Teach Me To Be WILD
A Story of Hurt Children and their Animal Healers
Teach Me To Be WILD explores the work of a sanctuary in Northern California, where a team of injured, non-releasable wild animals become Wild-Teachers and are helping heal generations of hurt children (at-risk teens, justice-involved youth, foster kids and others). The traumatic histories of the creatures, who range from an Andean condor to a two-toed sloth, often parallel those of the at-risk children who visit. Unexpected and empathic connections are forged that ripple into stories of transformation. Founded by Steve Karlin, a former park ranger and television personality whose greatest mentors were a 330-pound American black bear and a pair of robins, Wildlife Associates aims to recall us to our true place in Nature’s web. Filmed over a period of three years with intimate access to the animals, their caregivers, workshop facilitators and their spirited students, Teach Me to Be WILD captures the magic that transpires where wounded children and their Wild Teachers meet. MORE →
Betty Peck
and her MAGIC MIRROR
Imagine a magic mirror that you look into to discover how truly wonderful you are. That is the kind of mirror that Betty Peck, a kindergarten teacher with more than 50 years experience, had in all of her classrooms. Whenever one of her students felt worried or unsure, Betty would gently guide the student to look into the magic mirror and say, "How could you forget how wonderful you are?!" In this short film, this wise woman, now well into her 90's, encourages us to have just such a magic mirror in every kindergarten, every household and every garden. In that way we can all say, "Thank you for all the magic moments that make it possible for me to stand here and feel how truly wonderful I AM." MORE →