The 60^th anniversary season premiere of The Nature of Things hosted by David Suzuki on Nov. 6 features an action-filled documentary that captures the beginnings of a movement that is changing the world.

Rebellion brings viewers to the front lines of the climate rebellion, including Dawson College on Sept. 26, 2019, the day before the historic climate march in Montreal with Greta Thunberg and 500,000 peaceful protesters.

Mobilization at Dawson

In the documentary, we can see the students of Dawson making signs for the march at an activity in the Lower Atrium organized by the Dawson Green Earth Club.

The documentary was produced by the father-daughter team of Mark and Caitlin Starowicz.

“The sense of energy and passion we saw was overwhelming,” said co-director Caitlin Starowicz.

Rebellion tracks the lead activists

In Rebellion, David Suzuki profiles activists in the revolt, from Greta Thunberg with her Fridays for Future strikes, to Gail Bradbrook of the Extinction Rebellion movement that has seized headlines with their dramatic actions.

Rebellion also features interviews with leading figures in the climate crisis, including Sir David Attenborough, known the world over for his brilliant nature documentaries and now his passionate call for governments to wake up to the climate catastrophe.

How could you let this happen?

“Suddenly people are hearing,” Attenborough tells Suzuki. “And suddenly young people, particularly, are saying it out loud, and they’re saying to the older generation, which I guess contains us both: How could you let this happen?  You knew about it, how could you let this happen?”

The young people asking these questions include many Dawson students.

Dawson’s lead activists a year later

Dawson graduate Ella Noel appears in the documentary. A year later, she is at McGill pursuing a double major in Political Science and International Development and is active in Divest McGill.

“People don’t always see how environmental and social issues are related,” she said, “but they are becoming more and more intertwined. We need to push for a multicultural face of the climate movement, not just a white one. This is why at protests we often chant “Climate Justice” to the question “What do we need?” I am actually working on a project in collaboration with the YMCA that focuses on refugees and asylum seekers, an increasing number of them are climate refugees.”

Laura Krochenski is another Dawson graduate who appears in the documentary. Now a student at Concordia University, she is considering a career in Law to become an environmental and human rights advocate.

Photo Courtesy of Rebellion Film 

Minority groups most affected by climate change

Laura misses the “energy and motivation of the people in the Dawson Green Earth Club.” She has observed that more environmental organizers are participating in protests alongside Black Lives Matter advocates, migrant rights organizations and Indigenous rights advocates. “There is an increase in the realization among environmental activists that minority groups are the most affected when it comes to climate change,” she said.

John Nathaniel Gertler is completing his last year at Dawson and is the most senior member of the Green Earth Club now. Despite the pandemic, he has kept up the climate activism by supporting the student movement against the GNL Quebec pipeline/fossil fuel project in the Saguenay region. He is hoping that Dawson students will vote in support of a motion against the pipeline at the Dawson Student Union General Assembly this week. The club made a video about the pipeline as their first project of the year.

Hope for the future is the only choice

John is hopeful about the future. “My hope is that those in power (big corporations, governments and decision makers) use their power to take the large-scale action we need to confront this crisis, which the youth has been demanding for, for years now,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Rebellion Film 

“I also hope that everyone with the privilege to do so, uses their privilege to fight against the injustice they see in this world and hold those in power accountable, pushing them to change. We need people of all ages, backgrounds, colours and interests pushing for change and holding the biggest polluters accountable. I’m hopeful because I can’t not be. We need to win this battle because all of life depends on it!”

Watch Rebellion during the 60^th season of The Nature of Things premiere on Friday, Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. on CBC Television and on demand on the free CBC GEM streaming service.

With files from GAT PR. All photos courtesy of Rebellion Film.