It’s always Earth Day at National Geographic Channel, but throughout April, which also doubles as Earth Month, Nat Geo and its Disney-owned siblings have been showcasing plenty of natural history and climate-focused programming. 

Ahead of Earth Day, April 22, Nat Geo teamed with country artist Andy Grammer to create a new music video, “Jump,” around the natural history brand’s ourHome campaign. The video features Grammer and his band as well as penguins, elephants, bears, octopuses (octopi?), hyenas, chimpanzees and many more of the world’s creatures. Nat Geo talent such as Bertie Gregory, Alex Honnold, Jeff Jenkins, Albert Lin, Cesar Millan, Erin Ranney, and Mariana van Zeller also appear in the video.

But Nat Geo isn’t the only channel to get into the act. Comcast’s Black Experience on Xfinity and its free TV streaming service Xumo Play premiered documentary film Bad River on April 22. 

The film, which is narrated by indigenous activist Quannah ChasingHorse and actor Ed Norton, follows the Wisconsin-based Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa as the tribe seeks sovereignty and the ability to keep Lake Superior clean. Lake Superior is part of the Great Lakes, which represent 20% of the world’s fresh water supply, according to Nat Geo. The lake currently has an aging oil pipeline running through it that the Bad River Band has sued to have removed. 

“This story is about a small group of people, who, with monumental effort and at great personal cost, have been and continue to protect one of the world’s most precious resources, Lake Superior,” said writer and director Mary Mazzio in a statement. “If this project prompts us into doing more for each other instead of just for ourselves, wouldn’t that be something…”

“We gotta protect our water – to die for it if we have to,” says tribal elder Eldred Corbine in the trailer. 

‍Bad River is executive produced by Allison Abner (Narcos); NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill; Grammy-nominated singer Tamia; Mato Wayuhi (Reservation Dogs), who wrote several hip-hop tracks for the film; and Grammy-winning producer Shep Crawford (producer/writer for Whitney Houston, Tamia, Boyz II Men), who wrote and produced the original score. Taylor Hensel (Reservation Dogs, Reciprocity Project) worked on both the story and strategy for the project. Alec Sokolow (Toy Story) worked closely with Abner and Mazzio on all aspects of the narrative. Bad River students created original artwork for the animation team at Santiago, Chile-based studio PunkRobot. ChasingHorse also serves as executive producer.

The film also is available to watch on Comcast-owned streaming service Xumo Play.

Apple TV Plus offered eight hours of “Earthsounds” in honor of the day, including such rarely heard sounds as underwater walrus calls, infrasound elephant rumbles and a cacophony of tree frogs, among others. The sounds and accompanying footage comes from Apple TV Plus’ new nature documentary of the same title narrated by Tom Hiddleston (Loki, Marvel’s Avengers). 

Apple snuck in a sly callout to fans of its workplace series, Severance, with a caption on the YouTube video that reads: “Your Innie works so hard. So your Innie has earned an all-day visit to Lumon's Wellness Center.” Season two of Severance is in production but no debut date has been set.

In the UK, the BBC turned over an episode of Planet Earth III to kids in support of its long-running charity BBC Children in Need with some 50 kids aged 9 to 13 taking over narration duties from Sir David Attenborough.

“Welcome to a very special episode of Planet Earth III, narrated by schoolchildren from all over the UK,” the kids say in the above video. “Because you don’t have to be Sir David Attenborough to become a voice for nature.”

In addition, BBC Children in Need staged a live online assembly on Earth Day with the makers of Planet Earth III that was hosted by wildlife biologist, explorer and presenter Lizzie Daly. BBC Children in Need also created resource packs ahead of the assembly, providing kids with fun and educational activities around the natural world. The packs are available to download from the BBC Children in Need website.

The episode is available to watch on YouTube and iPlayer and will air on BBC One on May 6. Viewers can learn more about how to become a “voice for nature” on the BBC’s Our Planet Now page.

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