Reflection

This video was inspired by nature documentaries I watched as a kid that inspired my interest in science. I have fond memories of stories in which creatures from the natural world were personified and had their stories told as characters, so I chose one red knot, named Chester, to follow through the story as a way to make it more engaging and relatable. However, the movies I remember being most enthralled by did not rely on animation, but instead showed nature with real images and video. I hope that this story will inspire viewers to consider the more indirect consequences of climate change: while a warmer temperature alone will not necessarily make the red knot or other coastal migratory birds extinct, global warming does have major impacts on all levels of the ecosystem and will impact creatures such as Chester and even us humans, who created the problems in the first place. Climate change can feel frustrating, overwhelming, and scary, but I hope my video makes the science of climate change and migratory birds accessible, even to younger viewers, and that it encourages the audience to act on climate change before it's too late.