Exercise #4: Documentary Reflection
Instructions
For your fourth Exercise assignment, you will make connections between the environmental movement in the recent past and today by considering what you are challenged to learn from documentarians of that movement.
- Find a current or recent report in the mainstream or alternative media of an environmental topic or issue in your local or wider region. As you read/ hear about the issue, consider where you stand on it. Identify your position and your thoughts.
- Use the documentaries in this course unit to reflect on the role that civil disobedience has played in the history of environmentalism, researching one other recent example to defend your answer to the question of whether it works to bring positive change.
Use your research in the mainstream and alternative media from Activity 1 of this unit for this exercise Post the media links and your analysis. Aim for a minimum of 300 words.
Please note, you should write and edit your submission in a separate file then copy and paste it into the submission box. Once submitted to the HIST 3991 trubox site, you will not be able to edit your post.
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Submissions
Documentary Reflection
June 7, 2026 By: okafor chichi
Exercise #4: Documentary Reflection One recent environmental issue that caught my attention was the Fairy Creek old-growth logging conflict on Vancouver Island. Environmental activists, Indigenous land defenders, journalists, and police became involved in protests aimed at protecting some of British Columbia’s remaining old-growth forests. The Fairy Creek blockades eventually became the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history, drawing national attention to questions about forest conservation, Indigenous rights, and government responsibility. Media Link: https://thenarwhal.ca/topics/fairy-creek-blockade/ Another example of environmental civil disobedience is the work of Extinction Rebellion, a global climate movement that uses non-violent protest to demand stronger action on…
Documentary Reflection
June 7, 2026 By: okafor chichi
Exercise #4: Documentary Reflection One recent environmental issue that caught my attention was the Fairy Creek old-growth logging conflict on Vancouver Island. Environmental activists, Indigenous land defenders, journalists, and police became involved in protests aimed at protecting some of British Columbia’s remaining old-growth forests. The Fairy Creek blockades eventually became the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history, drawing national attention to questions about forest conservation, Indigenous rights, and government responsibility. Media Link: https://thenarwhal.ca/topics/fairy-creek-blockade/ Another example of environmental civil disobedience is the work of Extinction Rebellion, a global climate movement that uses non-violent protest to demand stronger action on…
Documentary Reflection
June 3, 2026 By: Elkie
Mainstream source: CBC News – “Fairy Creek protests became one of Canada’s largest acts of civil disobedience” https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fairy-creek-protest-largest-act-of-civil-disobedience-1.6168210 Alternative source: Business in Vancouver – “Fairy Creek anti-logging protesters win appeal in bid for class-action certification” https://www.biv.com/news/economy-law-politics/fairy-creek-anti-logging-protesters-win-appeal-in-bid-for-class-action-certification-12308267 The Fairy Creek protests against old-growth logging on Vancouver Island became one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Canadian history. Protesters used road blockades, tree sits, and long-term forest occupations in an attempt to stop logging in old-growth ecosystems. Personally, I support stronger protections for old-growth forests because these ecosystems take centuries to develop and contain biodiversity that cannot simply be replaced…
Exercise #4 – Documentary Reflection
June 1, 2026 By: Emma Lang
Mainstream Source Kelly, Alanna. “Video Captures Grey Whale Being Struck by Sea-Doo in Vancouver,” CBC News.” CBC News, May 6, 2026. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/jet-ski-grey-whale-vancouver-9.7187806 This article discusses how a grey whale was hit by a jet ski near Vancouver. This story coincides with a larger environmental issue as boat traffic is contributing to an increase in collisions with whales in British Columbia waters. It is frustrating that this incident occurred, as it was well known that a grey whale was hanging around Vancouver prior to the collision. I understand that we rely on the Pacific Ocean for leisure and transportation, but we…
Exercise 4: Documentary Reflection
May 26, 2026 By: Yanran Lu
Mainstream source: CBC News- “Two First Nations working on roads to Ring of Fire speak out against Ontario’s new mining law” (June 2025) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/first-nation-ring-of-fire-1.7557343 Alternative source: The Narwhal- First Nations consultations aren’t the roadblock to ‘unleashing’ the Ring of Fire https://thenarwhal.ca/opinion-bill-5-indigenous-consultation/ The Ring of Fire is one of the most controversial environmental issues in Ontario right now. The region contains valuable minerals that the Ontario government and mining companies want to develop. In 2025, the Ford government passed Bill 5, which gives the province more power to speed up mining projects and reduce certain environmental protections in “special economic zones.”…