Sudbury students glean message of hope from new Jane Goodall documentary

Hope, beauty and an eye toward the future.

Those were some themes Sudbury students touched on after viewing Jane Goodall: Reasons for Hope, an IMAX documentary screened at Science North on Tuesday.

The film features positive stories of change, from the reintroduction of bison to the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, to Sudbury's own re-greening efforts.

Following the screening, several Sudbury secondary students spoke with Jane Goodall, the world-famous primatologist and conservation icon.

This was Goodall's first trip to Sudbury following last year's visit, where along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, she helped plant Sudbury's 10 millionth tree.

Punya Pandey, a student at Espanola High School, asked Goodall why hope – one of the recurring touchstones through the film – was important in the time of climate change.

"Without hope, why would you bother to do anything?" Goodall responded. "I mean, if you feel your actions will be hopeless because it's hopeless, because it's too late, you become apathetic and you do nothing."

"And if we all become apathetic and do nothing, particularly those of you who are young people, we're doomed."  

Olivia Tissot, a grade 11 student at LoEllen Park Secondary School, called the screening an opportunity for people to see a "beautiful film."

But for Tissot, it was more than taking in the breathtaking scenes. She said she was moved by the story of the re-introduction of the American Bison by the Blackfeet Nation in Montana.

"The movie [tells the story] of an Indigenous community in the States who rely on these buffaloes as part of their culture, and how their way of life had been taken away from them by settlers."

"We got to watch the reintroduction of these animals and it was just a really special moment, you can see that it made an impact on people's lives."

"Watching it was super inspiring and the music just gave me chills," Tissot said.

But even with the movie's beauty, its message of climate change can sometimes be anxiety-inducing.

Climate anxiety, also known as eco-anxiety, is the distress some people may feel about the effects of climate change.

It's a condition that Tissot said she's grappled with.

"Admittedly, I'm a very anxious person," Tissot said. "I deal with stress in a lot of different ways, but when it comes up, I honestly remind myself that hope can help, as well as getting involved in our communities and be willing to be that first person to take the step and to want to make an impact."

"Just love the world and go outside," she said.

If we all become apathetic and do nothing, particularly those of you who are young people, we're doomed- Jane Goodall

After the screening, Tissot also had the chance to ask Goodall about individual responsibility.

"What is the single biggest thing an individual can do to incite hope and create significant change?" she asked.

"Every individual is different and for different individuals, a different path will be the most important thing," Goodall said. "Something you care about."

"One thing if we all get together and move toward a plant based diet, that is something huge," Goodall said. "Because the commercial farming of animals, and there are billions and billions around the world…it's the biggest contributor to methane gas in the world."

Arjun Shukla, a LoEllen Park Secondary School student, said even without seeing the documentary, there's still plenty of reason for his peers to feel a ray of hope.

"We are the future generation," Shukla said. "I think we have a responsibility as the future generation to do whatever we can to help the politicians, to help people in need, to do our part in sustaining a better future, and to help do our part."

"Because at the end of the day, we are the future generation."