In this episode, our three friends are surprised to find that a bunch of bank swallows have decided to occupy their garden! Paola, Akio and Billie quickly learn that these little birds aren't interested in eating their vegetables (fortunately), but Greta also informs them that these swallows are an endangered migratory species!
The three must research and come up with strategies for living side by side with their feathered neighbours: protecting their habitat, preserving their food sources, and reducing light pollution. Meanwhile, Slinky is still on the prowl, with his own interpretation of what’s going on on the island...
Transcript of episode 2 of The Amazing Earth
Narration
Stop everything, it's time for The Amazing Earth! Your evergreen, never blue reality TV. Where we do whatever it takes. To make the Earth a better place.
Musical punch
Chapter 2: Protecting and Serving
In the last episode, the three companions quickly realized how they complemented each other… And what the scope of their mission was…
GretaTunebird
… You're going to have to… achieve food autonomy.
Narration
… They had to roll up their sleeves…
Akio
… vegetables that you grooo-ow!
Narration
By combining their efforts, they achieved the unthinkable…
Narration
… food autonomy on Terracosti. But the challenge is only just beginning, as our three companions are far from out of the woods.
Dramatic musical punch
Narration
… With the sun poised to drop beneath the horizon, we find the island's three inhabitants going about their daily activities. As this quiet day comes to an end, things are about to take an unusual turn…
Akio
...1,349… 1,350!
Robot
Good evening, Paola.
Akio
Good evening, Paola. Still not sleeping well?
Paola
The sun wakes me up at dawn… and I can't seem to take proper naps during the day. Plus, I miss my organic bed sheets…
Akio
Here, have some mint tea…
Paola
Thank you. And what about you? How are you doing?
Akio
I'm thriving, thanks for asking! I worked out all day. In case something should happen.
Paola
Intense… What about Billie?
Musical punch
Billie
They're here… They've arrived!!
Akio
What's with all the excitement? Who's arrived?
Billie
A family of bank swallows! They must have been drawn here by the sandy shorelines all around the island. Go look in the garden!
Sound of bank swallows singing
Paola
But… Our garden… HEY!
Tense music
Billie
Careful! That's an extremely rare bird species!
GretaTunebird
That's right.
Akio, Paola and Billie
AHHH!
Akio
Sorry, Ms. Tunebird, we didn't hear you arrive…
GretaTunebird
I'm neither leaving nor arriving, I'm always here in a way.
Akio
Uh, okaaay... Are you some sort of hologr…
Musical punch
Greta Tunebird,
Amazed earthlings: Your second challenge has already begun. Your garden has allowed you to survive on this island, and to live here sustainably. But it has attracted some visitors…
Paola
We must protect our garden!
GretaTunebird
Yes, but not only that. You must also protect… the bank swallows themselves!
Musical punch
GretaTunebird
The bank swallow is a migratory species… and it is threatened! Bank swallow populations in Canada have dwindled by 98% over the past 40 years.
Akio, Paola and Billie
Huh?
Akio
For real?
GretaTunebird
If you want to move on to the next stage, you'll have to… Learn all about this threatened species so you can make better decisions that won't impact their lives.
Musical punch
GretaTunebird
Not a second to lose!
Musical punch
Akio
Is everything alright, Billie?
Billie
How can we possibly save them when 98 percent of the population has already been decimated…
Paola
We still haven't done our research. We're not ready to give up just yet…
Mysterious music.
Narration
The seconds and minutes sway, suspended on the wire of time... While in the pavilion, the late hour finds Billie and Paula immersed in study, thanks to the complete library that Paula packed in her luggage... While everyone seems to be coping with their worries in their own way... not everyone sees eye to eye on the best course of action to take.
Sound of bank swallows singing
Paola
It's like every last bank swallow in the world has decided to camp out in our garden… all over OUR veggies!
Billie
AH-HA! Finally, the page on bank swallows. Hmm.
Akio
Maybe they just need to be moved…
Paolaand Billie
NO-NO-NO—DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!
Akio
No, I mean kindly see them back to their home! Because they're more like garden swallows now, if you ask me.
Billie
They're not in the garden for the fruits and vegetables, they're there for the insects.
Paola
Really?
Billie
Yep! It says here that they don't care about our food. And their home is in the sand, Akio. Along the sandy shores of this very island, actually.
Akio
It's just that I'm already hungry, and I really need to get out… (musical tension)
Billie
Oh-oh-oh! You can tough it out, Akio, I know you can. Just start a stopwatch and tell yourself that you're doing it to beat a world record or something.
Bip-bip of a stopwatch
Akio
Challenge accepted! Who's hungry? I know I'm not!
Paola
These swallows are so tiny...
Billie
They're the smallest of the swallows found in Canada, at 12 cm long, and they weigh the equivalent of two toonies.
Paola
But what can we do to help protect a species that's so... fragile? Isn't there a way that we, as humans, can simply cohabitate with them? At least, they don't seem depressed, good for them! They're having a whole carnival out there!
Billie
Oh! The factors that contributed to their decline are listed here: Disrupted reproductive period caused by human activity, habitat loss due to shoreline erosion…
Akio
Bip-bip of a stopwatch
It's been one minute, and I am most definitely not hungry!
Billie
Oh! The use of pesticides has also brought about changes to the insect populations they feed on.
Paola
Luckily, thanks to our household compost… We're not using chemical fertilizers or pesticides in our planters…
Billie
NO! Light pollution can attract them, increasing their chances of crashing into windows and suffering injuries… Or dying.
Paola
Ah, of course, why not hold a candlelit evening. I have some candles in my room, let me get them.
Billie
To make things worse, light pollution can delay bird migration, given that they travel at night...
Akio
Too bad we can't call the mayors of all the large cities in the world to ask if they can turn down the streetlights after dark, right! (Picto musique. Bip-bip of a stopwatch) Not hungry, never hungry, who said hungry? Not this guy!
Billie
Finally, climate change can inflict harm on bank swallows, too, as powerful winds and waves erode the shorelines they call home… Those poor little birds…
Paola
Well, I'm all in favour of turning out the lights at night… But how do we really go about living alongside them?
Akio
Does that mean we can't visit the garden anymore?
Billie
Akio…
Akio
Sound of stomach rumbling
Not hungry. Not. Hun.Gry. Not. One. Bit!!
Billie
Alright, let me see.
Oh, super. Listen to this! We must try to understand their needs and habits so that we can cohabitate with them. Because there are benefits to living alongside bank swallows!
Paola
Like what… Spending our evenings in the dark and fasting?
Billie
There's no need to scare them away! Because they feed on insects, including species that… Wreak havoc on gardens.
Intense musical punch
Akio
Now that's what I call perfect teamwork!
Paola
Too perfect, I'd say...
Billie
So what we have to do is:
1- Reduce light pollution at night.
2- Place decals on the windows to prevent collisions.
Paola
I have decals in my room (Sound of feet running) Akio, put down your stopwatch for a minute and come help me put them up!
Billie
It also says that if you want to protect swallows, you have to protect the insects too; adjusting our lighting at night will help preserve their primary source of food, because… Many insects are also attracted to the light. Two birds with one… uh, decal!
Paola
We need decals on all the windows, Akio! Concentrate!
Akio
Not hungry… Not hungry… Not hungry...
Billie
I keep reading!
3- Avoid disturbing them near their nests... Or their migratory stopovers.
Akio
So, we can't visit the garden ever again?
Paola
We're waiting for them to return to their nests…
Billie
Moving on: 4- Preserve the sand banks and the wetlands… Maybe we should check tomorrow if the island's shorelines are in good shape! … And 5: As we mentioned before, no pesticides. All things considered, our garden seems to appeal to their tastes, which is why they came here in the first place… And no, Akio, we're not going outside while they're there, we must not tame or touch them. The best we can do is protect their habitat, their nests and their food sources. And that's what we're gonna do.
Akio
Does that mean we met the challenge? (Picto musique. Bip-bip of a stopwatch) I am a man who knows no hunger.
Paola
I made some squash purée yesterday, so we're good for dinner. But tell me, Billie…
Tense music
How did you know that they were bank swallows? Did you… Cheat?
Billie
No… Well, actually, it's just that…
Akio
Is there something you want to tell us, Billie?
Tense music.
Billie
It's just that I'm… An amateur ornithologist. During my free time, I like to observe birds and imitate their songs. It was my late grandfather who taught me all about bird life. Every time I set eyes on a bird, it's as though he's come back to visit me...
Paola
Right…
Akio
That's so sweet, I didn't know…
Narration
And while the swallows quietly settle in to sleep, and in the gloom of the pavilion, our three companions exchange suspicious glances over the squash purée… on the banks of the island, a disruptive figure monologues, cell phone in hand, feet in the sand.
Sound of waves in the background
Slinky
Hello again, friends of the truth: Slinky here, more ready than ever to shed some light on… this oddly dark place. To set the record straight, that's what I'm trying to say. As you can see, I'm on a beach! But to answer the weather questions, let me say this: no sign of climate change since I got here.. It's cold, but it's not just cold: it's cold like even the sun got cancelled. So no, under no circumstances will I get a QUICK TAN at the Tunebird Productions beach today. And finally, yes indeed, I was being followed the other day, I heard the sound of a drone. I think. The evidence is piling up. I'm telling y'all: the Tunebird people are probably gonna make me disappear into a hole, and you'll never see me agaaaaaaaaaain… Oh… Ohhhh. I'm not hurt, pain is just an illusion! (Feeling the sand around him) Oh… What's this… Looks like little nesting holes… At least they look like nests, but you can't rely on appearances. Chances are this is a test site, to test who knows what about us poor guinea pigs… After all, I'm near the set of The Amazing... CONSPIRACY! … Oh, that's the sound of sophisticated machinery… I gotta get out of here before the robots working for the Empire take me out. Wish me luck! If I ever manage to reconnect, you can be sure it's because the truth always prevails... 10-4.
Narration
And thus ends Chapter 2 of The Amazing Earth. The three companions met their second challenge, but… Further challenges lie in store on Terracosti…
Stay tuned to find out more!
But don't feel blue: Life goes on… And this amazing Earth we live on will keep spinning with the stars!
Until next episode… Stay green, and stay amazed!
Credits
- Production: la Puce à l'oreille for Espace pour la vie, a service of the Ville de Montréal
- Text: Véronique Pascal
- Voices: Florence Blain Mbay, Francesca Barcenas and Vincent Kim
- Co-direction: La puce à l'oreille and Bakery Studios