Climate experts have been sounding the alarm on climate change for years, but as the United Nations\u2019 latest IPCC report indicates, the environmental protections put in place have not been enough to slow the rise of greenhouse gas emissions. The TV industry plays an important role in spreading awareness about the crisis, and those in the children\u2019s sector are doing their part, as evidenced by the boom in environmental and nature-based programming for young ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have come to terms with the fact that we need to do more than wait for institutions to protect our environment and solve climate change,\u201d says Lionel Marty, managing director of APC Kids, which distributes the live-action family series Go Green with the Grimwades<\/em>.<\/p>\n Dorian B\u00fchr, head of global distribution at Studio 100 Media, holds the same sentiment and notes, \u201cThe kids\u2019 industry has a certain responsibility when it comes to inspiring kids, and it\u2019s important that our industry contributes to making children understand what is going on in the world.\u201d Studio 100 fulfills this responsibility with SeaBelievers<\/em>, an animated series that takes kids on adventures to save the ocean and environment.<\/p>\n Though some adults may want to shield children from major environmental issues, much of the programming comes about because \u201cwe have children of all ages reaching out and asking questions because they are being bombarded on all their various screens with images of natural disasters 24\/7,\u201d says Kenn Viselman, producer for North America of MeteoHeroes<\/em>, an animated series co-produced by Mondo TV and Meteo Operations Italia that centers on kids who have the power to alter the weather.<\/p>\n Children are already feeling anxious without adults actively avoiding the topic. \u201cA recent study conducted by the U.K.\u2019s University of Bath and other schools spoke to 10,000 people in ten countries around the globe and discovered that 45 percent of all kids interviewed were suffering from high to extremely high levels of climate anxiety,\u201d Viselman says.<\/p>\n Rather than alarm children, the shows that address these issues, even in less direct ways, can ease their fears and empower them, demonstrating ways in which they can help change the world right from their own homes.<\/p>\n Among producers and distributors of environmental series, it is widely agreed that one of the most important features of their shows is that they do not put the responsibility on the children. In fact, in many of these shows, the main idea is just to get children in tune with nature. Camille Serceau, producer at Superprod for Me and My Compost<\/em>, a new series that centers on the adventures of a giant compost man, notes that the show\u2019s \u201cidea is not to tell the children how to consume\u2014because it\u2019s not them who go to the supermarket. It\u2019s just to reconnect with nature to let them see that nature is everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Tara Hungerford, co-creator of The Gumboot Kids<\/em> programs, which are distributed by Little Engine Moving Pictures and show preschoolers and their families mindfully exploring nature, concurs, noting that \u201cit\u2019s not putting it on the children to solve the problem. What our show does is just allow kids to connect and therefore love and care and respect their environment.\u201d<\/p>\n The Gumboots Kids<\/em>\u2019 co-creator Eric Hogan adds, \u201cThere are studies done that show that children who spend time in nature carry these attitudes of appreciation, conserving nature [and] loving the planet throughout their entire lives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not trying to sound overly simplistic about it, but the reality is, if a child feels nature in their body and soul and feels connection, then they will care about the planet more,\u201d Hungerford says. \u201cThey will make choices that are mindful and environmentally conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n When the environmental shows do demonstrate ways for children to actively help save the planet, they offer simple solutions. For Me and My Compost<\/em>\u2019s Serceau, \u201cThe concept of the project is, how do you take care of the planet when you\u2019re just a kid and you have your whole life ahead of you?\u201d Her co-producer Aur\u00e9lie Angebault, who produces on behalf of Vivement Lundi !, notes that composting is one of the few \u201cways kids can do something for the planet because all other issues are adults\u2019 problems.\u201d<\/p>\n APC Kids\u2019 Marty says Go Green with the Grimwades<\/em> approaches the topic by offering an inside perspective of a real family, therefore showing viewers and their own families that change can start at home. The series demonstrates \u201cthrough simple and efficient tools: the language Tim and Ella [Grimwade] adapt to their own children\u2019s level, the catchy song and the key five \u2018R\u2019 words articulating their problem-solving: refuse, reduce, reuse, repair and recycle.\u201d<\/p>\n No matter which path producers take\u2014just helping kids connect with nature or offering active solutions\u2014\u201cthe most important thing is that we treat our audience with respect,\u201d MeteoHeroes<\/em>\u2019 Viselman says. \u201cWe never talk down to them. We use humor and make sure that each episode is factually correct, that we use terms that make them feel hopeful and that we tell a compelling story leaving the audience hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of the shows offer additional materials to further children\u2019s education and understanding of the planet. The Gumboot Kids<\/em> has two spin-off series and educational material for North American classrooms, MeteoHeroes\u00a0<\/em>offers a variety of educational content and community outreach programs, and Me and My Compost<\/em> will have an additional short-form web series that includes interviews with children around the world. SeaBelievers<\/em>, meanwhile, poses a challenge at the end of each episode to encourage children to go out and connect the lessons they learn in the series with real life. Paired with the messages already given during their episodes, the series are setting children\u2014and our planet\u2014up for a better future.<\/p>\n And luckily for producers, these types of programs attract animators, which Me and My Compost<\/em>\u2019s Serceau and Angebault were surprised to discover. They expected to have trouble securing top animators, what with the vast amount of animation work needed right now given the influx of platforms developing their own original content. When their series was first presented, though, \u201cwe received more than 80 submissions,\u201d Serceau notes. \u201cWe discovered that everybody wanted to work on the teaser and work on a project\u201d that really means something.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the end, everyone just wants to create awareness and provide options to motivate kids and families to be mindful and proactive,\u201d Studio 100\u2019s B\u00fchr says. And with that, hopefully, comes the protection of our planet for generations to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Children’s media execs discuss the important role that the TV industry plays in spreading awareness about the climate crisis and the boom in environmental and nature-based programming for young ones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":23024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n