Water Connects Milwaukee - documentary film and discussion guide

Water Connects Milwaukee is a four-part documentary designed to encourage discussion and action toward a more sustainable future. It originated as part of a larger research project seeking to understand how people interpret vulnerability to water pollution, the impacts of efforts to clean up local waterways, and visions for how to improve equity in urban environments.

The documentary centers on a water remediation project in Lincoln Park, a public park on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through interviews with a variety of stakeholders – including residents, government officials, and employees of non-governmental organizations – the film explores issues related to economic revitalization and gentrification, access to green space, and community participation in environmental improvement projects.

The documentary runs a total of 33 minutes and is divided into four short segments to provide audiences with the opportunity to respond and discuss.
Part 1. Milwaukee OverviewPart 2. Community PerspectivesPart 3. Lincoln Park Clean UpPart 4. Environmentalism and Racial Justice
This documentary is based on a form of participatory research called the Community Voice Method (CVM; Cumming & Norwood 2012). CVM is a video-based method that focuses on creating inclusive and community-focused public participation to improve sustainability planning. The goal of this film is not to provide answers or solutions to the environmental challenges facing communities, but to encourage productive dialogue and broad public participation. We hope that by bringing together a small but diverse range of voices, Water Connects Milwaukee will help to inspire positive community action towards creating a healthy, sustainable, and accessible environment for all.
In association with the documentary, we have also published: Water Connects Milwaukee – A Discussion Guide. This guide was designed with a variety of audiences in mind, including educators, community groups, and environmental organizations. Each of the four modules includes a brief summary of the documentary segment, discussion questions for before and after viewing, and activities. The questions and activities require varying levels of knowledge and experience to allow users to choose the material most suitable for their purpose.
The #waterconnectsmke hashtag can be used to connect to the film, other users, and the filmmakers online.

Note to educators: This guide has been designed to meet Wisconsin educational standards on environmental literacy and sustainability for middle and high school students (Briggs et al. 2018). See performance indicators associated with standards codes ELS.C1.B, ELS.EX3.A, ELS.EN6.B, and ELS.ENS.B.References:
Briggs, Sheila J., Rebecca Vail, John Johnson and Victoria Rydberg. 2018. Wisconsin Standards for Environmental Literacy & Sustainability. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/standards/New pdfs/Wisconsin_Standards_for_Environmental_Literacy_and_Sustainability_2018.pdf).

Cumming, Gabriel and Carla Norwood. 2012. “The Community Voice Method: Using Participatory Research and Filmmaking to Foster Dialog About Changing Landscapes.” Landscape and Urban Planning 105(4):434-44.