(Satellite Location: East Erie) "Lake Erie, Our Kin" – Conserving our Greatest Asset
"Lake Erie, Our Kin" – Conserving our Greatest Asset
"Lake Erie, Our Kin" is a two-part WQLN/PBS Chronicles documentary by local filmmakers John Lyons and Melissa Troutman. The films explore the delicate balance and interdependency of living things in and around Lake Erie and the vital importance of fresh water in all of our lives.
In part 1, the historical, ecological, and spiritual relationships among the native peoples and Lake Erie are examined. To protect this fragile relationship, the Iroquois Nation created unwritten laws that respected the Lake as a fellow living being. Fifty years ago, Lake Erie was considered a dead lake! Industries carelessly polluted the land, air, and water with no concern for the long-term consequences. Environmental protection groups and agencies formed in the 1970s to bring the Lake and its diversity of plants and animals back to life. The Lake was revitalized! However, though the water looks much cleaner today, the threats to Lake Erie are less obvious and more complicated.
In Part 2, the documentary examines the current local and global threats to the health of Lake Erie and the millions of people whose lives depend on it. Microplastics, global trade, invasive plant and animal species, confined livestock operations, fertilizers, and other groundwater runoff contaminants continue to pollute the Lake. New social and political networks are forming to protect Lake Erie and respect it as a living creature and interdependent partner in our city's future as well as the future of the planet.
Location: Erie Center for Arts & Technology (ECAT)—650 East Ave. Suite 120, Erie, PA 16503.
Date/Time: Thursday, September 7 @ 7 p.m.
Admission: FREE
Parking: lot at 7th street entrance, 7th street street parking
John C. Lyons, B.S., collaborated with filmmaker and journalist Melissa A. Troutman on "Lake Erie, Our Kin" (2023), a 2-part documentary for PBS.
Lyons has collaborated with other creatives and worked on his own to direct and produce various features and short films in Erie such as “#OurErie” (2017). In addition to working full-time as the IT Service Desk Manager for Edinboro University, where he obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and Mathematics, he served as the Executive Director of the non-profit Film Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania for its first 9 years, where he now continues to serve as Director of Programming -- all feeding into the overarching goal to build a new, inclusive industry in the Erie region. John is a teaching artist for Erie Arts & Culture and Erie Center for Arts & Technology, a member of the Green New Deal Coalition, and a member of Erie Philharmonic's board of governors. He is also the Festival Director for the Eerie Horror Fest (2021-).
Melissa A. Troutman is a writer, director, documentary film producer, and vocal artist from Potter County, Pennsylvania, the ancestral lands of the Susquehannock and Haudenosaunee. In 2011, she co-founded the investigative news nonprofit Public Herald to publish truths that other media would not, and after that she co-directed and -produced three documentary films. All three feature narration by Emmy-award winning actor and friend Mark Ruffalo, who is also Executive Producer of her latest work – INVISIBLE HAND – about the Rights of Nature movement.
Russ Taylor is a retired educator. He taught Special Education, World History and Advanced Placement Psychology in the City of Erie for thirty-seven years. After retiring from teaching, he formed the LLC, Teaching and Edutainment Consulting Services to pursue educational media projects in the public interest. As the current chairperson of the Erie area organization, Our Water, Our Air, Our Rights (OWOAOR), he has been planning and organizing events to increase public awareness and action on environmental issues affecting the living things in and around Lake Erie. Public screenings of the documentary, “Lake Erie, Our Kin”, present a great opportunity to educate and activate our community to act locally to combat pollution and the effects of climate change.
Jenny Tompkins, B.A. is PennFuture’s Campaign Manager for Clean Water Advocacy. She leads the Our Water, Our Future campaign, focused on implementing sound policy solutions to improve water quality and ensure the health of communities in the Pennsylvania Lake Erie Watershed. She earned her B.A. in Environmental Studies at Allegheny College. Prior to joining PennFuture, she served as a professional grant writer and community trauma reduction advocate. Most recently, she held the position of Crawford County Assistant Planning Director for Community Development. Fortunate enough to grow up on the Finger Lakes in Central New York, Jenny developed an appreciation for freshwater ecosystems at an early age.
