Geogr3: Geography documentaries on Haiti earthquake, Happiness Index and Chernobyl

Hello and welcome to this month’s edition of the Geogra3!  I’m sharing three documentaries to help bring geography to life in your classroom, including the Haiti earthquake, why Finland and Denmark are the happiest countries in the world and what is it like inside Chernobyl.

1. Deadly Disasters - Earthquakes: Haiti

This video covers 3 major earthquakes but I’ve chosen to focus on the first 25 minutes as it recounts the Haiti earthquake.  The programme explores the impacts of the earthquake using survivor testimony and considers the vulnerability of the country in terms of exposure to natural hazards, compounded by poverty.  I found the video especially useful when helping students to understand the issues of building construction and also what went wrong with international aid efforts.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX27l9p7-qQ ( 25 mins)

2. Why Finland and Denmark are happier than the US

This programme questions what it means to be happy and explores the idea that the Nordic countries have it all figured out!   Finland and Denmark have consistently topped the United Nations’ most prestigious index, The World Happiness Report, in all six areas of life satisfaction: income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity.

Each year, a group of happiness experts from around the globe rank 156 countries based on how “happy” citizens are, and they publish their findings in the World Happiness Report. Happiness might seem like an elusive concept to quantify, but there is a science to it.

When researchers talk about “happiness,” they’re referring to “satisfaction with the way one’s life is going,” Jeff Sachs, co-creator of the World Happiness Report and a professor at Columbia University, tells CNBC Make It.

“It’s not primarily a measure of whether one laughed or smiled yesterday, but how one feels about the course of one’s life,” he says.

A useful video when considering quality of life measures and sustainability, as well as ultimately what it means to be a developed country.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pm0Mn0-jYU (25 mins)

3. Inside Chernobyl

Ben Fogle explores the Exclusion Zone, including Pripyat and the power plant itself.  He is confronted with the eerie remains of a fully functional city and gains access to control room 4 as well as the confinement dome of reactor 4.  It’s an interesting look at how a no-go area is perceived by those who were made to evacuate and those who are seeking thrills in an era of social media.  As well as documenting what happened we also see how wildlife is establishing itself in the Zone.

Video link: https://www.documentaryarea.com/video/Inside+Chernobyl+with+Ben+Fogle/ (approx 1 hour)

To make your life easier, I've created question and answer sheets linked to each of these documentaries. You can find them in the Geography Teacher Box vault, along with a growing library of other documentary resources, which is added to every month. 

Here's an idea of what geography documentary resources you can get hold of now:

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