KS2 Human Planet: Change and Sustainability

In this film, we'll find out how humans and animals

adapt their behaviour when they share the same environment.

The Arctic is the most northern place on our planet.

It's an area surrounding the North Pole,

where the land and sea is covered in snow and ice.

And it's the coldest place where people live on Earth.

In winter, temperatures can fall as low as -45 degrees centigrade.

It's so cold, that the sea actually freezes over

with a thick layer of ice.

Polar bears migrate or move across the frozen landscape

to reach the sea ice, where they can hunt for food like seals and fish.

They have to survive alongside millions of humans

who also live in the Arctic.

Churchill is a town in the North American country of Canada.

It's on the coast of the Hudson Bay, which is linked to the Arctic sea.

The capital of Canada is Ottawa.

Churchill is located in the Manitoba province

and is home to about 1,000 people.

In the autumn,

the average temperature is -10 degrees centigrade.

Because it's so cold here,

the sea around Churchill has started to freeze over.

Polar bears lived on this land

and hunted on the sea ice a long time before humans arrived here.

But the people of Churchill have built their town

directly on the polar bears' migration route.

And that means hungry bears going right through the centre of town

as they head towards the sea ice.

For these bears, the best way to find a meal

is by scavenging through people's rubbish and they can be dangerous.

Bob Windsor is in charge of protecting the people

who live in Churchill.

Polar bears are the largest land predators on earth

and have been known to hunt and kill humans.

Polar bears are pure predators, so they kill other animals to eat. That's how they survive.

Knowing that, you have to give them a little more respect

because you could also be a potential meal for them.

Hundreds of years ago, the people of Churchill

would shoot polar bears to protect themselves.

Now, the bears are endangered and protected by the government.

Being endangered means there are so few of them left on the planet

that they could become extinct.

So people have adapted to their presence.

Bob works for the Polar Bear Patrol.

His job is to keep the polar bears away from town without killing them.

This is 190.

Just to let everybody know, there's a bear coming towards town.

CAR HORN

Bob manages to scare the bear away,

but it was dangerously close to town.

By making sure the bears are scared away,

humans and bears can co-exist or live side-by-side

without harming each other.

Because Bob can't keep an eye on the whole of Churchill,

polar bear traps are also set up around the edge of town.

The traps contain seal meat,

which attracts any wandering bears into them

and stops them going into Churchill.

A male polar bear has been found in the trap

and given a harmless drug by the Polar Bear Patrol.

Then, the bear is flown at least 60 kilometres outside of town

towards the sea ice in Bob's helicopter.

In the past, an average of 75 bears per year

have been transported out of Churchill.

Once the bear is set down on the ice,

Bob has to work fast before the bear fully wakes up.

A single swipe from a male this size could be deadly.

It's a great feeling. Here it is. You're letting him go.

Very satisfying to see a bear actually get up and go on his way.

With the sea ice forming fast, it won't be long before this bear

can roam far and wide to find food in its winter hunting grounds.

In this film,

we'll find out how humans living in very cold environments

have learnt to find food in both surprising and dangerous places.

The Arctic is the most northern place

where people live on our planet.

It's an area of frozen land and sea surrounding the North Pole.

Here, temperatures can drop down to -45 degrees centigrade.

And because it's so cold, in the winter, the sea freezes over.

Like the UK, the Arctic has seasons but here, winters can be very long

and in some places the sun doesn't rise for nearly two months.

It's dark all the time.

Wakeham Bay is a town in the North American country of Canada.

The capital city of Canada is Ottawa.

Wakeham Bay is on the coast of the Arctic Sea in the state of Quebec.

Nearly 600 people live in Wakeham Bay

and in spring, temperatures can go as low as -28 degrees centigrade.

It's March and after a long, dark winter,

there are a few hours of sunlight.

But the sea is still frozen.

Lucasi Napaluk is an Inuit and lives in Wakeham Bay.

Because the ground is frozen, Lucasi can't grow vegetables

so it's hard for him to get the vitamins and minerals

he needs in his diet.

Wakeham Bay has a general store but it has no fresh food.

So Lucasi and his friends must be resourceful

and go in search of fresh food from the ocean.

In March, the sea ice is two metres thick

and can support the weight of their skidoos.

But it's the sea under the ice that Lucasi is interested in.

He knows that on the coast, the sea tide goes in and out twice a day.

That means the level of the sea underneath the ice changes.

When the tide goes out, the level of the sea falls

and the sea ice floating on it drops down.

As the ice moves down and touches the seabed,

caves are created where the blocks of ice lean together.

And whilst the tide is out, this is where Lucasi can find food.

This is the only place on earth where the tides go out far enough

to allow people to go under the ice.

Here they find the special food they've come for.

Mussels. Delicious shellfish which are high in vitamins and minerals.

But the giant blocks of ice above them

are no longer supported by water and could collapse at any moment.

And Lucasi and his friends now have just half an hour

before the tide comes back in and the caves are flooded.

Now, they have just a few minutes left.

Even as they escape, the ice crashes in around them

and the sea water floods back minutes after.

With their fresh mussels, they take shelter in their cosy igloo.

Mussels are a good way to get the vital vitamins and minerals

Lucasi and his friends need to stay healthy in the frozen Arctic.

In this film, we'll find out how humans are behaving

in a sustainable way by using traditional hunting practices.

We'll also learn how the environment in the Arctic is being altered

because of climate change.

The Arctic is the most northern place on our planet.

It's a land of snow and ice surrounding the North Pole.

Even though it's so cold, there's plenty of life here.

Fish and marine mammals in the sea and birds and animals on the land.

Here, humans have learnt how to hunt the animals for food and clothing

in a sustainable way so that they do not damage the delicate ecosystem.

Mammarut Christiansen and his brothers, Mikaly and Gedion,

are Inuit hunters from northern Greenland.

Greenland is the most northern country in the world

and the closest place to the North Pole that people live in.

The capital of Greenland is Nuuk.

Mikaly and his brothers are from the town of Qaanaaq

in north-east Greenland on the edge of the Arctic sea.

Qaanaaq has a population of 600.

In summer, there are 24 hours of daylight

and the sea ice is beginning to melt.

Today, the hunters are out on their sledges

searching for the most precious food in the Arctic.

Rare sea animals called narwhal.

They hunt for narwhal because they're a good source of vitamin C.

It's hard to find vitamins in this Arctic landscape

because the ground is covered in snow and ice,

making it impossible to grow any fruit or vegetables.

Mikaly and his brothers set up camp on the edge of the sea ice.

They use traditional methods for hunting,

handed down to them by their ancestors.

They travel in kayaks,

a craft that the Inuit invented thousands of years ago.

And they use harpoons to hunt.

Mikaly and his brothers must live out on the sea ice,

waiting for the narwhal.

In summer, the sun shines all day and all night.

Gedion stands guard at all times but he isn't just looking for narwhal.

He's also watching the sea ice.

Under of the summer sun, it's already thinning and breaking apart.

If they're not careful, the brothers could find themselves

drifting far from land on a melting piece of ice.

Some scientists say the ice is melting because of climate change.

They believe that climate change is making the world heat up,

causing the sea ice to melt and break apart quicker than it used to.

If the sea ice breaks up too quickly, then the hunters

will not be able to travel out on the sea ice to hunt the narwhal.

After days of waiting,

they finally get their first glimpse of a narwhal.

Narwhal get scared away very easily by any sounds

so Mammarut and Gedion put their kayaks in the water with care.

The three brothers work as a team. They're after just one whale.

By using the kayak, Mikaly can get directly behind the narwhal

and make sure he hits it with the harpoon.

The other hunters soon follow and the narwhal is killed quickly.

This single hunt will provide the hunters' families with meat

that's full of the nutrients they need for several months.

Hunting in this way, only killing what they really need,

can be sustainable.

The most prized part of the narwhal is the skin. They call it maktaaq.

It's the community's primary source of vitamin C.

In fact, gram for gram,

narwhal skin contains nearly as much vitamin C as oranges.

Without narwhal,

it's doubtful the Inuit would have survived in this part of the Arctic.

But in the future, no-one knows what will happen to these communities if they can't hunt for narwhal

because the sea ice breaks up too soon.

In this film, we'll find out how the reindeer people of northern Norway

migrate with their reindeer to new grazing pastures

using traditional methods.

Norway is a country in northern Europe.

The northern part of Norway lies above the Arctic Circle

and the capital city is Oslo.

In the winter, it snows heavily in the Arctic

and the further north above the Arctic Circle you are,

the more snow there is.

The Sami people are reindeer herders.

For some of the year, they live outside looking after their reindeer.

This is so they can migrate with them to find food in fresh pastures.

In the summer, the Sami keep 3,000 reindeer on Arnoy Island

off the coast of northern Norway.

All summer, the reindeer have been running wild here.

Because the island is surrounded by the sea,

there's no need for fences and so the reindeer roam free

across their natural habitat, grazing on grass, leaves and fungi.

These reindeer used to be wild but 500 years ago,

the Sami started to farm them in large herds.

The Sami sell the reindeer meat

and use their fur to make warm clothes.

Reindeer skin is made into leather for boots and shoes.

Even the antlers are used to make buttons, buckles and other ornaments.

It's now autumn and Arnoy Island will soon be covered in deep snow,

which means that the reindeer will not be able to reach

the plants they need to survive.

Today, 21-year-old Ella is in charge of leading the whole herd

450 kilometres further south to new pastures.

Before the migration begins, Ella helps split the deer

into smaller groups so she and the other herders can give the reindeer

vital medicine to keep them healthy before the long journey ahead.

Moving the herd away from Arnoy Island gives the plants a chance to regrow,

ready for the following spring when the reindeer will return.

The migration begins with a 2.5 kilometre swim

across the sea towards the mainland.

These chilly Arctic waters are only just above freezing.

Even for adult reindeer, this is a long swim.

But for calves born this year, who have never swum before,

it's like running a marathon.

It's vital that the herd get across.

In the winter, the southern pastures where they're heading

will have less snow than the island.

It's the only place where the snow will be shallow enough

for the reindeer to dig through and reach the food they need

to survive the winter.

If one calf turns round and swims back, the whole herd could follow.

A baby female is in trouble and suddenly, she turns back.

Ella must stop her before any more baby deer turn around.

Ella's done it and all the reindeer keep swimming.

After an hour of hard swimming, Ella's reindeer reach the mainland.

Ella and her reindeer have made it.

But it's just the first step in their epic journey together,

450 kilometres to the safety of their winter pastures.

Hundreds of years ago, the Sami were completely self-sufficient,

using only the reindeer for food and clothing.

Now, the Sami also have other jobs in towns and cities,

but they still herd the reindeer as their ancestors did

to preserve their culture for future generations.

In this film, we'll find out how humans who live in the desert

use traditional skills to find water.

These skills have been passed down from their ancestors.

Deserts are the hottest and driest lands on Earth.

Most deserts are arid, meaning the land lacks enough water or rainfall

and so people who live here must use clever ways to find water.

Deserts cover one third of our planet

and 300 million people live in them.

The Tubu people are desert travellers.

They move with the seasons to find water,

food and grazing land for their animals.

The Tubu live in Niger in West Africa.

Part of Niger is in the Sahara desert.

The Sahara is the largest desert in the world.

It's over 35 times the size of the United Kingdom.

It lies north of the equator.

The capital of Niger is Niamey.

When the Tubu are travelling, they stay in Termit,

a settlement right in the middle of the Sahara desert.

Termit is a temporary settlement and doesn't have a permanent population.

The average daily temperature is 37 degrees centigrade.

Because it's so arid here, the Tubu can't grow crops

and there are no shops to buy food from,

so they must travel hundreds of kilometres across the desert

to small towns which have markets.

Every year, Tubu women cross back and forth across the desert

with their camels.

They do this so they can trade camel cheese and dried meat,

even the camels themselves,

for cereals and other food for their families.

Over four months in the desert,

the women travel a distance of 1,500 kilometres,

passing between small settlements to exchange their goods.

The Tubu could not make this journey without their camels.

A camel can survive for seven days without water.

Many days longer than humans.

Camels are able to store water in their bodies,

partly as fat in their humps.

To spend long periods in this vast desert,

the Tubu women must find water to survive.

They know how to navigate or find their way to find the water.

It's the Tubu women who travel across the desert,

not the men, because the women are the ones with the skill needed

to navigate in this landscape.

Today, Foni and her 10-year-old daughter Shede,

are in search of a water well in the middle of the desert

which is just one metre square in size.

Because there is so little water in the desert,

finding it is the difference between life and death.

Foni knows how to navigate in the desert without a map or a compass -

a skill that she learnt from her ancestors.

Foni understands how the sand in this desert moves.

The sand constantly moves because of the wind.

Foni looks for large sand dunes towering over 60 metres high,

which are more stable in the wind than smaller dunes.

Over thousands of years, desert winds have blown dunes

into long parallel ridges which look like tracks in the sand.

The Tubu women are able to follow these ridges

to help them to find their way.

Foni uses the shadows made by the sun on the ridges

to work out which direction to go.

She also counts the number of sand ridges

so she knows how far they've already gone.

This is knowledge she passes on to Shede.

Shede has learnt how to count the sand dunes to find the water well.

And as night falls,

her mum also teaches her how to use the night sky to navigate.

The next morning, with her new knowledge,

Shede is ready to take over navigating from her mum.

Shede must head south.

She knows the sun rises in the east

so she can tell which way is south.

Shede counts the ridges in the sand as she guides the women.

For most 10-year-olds in the UK,

finding their way to school can be challenging enough.

But Shede has to find her way across 30 kilometres

of this vast desert just to find a drink of water.

After 12 hours, Shede finds the 10th ridge her mum told her about.

Shede has found the only well for 80 kilometres around.

This is her first step on the path

to becoming a desert navigator like her mum.

Finally, Shede can water the camels.

Now the Tubu have got water,

they can make it to market to trade their camel goods for food.

And wash off the desert sands.

In this film, we'll find out what happens when humans and animals

who live alongside each other in the desert

have to compete to find water.

The Sahara Desert in Africa is the largest desert in the world.

It lies to the north of the equator.

It's 35 times the size of the United Kingdom and its arid interior

can unleash the biggest sandstorms on the planet.

Billions of tiny sand grains are whipped up by the wind

into massive clouds of sand,

reaching more than 5,000 metres into the air.

50 times the height of Big Ben.

16-year-old Mamadou is battling through a sandstorm,

trying to escape the great clouds of sand with his cattle.

He lives in Mali in West Africa, right on the edge of the desert.

The capital city of Mali is Bamako.

Mamadou lives in Boni District, which is home to 5,000 people.

The average daily temperature is 35 degrees centigrade.

Mamadou is on a three day trek into the desert

because there's no water left in his hometown.

He desperately needs water for his cattle.

It hasn't rained in Mali for eight months.

There's a drought, a shortage of water.

The temperature is 40 degrees centigrade

and most of the waterholes in the region are dry.

But it's not only Mamadou and his cattle that need water.

African elephants also live in this desert.

These elephants are the biggest land animals on earth.

All the female elephants guide the whole herd.

These experienced animals can remember all the waterholes

to be found in an area the size of Wales.

Mamadou and the elephants are all trying to reach

the only lake left in the region with water - Lake Banzena,

which is fed by underground spring water.

Mamadou is nearly at the lake, but so are the elephants.

Mamadou has escaped the sandstorm,

but now he has a different battle on his hands.

The thirsty elephants are blocking his way to the lake.

An elephant can weigh up to seven tons.

If they charge, they could kill Mamadou and his cattle.

He now faces a serious conflict over the water.

Suddenly, a large female charges.

Mamadou fights back,

but he has only sticks and stones to frighten the elephants away.

He keeps calm and amazingly,

the herd of elephants is frightened away.

Mamadou and his cows have survived

a conflict with the elephants over the water.

This happens when humans and animals are in competition

for the same natural resource in low supply.

But Mamadou does not blame the elephants.

With the elephants gone,

Mamadou takes his thirsty cattle towards the water.

The elephants move to another part of the lake

and so they too finally get all the water they need.

In this film, we'll find out how humans who live in the driest desert

on earth use modern technology to capture water from the atmosphere.

The Atacama in the South American country of Chile

is the driest desert on earth.

The capital city of Chile is Santiago.

The Atacama Desert lies to the north of Santiago

and is beside the Pacific Ocean.

It can go for years here with no rain at all.

Hot winds suck all the moisture from the surface of the land.

Some places in this desert are as desolate as the surface of Mars.

Yet, amazingly, there is life here.

And in a place called Chanaral,

some people have learnt how to capture water from thin air.

Over 13,000 people live in the region of Chanaral.

Because the Atacama is on the coast, it's quite a cool desert.

In summer, the average temperature can be anywhere

between 13 and 24 degrees centigrade.

The average annual rainfall is just one millimetre.

The Atacama desert is right on the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

Cold sea currents cool the hot desert air

and produce huge blankets of fog in the atmosphere.

The wind from the shore sweeps the fog inland.

Cactus plants thrive here by capturing the water in the fog.

They're covered in furry lichen.

A lichen is made up of a fungus and a simple plant called an algae.

When the fog hits the cacti, it condenses,

turning from water vapour into liquid

and the lichen hairs capture the water.

This is a vital source of water for animals,

who drink the water droplets from the lichen.

Humans have found a way to copy nature and capture this water too.

Orlando and his friends have come up with a man-made way

to catch water just like the cactus.

They put up huge nets, six metres high,

positioning them on top of a hill

to increase their chances of catching the fog.

The fine mesh of the net mimics the lichen hairs.

As the fog is sucked ashore and sweeps over the cacti,

it also hits Orlando's nets.

And in no time, the fog nets are catching the water droplets.

But the water doesn't stop at the nets.

It gets channelled through pipes and into a big reservoir,

an artificial pond where the water is stored.

Each day, Orlando's incredible nets produce nearly 500 litres of water,

which allows Orlando to grow a few aloe vera plants in the sand.

But he wants to develop his technology.

In this film, we'll find out how humans who live in the desert

use ancient technology to find water.

Algeria is a country in north Africa

and lies to the north of the equator.

It's located within the Sahara Desert,

the largest desert in the world.

Here, whole communities have sprung up in the middle of the desert

because humans have used technology to find water under the sand.

Kerzaz is an oasis town located deep in the desert of Algeria

to the south of the capital city, Algiers.

2,000 people live in Kerzaz.

The average daily temperature here is 33 degrees centigrade

and the average annual rainfall is only 1.5 millimetres.

An oasis is a fertile area in the middle of a desert.

Fertile land is productive land

where plants and food crops are able to grow.

Across the desert, towns like Kerzaz rely on a supply of groundwater,

water trapped in rock under the desert.

Using this groundwater means that animals and humans can live here

and gardens of dates and other food crops can be planted.

Without humans, the water would not reach these oasis towns.

People have used ancient technology to find the water under the desert

and direct it to the town.

At sunrise, local workmen prepare for the day with prayer.

Mafoadi is a well digger from an oasis town like Kerzaz

and has lived in the desert all his life.

Every morning after prayer,

Mafoadi and his friends head off into the desert to find water.

They use very simple tools

and have dug a well in the desert outside Mafoadi's hometown.

Well diggers have been doing this the same way for the last 700 years.

Today, Mafoadi is going down his well so that he can release

the groundwater from the rock under the desert.

Mafoadi releases the water from the rock by chipping away at it.

The water runs into a water channel directed towards his town.

By digging wells down through the sand and rock,

the groundwater trapped deep under the desert can be reached.

Then, a long underground water channel can be made,

reaching all the way to the town.

Mafoadi and his friends know that by making the channel run downhill,

water will always reach the town.

Working underground is so dangerous,

but Mafoadi insists on working alone while his friends stay above ground.

After several hours, Mafoadi breaks through.

He extends the water channel,

which means more water flowing towards the town.

There are over 800 wells here now,

channelling water 60 kilometres under the desert floor.

When it reaches the surface,

the water is divided up within the local community.

Oasis towns would not exist without the skill of the well diggers

and the use of ancient technology.

And once you've got a permanent water supply in the desert,

anything is possible.

In this film, we'll find out how children

must protect their food crops to survive in a mountain environment.

Mountain ranges make up nearly a quarter of the land on Earth.

The Simien Mountains are in Ethiopia, a country in East Africa.

Ethiopia lies to the north of the equator.

The capital city of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa.

The Simien Mountains are in the north of the country.

Getabit is a village high in the Simien Mountains.

At an altitude or height of nearly 4,000 metres above sea level.

It's home to only 75 people.

Centuries ago, people fled high into mountain villages like Getabit,

seeking refuge or protection from other communities.

This is because they were fighting over the land below.

Because Getabit village is surrounded by cliffs,

flat areas of land are scarce or hard to find.

So villagers must grow their crops wherever they can find land.

Derajey is 12 years old and lives in Getabit.

Today, the autumn harvest has begun in his village

and crops of barley are being harvested by the local people.

Barley is one of the only food crops that can grow in these mountains.

Because the village is so high,

temperatures can regularly go below freezing point at night.

Most crops need warm temperatures to grow

but barley can survive in a colder climate.

The people rely on a good harvest of barley to store through the winter

when it's too cold to grow anything.

But the harvest is in danger.

Gelada baboons also live in these mountains

and they love eating Derajey's crops.

Derajey must protect the fields from the Gelada baboons

so that his village does not lose their vital crop store.

The Gelada have canine teeth as large as a lions

and can be dangerous.

Because Derajey's parents must work in the harvest,

he and his brother and sisters are the only ones

who can protect the fields.

At night, they camp close by.

At dawn, the Gelada baboons strike.

The first strike comes from a few large males

who target Derajey's haystacks.

But many more baboons are stealing crops

from the other side of his field.

Every day, Derajey comes into direct conflict with the baboons

because they want to eat his crops.

Derajey must hurry to save his field,

otherwise the food his family needs to get through winter will be gone.

Derajey has done it. He's beaten off the Gelada.

Finally, all the crops are harvested.

Now that Derajey's job is done,

he can sleep at home instead of guarding the fields.

In this film, we'll find out

how humans who work in the hazardous landscape use resourcefulness

to find natural minerals.

The earth's surface is like a huge jigsaw

because it's made up of big plates of solid rock that fit together.

Volcanoes are formed where these plates meet.

The plates make up the earth's crust

which floats on top of molten or liquid rock.

Sometimes the molten rock can reach temperatures

of over 1,000 degrees centigrade and erupt out of the volcano as lava.

Volcanoes can be highly hazardous

because they can erupt and release toxic gases.

These volcanoes are said to be active.

Despite this, some people are willing to work on them

to make a living.

Indonesia is in Southeast Asia

and has some of the most active volcanoes on earth.

Indonesia's made up of a group of islands in the Indian Ocean.

The capital is Jakarta.

The island of Java has 42 active volcanoes,

more than any other island on earth.

125 million people live here.

More than twice the population of the United Kingdom

in an area half the size.

And on Ijen volcano in the east of the island,

people risk their lives for the mineral sulphur,

which is vital for making rubber, chemicals and fireworks.

Hartomo and Sulaiman are sulphur miners.

Today, they're going where few other people dare go.

Inside the crater of an active volcano.

Ijen volcano is one of the most poisonous places on earth.

In the centre of the crater is a lake

filled with 2.5 million tones of acid.

The air is filled with toxic gases that come out of the volcano.

In the past 40 years, 74 miners have died

because they have been overwhelmed by the gases.

When Hartomo and Sulaiman enter the mine,

they have to work in a cloud of hydrogen sulphide gas

which is 40 times the safe working level.

They're willing to take this risk

because they can earn much more money for their families

than if they worked in other local jobs.

Once they have enough sulphur,

Hartomo and Sulaiman have to carry it 200 metres

straight up to the crater rim.

Each man carries 90 kilos,

nearly one and a half times their own bodyweight.

The work can affect the miners' health.

The men who work here are paid three pounds per load of sulphur.

A good local wage.

Hartomo and Sulaiman have made the most of a natural resource

given to them by the volcano.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.