*Official Selection International Wildlife Film Festival 2018*
*Part of UNC-TV's REEL SOUTH online Summer Shorts series, 2017*
*Silver Medal for Individual Multimedia Story or Essay, College Photographer of the Year 2016*
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Bobby Jack Smith won't tell you what his age is, but he will tell you how he met organic farmer Kelley Penn at a local beekeeper meeting in Sylva, North Carolina, and decided to help her in her efforts to start keeping her own hives. Years later, the two are inseparable; they meet up most days to capture swarms, work on projects, and drink a few beers along the way. Although they don't always see eye to eye, this unlikely pair is bound by their mutual admiration for bees and a concern for their future populations.
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This video was created during the annual 2016 Carolina Photojournalism Workshop. Each year a group of multimedia students from the University of North Carolina travel to a unique part of the state with a group of professional coaches to produce a documentary website in a week. To view 2016's full collection of work visit the Mountain Lore website.
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Produced, Filmed & Edited by : Michelle Lotker
Banana production is both a blessing and a threat to Bocas del Toro. It once built the region’s infrastructure, and continues to provide steady employment for the people. However, the lack of genetic diversity in banana plants creates a reliance on fungicides that, along with sediment runoff, negatively affect marine ecosystems. A new resistant fungus is affecting global banana production but has yet to reach the Western Hemisphere.
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View the whole project at http://undercurrent360.com/
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Produced, Filmed & Edited by : Michelle Lotker & Casey Toth