Department of Ecology is sponsoring the showing of the documentary Engineering with Nature, in Olympia March 29th, at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for Performing Arts. Other sponsors are the Seattle Public Utilities, Nature Conservancy and the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group. We are delighted to have Maia Bellon, Ex Director of WA State Department of Ecology as our keynote speaker.
The film premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) to a full house of emotional viewers this summer. SIFF is one of the top 10 film festivals to get into in N. America. Also, it showed in Malaysia’s largest Eco-Film Festival, just a few months ago and was a finalist for best documentary.
Showing – Sunday 3.29.20, 1:30
Location – Kenneth J. Minnaert
Center for the Performing Arts
2011 Mottman Rd Olympia, WA
Tickets – www.washingtoncenter.org/events/
Narrative of the film
In an age of pessimism around the ever apparent effects of Climate Change, Engineering with Nature (5 years in the making), depicts how the best of informed Science came together with inspired Engineering to find a natural solution to the all too common issue of urban flooding, in Seattle’s most built out watershed. This “first of its kind project” overcame all its challenges and has proven to be a success by every metric! The newly constructed area not only curtails flooding, it cools and cleans the water and Chinook Salmon came back and spawned on the project site, next to their human nieghbors! But the bigger story may well be that it demonstrates a way forward for communities around the world to naturally build in resilience to climate change! This is truly a story of HOPE for Washington State and the planet!
5 minute trailer to the 77 documentary of Engineering with Nature
Reviews
“Engineering with Nature is an eloquent and understandable reminder of the potential that our urban streams have to reduce flood risk, improve water quality, increase critical habitat and develop high quality open space in the heart of our cities. It serves as an example of how practitioners around the world can balance human and environmental needs in the face of rapid urbanization and climate change.”
Brandon Parsons, Conservation Associate at American Rivers
“Engineering with Nature” is educational and immensely enjoyable! The combination of narrative, video and computer generated graphics told a compelling and ultimately uplifting story that conveyed complex science and engineering concepts in a clear and understandable way. A “must see” for anyone interested in the challenges encountered during the design/construction of restoration projects that provide a way to reduce urban flooding (protect communities), clean the water, and allow fish/wildlife to thrive. The optimism generated by the film is wonderfully contagious!
Steven Conroy – President of Wild Fish Conservancy – Fisheries Biologist
Engineering with Nature was fabulous! Thank you Leaping Frog Films for telling the story of how a built environment can provide natural resilience to climate change. The film is an elegant tribute to the capabilities of humans to work with nature to restore the function of our ecosystems. As someone who has been in the restoration field for over a decade, I learned a tremendous amount about engineering, streams and the complexity of designing a stream project. The visual imagery beautifully underscored the science that ultimately propelled the project. This is a great resource for cities/communities, teachers, environmental educators, people who live on or by streams, and anyone interested in the art and science of learning about what we can do about climate change. This is a film that inspires people to take action!
Su Thieda, Deputy Director – EarthCorps
It takes a village. What started as a Seattle Public Utilities flood control project, transformed into the rebirth of a lost ecosystem. This extraordinary film documents the hope and action of everyday people working against the forces of climate change and urbanization.
Anne Baxter – Ecologist
As a boy growing up near Thornton Creek in urban Seattle, I never dreamed that, someday, this unappreciated and mistreated stream would be brought back to life. And I certainly never dreamed it would become the focus of such a story of innovation, resilience in the face of climate change, and hope. Inspired by the potential of re-engineering the streambed to bring back its ability to clean and cool the water, the people behind this remarkable endeavor overcame doubts, delays, floods, and the severe challenges of the urban environment to design and build a new, state-of-the-art restoration project. Along with getting a fascinating lesson in the ecology of the streambed, watching this film gave me a heartwarming reminder of the wisdom of nature, the perseverance of dedicated people with vision, and the necessity of doing stream restoration in our own communities, wherever they may be. It happened at Thornton Creek. It can happen again. It gives me hope. People everywhere need to hear this story!
Paul Bakke, – Geomorphologist
Engineering With Nature is a captivating film about how we can restore and reconnect with the urban streams beneath our feet. In an era of endless bad news, this inspiring documentary shows that a vibrant stream ecosystem can be brought back in the middle of a city. The footage from before, during, and after restoration is breathtaking. This project raises the bar for how cities can live in harmony with nature, using nature-based solutions to be more resilient to climate change.
Skuyler Herzog – River Engineer (PHD)
Engineering with Nature is an extraordinary film! The success of such an ambitious project is compelling and it’s a ray of hope in a time when it seems like no one is trying to do the right thing. There was a real sense of triumph at the end when the salmon came back to spawn in their restored stream! If you give Mother Nature just a little help, she will run with it!
Miranda Smith PE
Behind houses and buildings, and under roads, a creek struggles to support salmon life and to contain increasing flood waters. Engineering With Nature pulls away the curtain on this community of fish and people. It is a joy to see and hear from the typically quiet cadre of scientists and engineers dedicated to breathe new life to a dying city stream. But the film exposes more of what excites the scientists and shows the hidden world they are working to save that exists not only under water but under the stream bottom. Engineering with Nature shows that people are, sometimes, paying attention to the quiet, gurgling cries for help in our backyard.
Kelvin Andrews – Cad Designer
Engineering with Nature was inspirational to watch and the project featured has very positive environmental impact! This type of project is sacred! I have high admiration of all the people involved and its shows what was done really matters. It gives us all a road map for dealing with climate change, in a natural way. Everyone should see this film!
Jeremiah Jackson – Yurok Tribe
It was such a great film – educational, inspiring, and I loved all of the imagery. It’s a real life testimony of what can be done when we all work together! Leaping Frog Films really brought the film to life.
Patrick Yamashita – Civil Engineer
Engineering With Nature is a much needed film highlighting good news about ways that cities can both bring life back to streams and greenways while significantly reducing the risk of flooding in urban areas. This richly textured film provides insight into the creativity and deep science needed to allow humans to coexist with the natural world and provides a ray of hope for the future. The combination of images, inspiration and music brought me tears of joy.
Mike (Rocky) Hrachovec – Civil Engineer
I am so glad I saw this film as part of the Seattle International Film Festival. I only have a general background in science but had no difficulty following the technical side of this documentary. The evolution of the project was exciting and I never lost interest. It’s such an elegant solution to a chronic urban flooding problem. Everyone should see this film just to be convinced that people working together through community, science, and local utilities can find solutions for a sustainable future. Big applause.
Mary Davis – Retired Paralegal