and injecting some hope. Hosted by Laura Lynch, the show steps up to relieve listeners of the existential dread they might feel — because here’s the good news: they are part of the solution. WHAT ON EARTH expands to one hour beginning Sunday, April 24.
- The OUR CHANGING PLANET COLLECTION on CBC Gem offers viewers the opportunity to discover the companies and people on the frontline of climate change with a diverse collection of inspiring documentaries, available to stream year round.
- Created by Ghanaian-Canadian artist Gyimah Gariba — named one of Animation Magazine’s 2020 Rising Stars of Animation and one of “15 Young African Creatives Rebranding Africa” by Forbes — new CBC KIDS title BIG BLUE (Saturdays on CBC and CBC Gem, 52×11, Guru Studio, Canada, 2021) is an animated adventure-comedy series for kids age 5-9 about caring for our planet and each other. The imaginative series follows sibling underwater adventurers Lettie and Lemo who lead a quirky submarine crew with a magical ocean fairy stowaway named Bacon Berry. Together, they just might unravel the mysterious secrets of their underwater universe!
CBC is also taking a leading role in advancing sustainable practices within the Canadian media industry. As of January 3, 2022, CBC now requires completion and delivery of a carbon footprint on all original English-language Canadian productions from independent producers with budgets over $400,000 (and delivery of a sustainability plan on all original Canadian productions from independent producers with budgets under $400,000). This process is overseen by CBC’s Environmental Sustainability Lead, Leaticia Kaggwa, and the new requirement builds on the national public broadcaster’s five-year environmental sustainability strategy, Greening Our Story, which was released in June 2021.
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The Earth Week broadcast schedule on CBC and CBC Gem is as follows:
For Newfoundland and Labrador, please add a half hour for all times
Monday, April 18
8 PM – ARCTIC BLUE *World Premiere*
9 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS – WILD CANADIAN WEATHER “Rain”
Tuesday, April 19
8 PM – CORAL GHOSTS *CBC TV Premiere*
Wednesday, April 20
8 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS – WILD CANADIAN WEATHER “Wind”
9 PM – THE FIFTH ESTATE – “Bait and Switch: Recycling’s Dirty Secrets”
Thursday, April 21
8 PM – ANOTE’S ARK *CBC TV Premiere*
Friday, April 22
8 PM – EDEN: UNTAMED PLANET *CBC TV Premiere* also airing Friday, April 15 and Friday, April 29
9 PM – EDEN: UNTAMED PLANET *CBC TV Premiere*