Recent studies found that more than 75% of insects have disappeared during the last 30 years in Europe (Vogel, 20181). As they constitute more than 60% of all known animal species, they are an integral part of ecosystems both as pollinators and prey for other animals. This is alarming knowing that it is thanks to insects that our kitchens are full of fruits, vegetables and almost all our food. Indeed, insects have been pollinating year after year the plants that we eat, granting successful harvests and abundance of food. Hence, the dramatically decreasing numbers will have a large impact on human society in the medium to long run.
In this context, future generations are particularly concerned about insects’ disappearance. For this reason, the Interreg project YOUrALPS aimed at raising Alpine youth awareness on the issue. This led to the creation of “The Insect Effect”, a video on the long-term impact of biodiversity loss – and more specifically, the dramatic plunge in insect numbers.
This short film was created and recorded by and with young people from Berchtesgaden National Park (DE). Eleven German kids had the opportunity to spend 4 days training with a professional video maker and an environmental expert to produce the following video:
[1] Vogel Gretchen, “Germany’s insects are disappearing”, in Science, Oct. 18, 2017, https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/10/germany-s-insects-are-disappearing accessed 23-09-2019