Free documentary movie screening at the Grand Cinema

Jen Willey from Annie Wright Schools asked me to share details about an upcoming free screening of the documentary Ikkatsu: The Roadless Coast, at the Grand Cinema on Wednesday, February 20, at 7:00 pm.  This is a great opportunity for students and the public.

Ikkatsu documents the journey of three professional kayakers as they survey the debris on the Washington coastline from the Japanese tsunamis of 2011. 

Tickets are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis on the night of the film. 

A question-and-answer session with the producers will follow.

The documentary is part of the Ikkatsu Project, dedicated to exploration, education and advocacy in the service of the ocean. The kayakers, Ken Campbell, Jason Goldstein and Steve Weileman, traveled with a team of scientists to the Olympic Peninsula in the summer of 2012 to explore wild shoreline to bring back data. 

An estimated 1.5 million tons of debris washed into the Pacific as the waters receded from the tsunamis.

Annie Wright teachers David Gardner and John Hunt collaborated with Campbell to create an experiential, cross-curricular study for Annie Wright Middle School students. The program launched with a screening of the film at school and moves on to incorporate almost all areas of the curriculum for sixth graders, including a field study this spring in which they travel to the Olympic Peninsula to survey and catalogue debris.

"Not only does the study of ocean currents and the way that marine debris is distributed provide students with a greater understanding of the way their planet works, but also it illustrates the central truth of oceans: we are all connected,” said Campbell, who will be traveling with the students. “The vast expanse of the ocean isn't something that separates us; it is what joins us together."

The project will tie in directly with nearly all of the sixth graders’ core subjects. Students will use their analysis of data for both statistical studies in math and for their science fair projects on the Earth’s water supply. Students will also read a novel with a thematic connection to their journey in English and learn about Japanese history and culture in World Studies.

"When this experience comes to an end for these students, it is my hope that, for some of them, it is not the end at all, but rather the beginning,” said Campbell. “This will be a special opportunity for each of them to learn about their planet, their society and themselves.”