What ideas are people on the 15th meridian east developing to shape the future and leave tomorrow's generations a home worth living in? This consequence leads us to four future designers. From the barren Namib Desert to the glacier worlds of Spitsbergen, Sicily and the Croatian Mediterranean. (S1 E05)
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At 117 square kilometres, the Müritz is the largest lake on German territory, but it's far from the only one in the north east of the country. Even the Mecklenburg Lake District, between Waren and Feldberg, contains around 2 lakes alone. Thanks to the Müritz National Park the species diversity is particularly high in the region: half of the German crane population breeds in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the osprey is typical of the Müritz area the lively Eurasian otter hunts here and the endangered red milan circles the skies above. Fred Bollmann knows the national park like hardly any other. The former ranger and voluntary nature conservationist is actively involved in the preservation of ‘his' wildlife world. Filming for this production took two years. The outcome is a unique portrait of this stunning region.
The wide, often untouched wilderness of the Baltic hinterland is home to many animals. More than 35 brown bears live in the primeval forests of Alutaguse. In the spring, the Soomaa National Park transforms into a huge lake. Europe's widest waterfall is located in Latvia. In the beginning of May, vimba bream follow the course of the River Venta. The hardly 5-centimetre-long fish have to overcome a 4-metre-long rock barrier in order to reach their spawning grounds.
The first episode of this two-part nature documentary presents the natural beauty of the shifting sand dunes of the Curonian Spit, the romantic beaches of the Latvian Baltic Sea and the island worlds of Estonia. Time and again, this deserted and almost untouched nature fascinates. In the winter, ringed seals give birth to their young on the pack ice. In the spring, Konik wild horse stallions fight fierce battles amongst themselves, while colourful European rollers fly through the dune forests. Lynxes wander through the coastal forests and in the orchid meadows turncoats and hoopoes find more than enough food. On the islands around Saaremaa in Estonia, grey seals hunt for fish. They share the archipelago with Europe's largest tern, the Caspian tern.
The first part of the spring journey takes us from the Spanish inland to the rugged Atlantic and to the Mediterranean, through the French Provence, and finally into the Alps. Along the way, flamingos perform their bizarre dancing rituals, wild horses storm through the wetland… While the North is still covered by snow and ice, the South will soon turn into a blooming garden and every creature is enjoying the first signs of the awakening.
The Provence is famed for its endless fields of laven-der, but this lush landscape also has a beautifully mari-time touch: The Côte Bleue! Small, hidden beaches, charming harbour towns, imposing, craggy bays and a uniquely clear light that has attracted painters includ-ing Cézanne and Braque. The coast derives its name from the deep blue water and extends from Marseille to Martigues. This small town is also known as "The Ven-ice of the North", as it is shaped entirely by water: an inland lake, the sea itself, as well as a connecting canal. In the bays of the Calanques, the steeply-walled coastal inlets in the Mediterranean limestone, Lionel Franc is a cliff diver. His personal record is a hight of 36 metres! Ambi is a sculptress. This young artist's work, who moved to Marseille from Madagascar many years ago, is characterised by a dynamic momentum. As a pas-sionate pétanque player, she demonstrates this drive on the boules courts of the port city. John Pendray is Pein-tre officiel de la Marine, an official marine painter. The French state allows just 40 painters to its circle. There are no monetary rewards, but heaps of honour and a very smart uniform!
Around the once sacred Isle of Delos, some 200 islands, including 20 larger ones, are arranged almost in a circle. This is where the name of the Greek island paradise comes from: Cyclades, a derivation of the Greek word kýklos, circle. Each cyclade has a unique character. The pelican Petros, about 20 years old, is the mascot of Mykonos. He moves from taverna to taverna all day long, scrounging fish. This works out sometimes well and sometimes not so well. Petros does have a few human friends who regularly slip him something, but all too often visitors eager to take pictures block his path. Then he has to "wiggle" his way through the crowd. Jackie Onassis is said to have once brought Petros' "great-grandmother" from Louisiana to the island.
What ideas are people on the 15th meridian east developing to shape the future and leave tomorrow's generations a home worth living in? This consequence leads us to four future designers. From the barren Namib Desert to the glacier worlds of Spitsbergen, Sicily and the Croatian Mediterranean. (S1 E05)
One of the smallest dams in the Bergisches Land is the Panzertalsperre, with an area of just four-and-a-half football pitches. On the other hand, the Dhünntalsperre is the largest with the area of 660 football pitches. They all transform a stretch of flowing water into still and stagnant water. As a result, completely diverse ecosystems have developed there: where the dipper once dived for insect larvae, cormorants and gray herons now fish and swans and coots cavort. In recent summers, even greater challenges have emerged: the effects of climate change - from extreme drought to destructive floods. On a smaller scale, a rather industrious dam master is operating flood protection: The Beaver. However, the water masses of the Wupper tore away half of his majestic timber castle - and the four young beaver kids were not seen again afterwards. Have they survived the flood? Not everyone can cope with the constant change in the dams, but they still remain an important wonder of engineering for many: for us humans as well as for a number of animals. By combining water management, ecological requirements and tourism a worthwhile goal is possible: Because for the Bergisches Land, its dams are among the most valuable and popular infrastructures that the region has to offer.
The film presents the two Canary Islands Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Lanzarote has a rich culture in addition to a volcanic landscape: the film accompanies a ceramic artist, an instrument maker, shows architecture by César Manrique and a camel breeder. On Fuerteventura, in addition to livestock farming and the operation of traditional grain mills, nature conservation plays a major role: islanders are committed to preserving the sand dunes, and there is a turtle hatchery. On Lanzarote, countless volcanic eruptions have formed a bizarre lunar landscape. It is a great challenge for the inhabitants to extract the cultivation of food from the karstic, dry soil. And yet they even manage to produce wine. Protected by thousands of small depressions that act as water reservoirs, they grow vines on porous volcanic rock.
Flower magic in Madeira: The Flower Festival Festa da Flor is the most important event of the year for the people of the Atlantic island. With it they celebrate spring, which is climatically practically all year round here, their island and themselves. The coast formed by lava, centuries-old laurel forests and green steep slopes make Madeira unique. Those who start right at the front of the big parade of the flower festival in the capital Funchal, will have made it. For Isabel Borges this dream has come true. She opens this year's flower parade along the harbour promenade with her festive group. This accolade does not only mean fame and prestige, but also a lot of pressure. Are the self-designed dresses splendid enough? Will the 150 flower children learn the dance steps in time? Will the flowers on the float hold out in the heat? For Isabel, it is now a matter of nerves.
Pavel Hubeny, whose life would be unthinkable without the forest, is the head of the Šumava National Park. He is committed to ensuring that a primeval forest can grow for future generations, in which man does not interfere. This vision of a primeval forest is also shared by the forester Claus Bässler, who wants to counteract the extinction of species by having trees felled to create artificial deadwood and thus a new habitat for rare beetles and fungi. On the Vltava River lies the small town of Krumlov, the "Pearl of the Bohemian Forest" with its Baroque theater and fully preserved stage technology from the 17th century. Here the director Zuzana Vrbová enchants people from all over the world with her productions. Apart from agriculture, it was mainly the abundance of forests that ensured the livelihood of the inhabitants of the Bohemian Forest - including that of the carpenter Philipp von Manz, who processed local wood for his customers all over Germany. Veterinarian Judith Gollner, who grew up in the Austrian part of the Bohemian Forest, lived in Vienna for a long time and made a conscious decision to return. She likes the people and is proud of "her farmers' wives" who share her love of the Bohemian Forest. (S1 E02)
The Bohemian Forest is the source of the Vltava River, home to primeval forests, untouched high moors and bubbling torrents. This archaic stretch of land, which includes the Bavarian Forest, was long considered impenetrable and mysterious. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Bavarian border residents have rediscovered new references to this unusual forest landscape for themselves. This is also the case with photo artist Bastian Kalous, who has been documenting his homeland for years with nostalgic-looking Polaroid photographs and is dealing with its eventful history for an illustrated book. Or Elisa Belotti and Marco Heurich, who have dedicated their lives to the lynxes. In order for Europe's largest wild cat to survive in the Bohemian Forest, the lynx researchers fight for every single animal. Iryna Rudenko came to Zwiesel from Ukraine out of a passion for glass as a material to study at the glass school. After graduation, she would like to stay in Bavaria, Anna Hones grew up in Horská Kvilda, the smallest and highest village in the Czech Republic. The village lies just under 1100 meters above sea level, directly on the former border. The farmer, who experienced communism, the fall of the Iron Curtain and the subsequent changes, is now trying to find ways of surviving in this barren region with her children. (S1 E01)
It's a water world and life couldn't survive without it. And thanks to it, a mind blowing diversity of creatures thrive beneath the surface. Born to enjoy the riches underwater they must master their body's adaptations, learn to find food, to escape danger and above all become expert swimmers! Whether it's in rivers, on beaches or in the deep ocean, all must overcome the obstacles and fulfil their destiny, all are born to swim! Of all the habitats on earth, the ocean is perhaps the most challenging. Here salt, temperatures, currents and predators can make life difficult it's not an obvious place to want to bring up your babies… But even in these waters generation after generation beats the odds. They have overcome the challenges and become some of the most beautiful and graceful of creatures. But any baby born to swim has a lot to learn… All over the world there are creatures born to swim, and though humans are not, we seem determined to join them. Perhaps we are envious of their grace. Maybe we are all water babies at heart
In a land of dangers, plant-eating animals are always at risk, and never more so than at the time of their birth out on the open they are vulnerable and there are few places to hide. But luckily some are born to run …
Baby animals beguile with their innocent charm. But while some remain harmless, others have a deep-rooted instinct. It may take weeks or months of training to hone their skills. Their landscapes and lifestyles maybe very different, but these babies are born to hunt.
On July 23rd, 2012, a massive eruption on the sun hurls a colossal cloud of solar matter into space. It's the most severe sunstorm in 150 years. Fortunately, the Earth is not in the direct path of this solar ejection. But it's only a matter of time before a violent solar storm hits us. When these clouds of charged matter reach our planet, they can wreak havoc in electrical systems.
On February 15th, 2013, out of the blue, a meteorite exploded in the earth's atmosphere above the Russian region of Chelyabinsk. The event is a reminder of the ever-present 'Meteor Menace' and the need to understand more about these missiles from outer space.
Europe has experienced catastrophic earthquakes – even though the 'old continent' is not the most notorious region on Earth for strong quakes, the danger from below is very real. Autumn 2016 tragedy strikes north-central Italy. A series of four earthquakes cracks a mountain and flattens a historic town.
ALMA – the Atacama Large Millimeter Array – is the ultimate space observation facility. Here, 66 leviathan parabolic antennae trap cosmic rays in the previously unobservable long-wave range. It can only happen in Atacama, far away from civilisation's pollution of the night sky with artificial light.
Cape Verde – the islands of Saudade, of longing. For Stéphane and Richard it was a journey full of adventure, unforgettable encounters and magnificent photographs. Director Christian Schidlowski and his team accompanied them on their trip. (S1 E05)
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