These are six short segments on gardening and the natural world. They feature children, they could be watched with children, and the language is at a sixth grade level, and they are hosted by a comic (Zach Galifianakis) so they aim to not just educate but to also entertain.
Each episode opens with intentionally silly interviews with elementary aged children, and after that, Galifianakis marches off to meet an expert. This is where the meat of the gardening information happens. He visits a sun-dappled tomato farm and learns about the types of tomatoes that are most likely to survive the climate crisis. He goes to an apple orchard and learns about how to grow and nurture apples. He meets a composting expert, who is filled with such joy about her job that it’s hard not to hang on her every word.
There is a lot of How To and Why here, but hidden in plain sight is the warning. Time and time again, Galifianakis states that “the future is agrarian”, because humankind cannot possibly maintain its unsustainable march of consumption unless it learns to grow its own food. It’s clearly a cause he passionately believes in, but he knows how to force you to listen. You show them how much fun it is, and how rewarding it can be to eat things that you grew yourself. And he is not aiming it at adults--he is seducing the kids.
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