Blog Contributor: Shannon Ruzgys

Documentaries are a great way to educate and inspire yourself and there is no shortage of wonderful documentaries about the environment. These 5 Netflix documentaries are a must watch for anyone who has hope for a better future.  

Kiss the Ground  

Modern day industrial agriculture is degrading our environment through tillage, heavy pesticide use, and mono-cropping (just to name a few). These practices lead to soil erosion, which not only immediately threatens global food security, but is also irreversible. This documentary proposes a solution, regenerative farming, an ethical practice that prioritizes animal health, restoring degrading lands, and drawing down carbon. Told from the perspective of scientists, farmers, activists, and politicians; this documentary provides hope for a better farming system that can heal the soil, balance our climate, and feed people all at the same time. 

Our Planet  

This documentary contains all the things we’ve grown to love from nature docs such as Planet Earth and Blue Planet, while also choosing to focus more on how humans are altering the natural world around us and the impact that we’re having on biodiversity worldwide. There are 8 episodes that each focus on a different ecosystem, while highlighting how climate change uniquely impacts each of these environments. In David Attenborough’s words “[This] series will explore the Earth’s most important habitats and celebrate the life they still support. We will reveal what must be preserved if we are to ensure a future where humans and nature can thrive” 

Rotten

While this is not explicitly an environmental documentary, this Netflix show, which currently has two seasons, focuses on the problems in our food supply chain. Each episode focuses on a different food product, exposing the corruption, waste, and social impacts of the foods we choose to eat. The issues with our global food supply chain run deep but as consumers we have the power to choose what we want to support by what we put on our plates three times a day. This series is a great tool for educating yourself on how to be a more ethical grocery shopper (even if that means leaving avocados off your morning toast).  

The Biggest Little Farm

This documentary follows a couple and their dog on their journey to restore 200 acres of dry, nutrient depleted farmland into a healthy farmable ecosystem using nature-based regenerative solutions. Viewers follow them on their journey as they turn 200 acres of desert into a utopia that utilizes the power of a healthy ecosystem to farm with nature. Throughout almost a decade of work they plant 10,000 orchard trees, over 200 crops, and bring in animals of every kind. It is an inspirational documentary that demonstrates how farming can be done in a way that benefits animals, people, and the environment.  

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet

 This documentary is David Attenborough’s witness statement where he states his concern for the state of our planet and his hopes for a better future. Throughout the documentary he narrates key moments in his life all the while showing human population growth, carbon in the atmosphere, and the percentage of intact wilderness within the scale of his own lifetime. He emphasizes that nature currently faces two great challenges: climate change and a massive loss of biodiversity. This documentary is not only a testament of Attenborough’s life’s work but also carries a dire warning for the future and a hopeful way forward through the restoration of the natural world.