Lakeshore Public Media, which operates Lakeshore PBS and Lakeshore Public Radio, is proud to announce that two local documentaries are now available for students and educators across Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland to stream online and through the free PBS Video App. Following the increased demand for “Shifting Sands: On the Path to Sustainability” and “Everglades of the North: The Story of the Grand Kankakee Marsh” by local educators who wanted to use the films as part of their curriculum, leaders at Lakeshore Public Media along with the film’s producers moved to make these local documentaries available on-demand.

“My students are fortunate to have a local documentary, such as ‘Everglades of the North,’ available for viewing in my class at IUN via Lakeshore Public Media,” Indiana University Northwest professor, Lora Mendenhall, Ph.D., said. “Most students watching it for the first time know little to nothing about what was once the Grand Kankakee Marsh. The film not only teaches them about the history of a valued Northwest Indiana ecosystem and its demise in the late 1800s/early 1900s, but more importantly, it serves as a call to action regarding how they can help contribute to its restoration via hands-on service-learning and writing for environmental advocacy.”

Typically, these films as well as additional local documentaries have only been made available for streaming through Lakeshore PBS when funding was secured in the form of sponsorships. As of now, the plan is to ensure they are accessible through at least the remainder of the school year as the nonprofit public media station continues to promote education and local advocacy within the communities it serves. Businesses and organizations interested in sponsoring the digital stream of these films should contact sponsorship@lakeshorepublicmedia.org. DVDs of the local documentaries are available at LakeshorePublicMedia.org/Documentaries.

“Shifting Sands: On the Path to Sustainability” was produced by the team of Lee Botts, Pat Wisniewski, Tom Desch and Rana Segal, while “Everglades of the North: The Story of the Grand Kankakee Marsh” was produced by the team of Patricia Wisniewski, Tom Desch, Brian Kallies, and Jeff Manes. The teams’ efforts behind these two films were fueled by the opportunity to educate communities of their local ecological treasures and to elevate the call for environmental advocacy.”

“When our documentaries, ‘Everglades of the North’ and ‘Shifting Sands,’ first came out in 2012 and 2016, we created an educational component with the help of local teachers. Since then, the films and educator’s guides have been used to educate thousands of students throughout Indiana and Illinois about the amazing history and natural world that exists around us. I am still amazed that after ten years, we are still getting requests to use these films for education,” Wisniewski said.

Jaimi Golba, naturalist at Discovery Charter School in Porter, Ind., said growing up in Chicago she was unaware of how unique the area was until she began working at the Indiana Dunes. Now she’s excited to enlighten her students by using “Shifting Sands” in the classroom.

“Students from Discovery Charter School are from Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties – therefore surrounded by the dunes! Not only do they live near the dunes, but we are also fortunate enough to have National Park trail access right next to school property and students get to hike weekly. I want to use the documentary for our Place Based Special because even though the students are growing up near the National Park, I don’t think all of them understand the significance of this area becoming a National Park and some of the fights that occurred to preserve this land,” Golba said.

“Everglades of the North: The Story of the Grand Kankakee Marsh” explores the controversial saga of the Grand Kankakee Marsh, once one of the largest wetlands in the country. “Shifting Sands:  On the Path to Sustainability” showcases the struggle between the natural world and the industrial economy, set against the birthplace of the term ecology: The Indiana Dunes.

“The production teams of both Everglades of the North and Shifting Sands set out to make films that would draw attention to the wonderful natural resources right in our backyard. I can’t think of a better way to shine a spotlight on these treasures of our environment than having them featured in local classrooms,” said film director and producer Tom Desch.

“They say that art has the ability to inspire and influence change,” Wisniewski said. “After Everglades came out, it inspired the creation of a National Wildlife Refuge near the Kankakee River in Illinois, and we have been told by Paul Labovitz, the Superintendent of the Indiana Dunes, that Shifting Sands was the inspiration behind the push for National Park status, which made Indiana Dunes America’s 61st National Park.  That is the power of film!”

Lakeshore Public Media is a community-license public media organization that is the Northwest Indiana member of the Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations, serving Indiana’s second largest urban area through their Lakeshore PBS and Lakeshore Public Radio service. Lakeshore PBS broadcasts its main channel over the air on 56, on Comcast on 17 or 21 (HD Channel 239), on DISH Network HD Channel 6320, AT&T U-verse HD Channel 1056 and DirecTV on 56, and online at lakeshorepbs.org. Lakeshore Public Radio can be heard on 89.1 FM and streaming online at lakeshorepublicradio.org or via numerous streaming apps like Spotify, TuneIn Radio and iTunes.