Trees, Youth, Our Future is a two-part series that tells the story of forest stewardship in Ontario and encourages the next generation of leaders to embrace it.
“Forest stewardship is one of Ontario’s key economic drivers and provides jobs, recreation and healthy lifestyles for the people who live here,” explains Astrid Nielsen, General Manager. “Our aim with this series is to showcase the excellent stewardship work that is being done for our forests today and to inspire youth to continue that legacy so that we have sustainable forests for the future.”
The first episode, “The Road to Sustainability,” explores the history of our relationship with the forests – from being home to Indigenous peoples to being an obstacle to settlement for Europeans. It looks at the evolution from exploitation to stewardship, culminating in Ontario becoming a leader in sustainable forest management.
Watch the first episode, “The Road to Sustainability”.
The second episode, “New Forests, New Stewards, A Road Forward,” delves deeper into sustainable forest management on Crown and private lands and in urban forests, while highlighting challenges faced by Ontario’s forests and opportunities for youth to get involved.
Watch the second episode, “New Forests, New Stewards, A Road Forward”.
Watch the 12-minute summary clip of the video
EOMF is the executive producer of the series, which was produced by Pinegrove Productions. It was funded largely through an ON150 grant with additional support from a dozen stakeholder partners.
“At Pinegrove Productions we pride ourselves on working collaboratively with partners to produce videos that matter,” explains Franziska von Rosen, director. “We strive to inform and inspire audiences with our work, and we believe this series accomplishes that goal.”
The series has garnered excellent reviews from numerous stakeholders in the field, including forestry educators at Algonquin College, landowners, foresters with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and Gordon Miller, the former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, who calls it a “masterful job” that is “shaping up to be a seminal work.”
"You have done a great job in telling the story of Ontario’s forests over time and the importance of them to societies both local and at large in Ontario," adds Ken Armson, former Provincial Forester for Ontario.
"I think that these videos gave me lots of information and were put together very well,” adds a 15-year-old male viewer. “I definitely have a better understanding about the forestry industry than I did before. All in all they were great videos that had my attention the entire time."
EOMF is a not-for-profit, charitable organization that works with landowners, industry, First Nations and others to develop new ways to sustain and manage forests. The EOMF champions the belief that we all have a stake in ensuring the environmental, economic, cultural and social values of Ontario's non-crown forests are maintained for the benefit of all, now and in the future.
Pinegrove Productions is a full-service, independent video production company in Lanark County with more than 20 years’ experience, nationally and internationally, creating social and environmental documentaries and educational resources.