In Our Nature

Parker, J. (Director). Grable J., & Parker, J. (Producers). (2025). In Our Nature. Video Project. 60 mins. The natural world surrounds everyone but in contemporary society most individuals tend to ignore it as they usually have their attentions fixed on a phone or computer screen. The advent of technology and the increased predilection to stay indoors have amplified a disconnection with nature. In Our Nature, acknowledges this disconnect and accentuates the importance of environmental education. It includes interviews with authors, professors, television personalities, non-profit organizers, and journalists who all emphasize that nature is part of a human being’s inner core. It also presents three programs located in Chicago, Kentucky, and Texas where the development of environmental education initiatives has helped improve lives in a variety of ways. In Our Nature focuses principally on the non-profit organization Southside Blooms located in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood which has turned vacant, littered city lots into sustainable flower farms. Southside Blooms employs ex-cons, students, and teenagers who use environmental educational skills learned while working to apply botanic or other scientific techniques to their crops. These employees also commune with nature and transform zones previously blighted by gun violence or trash into beautiful floral fields full of bees. Harvested blooms are sold at shops and for special events such as weddings. This group’s efforts have cultivated more than flowers – they have also spurred community and economic development in an area that had been declining for decades. In Kentucky the filmmakers highlight a forest school whose programming allows children from all backgrounds to acquire an environmental education by learning outside. A program in Texas understands the healing power of nature. It offers support to participants coping with grief through various nature-related activities. All three organizations featured in this film reinforce the notion that the outdoors and being in the natural world have powerful curative effects that should be maintained through the expansion of more environmental education opportunities. This documentary conveys the message that everyone should serve as a steward of the environment. However, funding for educational initiatives related to the environment remain exceptionally low. A recurring theme found in In Our Nature relates to how environmental education should be not only essential, but also nonpartisan. This film emphasizes that the politicization of environmental education impedes access to nature especially for children who need to develop the important skills acquired through ecological learning. Individuals interviewed for this documentary underscore that connecting with nature provides remedies to the lonely, fractured existences many people currently live. They note that the human psyche is innately grounded in interacting both individually and collectively with the outside world. An interviewed participant aptly posits a theory, that as human civilization increasingly embraces more technology, the more it will need nature to persist. Available in a variety of formats, this film also includes limited public performance rights. In Our Nature is recommended for general and college-level audiences. It would support courses in disciplines such as Ecology, Education, Psychology, and Urban Studies. This documentary includes picturesque scenes of floral pastures, waterfalls, and forests. It provides an uplifting message that inspires and instills hope for the future of the natural world. The three organizations showcased bestow different services, but all possess the common goal of promoting environmental learning. They recognize that an environmental education offers shared experiences that can build bridges between individuals. Without some sort of environmental education, future generations will become increasingly disengaged, losing their vital connection to nature and consequently, losing themselves. Awards won: Winner, Best Documentary, Silver Telly Award, 2026 Recipient, Patrons Circle, Grant Seed & Spark, 2025 Honorable Mention, Environmental Film Festival at Yale (EFFY), 2026