Napa Climate NOW! launches a Green Film Series

By Chris Benz

Editor’s note: Today, as we honor Martin Luther King Jr., his legacy of striving for civil rights, inclusion, and fairness resonates, particularly in the context of contemporary challenges such as ongoing racial inequality and climate change. King's advocacy for change through compassion, shared experience and a vision of a better world serves as powerful inspiration.

King's impact remains profound, advocating for a society where every individual is valued equally. His approach to social change, marked by nonviolent resistance and collective action, offers valuable lessons for tackling the challenging issues of today.

King's enduring influence inspires and informs ongoing efforts, including those in Napa Valley. Local initiatives like the Green Film Series by Napa Climate NOW! reflect this spirit of community-driven action. These efforts, aimed at educating and inspiring action against climate change, are a testament to King's vision of a collaborative, equitable society facing its challenges together.

King's legacy reminds us that the struggles for racial equality, environmental sustainability and social justice are interconnected, each requiring compassion, understanding and collective resolve. On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to these ideals, drawing inspiration from his life to meet the challenges of our time with hope and determination.

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NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — This month the Green Screen Film Series debuts at the Napa County Library. Free to all, these monthly screenings will alternate between the Napa branch and the American Canyon branch, starting with a 2 p.m. showing on Sunday, Jan. 28, at the Napa Library.

Napa Valley Features Graphic

The series will open with the documentary “2040,” a hopeful vision of the future of our planet 16 short years from now.

Napa Climate NOW!’s Green Screen Team looked for films that highlight effective, sustainable ways to address toxic climate pollution. All of the team members — Ginger Gregory, Carol Glaser, Linda Dietiker-Yolo and Susan Crosby — are retired educators and long-time Napa residents. The films they chose cover a range of solutions.

“We don’t want viewers to feel discouraged by extreme weather and carbon pollution,” Crosby said, “but instead to feel inspired and encouraged to take action in their homes and community.”

Team leader Gregory was motivated to educate herself and others about climate change through her love of gardening.

 “I just love digging in the dirt and watching things grow,” she said. “I got active with Napa Climate NOW! when I retired because I wanted to reduce plastic pollution, but then I heard about the Regenerative Practices team led by Carol Glaser, a UC Master Gardener. I learned how vital healthy soil, plants and trees are in drawing down carbon.”

Glaser has been a Master Gardener for more than 15 years. A visit with her grandchildren in 2019 inspired her to join Napa Climate NOW! to learn about ways to reduce carbon pollution.

“My grandchildren and I made a commitment to each other to do everything we could to protect and preserve our beautiful environment. I took the “Kiss the Ground” course during COVID to learn about regenerative agriculture. It was a wonderful exploration that led to the Master Gardeners’ program on soil health and climate change, “Soil Is the Solution.”

Gregory, Glaser and Dietiker-Yolo had all been interested in a film series. Crosby joined them to work out what films to show and where.

“I’m excited that we’re showing films to families with children as well as adults and in American Canyon as well as in Napa,” Dietiker-Yolo said. “I think the films will help people see solutions and a positive way of working on climate pollution.”

Green Screen Team from left, is Linda Dietiker-Yolo, Ginger Gregory, Carol Glaser and Susan Crosby. Photo by Matt Handy — Submitted Photo

The Napa Library films are aimed at older youth and adults. The films will present different areas of climate action, such as plastic pollution, water conservation, ideas for sustainable living and energy use along with regenerative agriculture and gardening practices. When time allows, the programs may include time to chat about the ideas in the film with a local expert and with each other. 

Gregory said that “2040,” the first film in the Napa Library series, is now her favorite climate solution film.

“It’s made by an Australian dad for his daughter, who will be an adult in 2040,” she said. “He traveled around the world, visiting sites where actions to address climate change are being put into practice. My favorite segment features a little village in Bangladesh where households set up their own clean electricity supply using solar panels they installed themselves. The filmmaking style is also very fun and youth-oriented.”

The American Canyon series is intended for families with younger children and includes shorter films followed by child-oriented activities. The first showing in American Canyon is on Saturday, Feb. 3, from 1 to 2 p.m. and will feature “Waste Is a Verb,” a short film about the Napa Recycling and Waste Services state-of-the-art recycling and composting facility, with a lively trash/recycling sorting challenge afterward.

“The films for the children have a light touch and will be followed up with fun, easy games to reinforce the learning,” Crosby said. “We really need to protect our kids at the same time that we are enlisting them to engage with the most unnerving problems of our day.  Children are often the conscience of the family — they notice if you don’t put the recycling in the right spot. As soon as they know, they can be agents of change.”

The Napa and American Canyon libraries invite you to join them in partnership with Napa Climate NOW! for these documentaries on the perils of plastic use and climate change. And, most importantly, to find solutions together.

Film Schedule:

• Sundays, Jan. 28, March 24 and May 19, 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Napa Library, 580 Coombs St., Napa.

• Saturdays, Feb. 3, April 6 and June 1, 1 to 2 p.m., at the American Canyon Library, 300 Crawford Way, American Canyon.

Chris Benz is a retired winemaker and co-founder of Napa Climate NOW! a local nonprofit citizens’ group advocating for smart climate solutions based on the latest climate science, part of 350 Bay Area. Find more information at napa.350bayarea.org.