Join the Sustainability Institute at Penn State for its spring 2023 lineup of the Intersections film series, integrating stories of community resilience in the face of sustainability challenges around the theme of “Building Better Bonds.”

On March 22 at 7 p.m., we will be screening online A River Reborn and two other short films about watershed protection and restoration. Managing our water supply is one of the most critical sustainability challenges facing the globe and Pennsylvania and too often the stories we hear are ones of gloom and doom. But in these uplifting films, we see hope for positive change in cleaning up rivers affected by acid mine drainage and other pollutants and bringing communities together to reimagine our relationship with water. Featuring a post-film discussion moderated by the Penn State Water Council featuring experts from across Penn State discussing the management of our waterways and how to take advantage of major opportunities to fund new infrastructure projects.

All films in the series are free and open to all students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members. All events will be streamed online to allow participation from all Penn State campuses and neighboring communities and alumni. Pre-registration for all events is required and can be completed at the Intersections website.

About Intersections

Created in 2019, the Intersections film series builds community at Penn State across disciplines and campuses while highlighting the ways sustainability issues intersect with each other. To date, the series has exposed over 5,500 Penn Staters and community members to complex issues ranging from the intersections between environmental justice, housing and climate change to the ways in which immigration policies affect women’s rights and workers’ rights.

All the films in the series illustrate aspects of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a series of 17 goals agreed to by more than 190 nations in 2015 to try to create a sustainable future for all by 2030. The goals confront issues of social and economic justice in addition to environmental protection and form the basis of how Penn State defines its approach to sustainability.

Post-film discussions focus on finding solutions to problems and connecting Penn Staters to resources and opportunities to get involved, both on and off campus.

The series is co-presented by WPSU with significant programming support from the Center for Global Workers’ Rights and Penn State Water Consortium.