Movies on a Mission

Celebrate Earth Day with these Wild & Scenic Film Festival picks.

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This month, Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum will once again showcase short films from the Wild & Scenic Film Festival. The California-based event was founded to inspire environmental activism and a love for nature through film as it takes its show on the road to more than 250 events each year, including Jupiter. Here, Director of Marketing and Community Affairs Kathleen Glover notes five films not to miss.

Aiden’s Butterflies (14 min)

Eleven-year-old Aiden Wang has been growing and releasing monarch butterflies since he was 6. With the milkweed plant diminishing, monarchs are endangered—and Aiden hopes to preserve the species. “He learns from an older woman and shares his knowledge with kids in the neighborhood,” Glover says. “It’s a great example of what even a very young person can do.”

(Re)Connecting Wild – Restoring Safe Passage (12 min)

Follow the decade-long effort by the Nevada Department of Transportation to create safe crossings for wildlife over two busy highways. The project allows mule deer to migrate  more than 1.5 million acres of habitat. “Every time I drive across Florida, I see dead animals on the side of the road,” Glover says. “I think this is a great film that shows an example of what can be done—and done economically—to help take care of the wildlife in our own state.”

Where the Wild Things Keep Playing (4 min)

The sequel to Where the Wild Thing Play follows athletes pursing their passions—getting dirty, going on adventures, and doing extreme sports. “The film shows people just getting outdoors, enjoying all different aspects of nature,” Glover says. “[Director Krystle Wright’s] filming is fantastic, and her projects have always stunned people. I think the audience will really love this one.”

Love, Trails & Dinosaurs (8 min)

Garan Moore is the first person with autism to hike every trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He accomplished it with his mom, who hoped to lose weight‚ and ended up with a new shared passion. “It’s a wonderful, heartwarming film,” Glover says. “It’s such an achievement for mother and son to hike the trails and travel 900 miles together.”

Spawning Hope (10 min)

A team of scientists is testing new techniques to try and reestablish coral in the Caribbean. If it works, conservationists may be able to restore endangered coral from near extinction. “This is important for [Floridians] too because if we can’t figure out a way to preserve coral, it’s going to impact—and it is impacting—Florida in ways people don’t even realize,” Glover says.

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