Incorporate Ecomedia Literacy into Your Classroom with These 30-minute Activities

These 1/2 hour ecomedia literacy activities offer a diverse range of exercises that encourage students to critically engage with environmental media messages, fostering interdisciplinary connections with liberal arts and sciences disciplines. From analyzing environmental claims and ethical dilemmas to delving into the impact of visual rhetoric, these activities empower students to navigate the complex landscape of ecomedia, enhancing their media literacy, environmental awareness, and ethical reasoning skills.

Among Giants: Short Documentary About Tree Sitting

Synopsis: “Risking injury and incarceration, an environmental activist disrupts the clear-cutting of an ancient redwood grove by sitting on a tiny platform a hundred feet up in the tree canopy. Already three years into the tree-sit when filming begins, AMONG GIANTS blends vérité cinematography with intimate personal reflection to remarkable effect.” This can be compared to how advertisers represent environmental activism. It can also be used to explore environmental ideology.

HSBC’s Lumberjack Ad: Pitting Tree Sitters Against Loggers

This 2008 ad for HSBC portrays the conflict between tree-sitters (activists trying to stop deforestation of old-growth forests) and loggers. It closes with the phrase: “We recognise how people value things differently. So what we learn from one customer helps us better serve another.” Students can be encouraged to explore the environmental values being represented in the ad and discuss how it relates to HSBC’s financial policies and environmental impacts. This can also be used to explore and discuss differing environmental ideologies.