(RADIO STATIC)
-Snip! (LAUGHS) -(BIRDS CHIRPING)
And one more snip. I love backyards, don't you?
-(BEES BUZZING) -(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: You know, there's something that's just so satisfying, I think,
about everything being in its perfect little place.
Every inch meticulously manicured.
You could say that we are, uh, we're hooked on backyards.
(RADIO STATIC)
From the palatial to the puny.
From the whimsical to the wonderful.
-(ENERGETIC MUSIC PLAYING) -(MACHINES WHIRRING)
JEFF: So many of us seem to be
just obsessed with our backyards.
You know, if you're lucky enough to have anything,
you may think of it as your little kingdom and,
you know, you'll make it just the way you want it.
(DOG WHINES)
JEFF: In fact, listen to this,
we Americans spend nearly 48 billion dollars a year
perfecting and refining our little patches of green.
So, it's unmistakable, whatever the shape or size,
we are truly, madly, deeply in love.
-Oh, my petunias. -(BIRDS CHIRPING)
Here's an important question, hey, what do they say about us?
JEFF: And why might it be so important
for us to carve out our own little paradise?
-Wherever we are. -(EAGLE CAWING)
JEFF: Oh, yeah, that... that wasn't my real backyard.
I've actually got a... a bunch of nice neighbors.
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
-(BEES BUZZING) -(BIRDS CHIRPING)
JEFF: Before we dig into backyards, hey, I... I should make a bit of a confession.
I've really never planted much of anything and, in fact, when I moved to New York,
uh... I think I got a house plant, cause that was popular back then.
This was 1970. And I forgot to water it.
Uh... Pretty soon it was gone.
JEFF: You know, gardening has never been my strong suit,
but I know that it holds a fervent fascination for a whole lot of people.
I wanna know why so many of us go overboard in our backyards?
(ADVENTUROUS MUSIC PLAYING)
I'm at a particular backyard.
I happen to know, there's a pirate theme.
JEFF: Look, they've got a greeting committee.
Quite buccaneer inspired, I think.
Uh-oh, what happened to these guys? Uh, death by swashbuckling.
-(SEAGULLS CAWING) -JEFF: Oh, my golly...
do you see what I see? Am I dreaming?
They got a big ship in their backyard.
Okay, I think I got a question or two.
-Fuzzy, who do you have there? -We have a new recruit, Captain.
(BELL TOLLING)
JEFF: By day, the owner of this backyard, Rich Firato...
Ooh, watch where you're pointing that blunderbuss, Rich.
Uh, he runs a local sanitation company...
but in his spare time, he and his equally fixated and haunted shipmates
play pirates
-in this 16th-century playground... -(SNORING)
...complete with its Spanish galleon showpiece.
(SEAGULLS SQUAWKING)
Okay, so what originally got you involved with this passion for pirates?
We moved into this property 21 years ago...
-Wow! -...we were remodeling the kitchen,
and there was a guy with a sledgehammer, long ponytail, earring...
-Yes. -...tooth around his necklace...
-Yes. -...and he said... (GROANS)
"I've got an idea for your yard." And so the next day we started.
We've just gotten into it and... and... (INHALES) ...it's a lot of fun.
JEFF: Well, you know it's obviously a labor of love.
But, what Rich is doing really, is nothing new.
The ancient Chinese are believed to have been the first to wall in nature
so that the elite could hunt.
(CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
And in medieval Europe, privileged French and Italians
designed ornate spectacles in order to show off their mastery over nature.
(MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING)
But it wasn't till the American suburban boom in the 1950s
that just ordinary folk got their own Kelly green and avocado-colored spaces.
The front yard emerged
as a place to present our so-called "best selves" to our neighbors
and the backyard became the playfield
on which our true personalities could run free.
RICH: Let's teach this guy how to shoot a gun.
KEVIN: I want to see if he can do the gunner.
RICH: All right.
JEFF: Jeez! You know that expression, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em?"
RICH: Hit the valve quick. JEFF: Okay, Captain.
JEFF: Was he like that in high school, too, with you guys?
Yeah, you know, quarterback, you know...
-He was the quarterback in school? -Well, look at him. Of course.
Ready? Here we go.
Whoo!
Oh, yeah!
(CHUCKLES)
JEFF: What the heck?
As if that cannonball run wasn't enough, now I gotta face another challenge?
So, Goldblum, you must throw and hit at least one of the axes in these doors.
-Aye. -Goldblum, if you can do it...
-Yes. -...you're gonna become one of us.
That's right.
-(CHANTING) One of us, one of us. -(CHANTING) One of us, one of us.
-Gooble, gobble, gooble, gobble. -Gooble, gobble, gooble, gobble.
-We accept you, we accept you. -One of us... we accept you.
-We accept you. -We accept you. We accept you.
Here I go. I'm gonna try it. Ready?
Zone... and a-kaka!
Let me see, so-sa, so-ga. Yeah, so...
JEFF: Well, I'm not getting the hang of this. I don't wanna walk the plank.
(JAUNTY MUSIC PLAYING)
-I have an idea. Slide this on. -What's this?
-RICH: Wedge your arm through there. -Like this?
What's your best eye, left or right?
I should... I should keep this. I should patch... patch the left side.
-Right, okay. -So, this is protective.
RICH: All right, now hold this in your hand.
-Now close your good eye. -Okay.
But then I'll have... Be absolutely blind when I throw it.
That's correct. You're gonna hit it.
I'm closing my eyes.
(BLOWS) And follow through.
-Do you have to say... (BLOWS) -It would help.
(CHUCKLES)
I got where I'm throwing it, I'm closing my eye.
Oh! You got it!
JEFF: Hey, as if by magic. Look at me, just call me Long John Goldie.
A beautiful pirate.
-(CANNON FIRE) -(JAUNTY MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: You know, there actually is something a little bit magical
about this backyard. I'm telling you.
-Ah, that's a merry tune. -You're a merry guy.
-As are you, Captain. Aye! -Oh!
JEFF: It's a grown-up playpen, in which Rich and his pals
can leave the stresses of daily life way, way behind.
KEVIN: When we're here, we escape.
In our mind, it's the pirates' scene and nothing else.
So everything could be going bad in our life,
but right then and there, it's not terrible,
we're playing our skit, and we're in the skit, and that's it.
What a day. What a day! (ECHOES)
This yard is a menagerie of stimulation.
Every inch is used for... fun and fantasy.
I thought it was, you know, hey, maybe a little goofy or something,
but by the end of it, it brought me closer together to all these folks.
Play is an essential part of being a human being.
And it was a delightful and importantly beautiful experience.
When you got the room, you know,
your backyard can be a place to escape anytime you want.
But as you leave the suburbs and get closer to the cities...
you know, there's a lot less green to be found.
(TRAIN TRACKS RATTLING)
-(BEE BUZZING) -(CARS HONKING IN DISTANCE)
(EPIC MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: So, if you're seeking refuge from the concrete,
luckily, there are places like this.
You can actually see a bee being born right here.
JEFF: Unbelievable.
In the heart of East Oakland is a shared backyard
where a band of musketeering kids are getting their hands dirty.
All for one and one for all.
All for one and one for all. We're the... Hey, hey, careful with that tool.
(MUSIC ENDS)
JEFF: And these inventive youngins, they've got a novel way
of turning even the most mundane jobs into something that's fun.
What's in these balls? That's what I wanna know.
-Compost -Compost?
So basically, we put, uh, like,
vegetable parts in these balls, like the stems and stuff,
so it can be, like, nutrients for the plants.
And basically, how we crush it down is by rolling the balls around.
-GIRL: It's like a relay. -CALEB: Yeah, it's a relay race.
Relay race. All right.
Okay. Well, let the games begin.
FEMALE VOICE: On your marks, get set, go!
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
JEFF: Wait a minute. I don't know if this is exactly a fair fight.
Whoa! It's heavy... heavier than I thought.
These miniature racers might have an edge,
cause they got that low center of gravity.
-(TIRES SCREECHING) -JEFF: Ooh!
Maybe the speed demon can... can get us back in the race.
(KIDS CHEERING)
Hey, he's going too far. He went too far. Where is he going? Where is he going?
Where's he going? Come back. Come back.
Well, at this point, the cat's out of the bag.
I have not exactly been the possessor of a green thumb.
You know, in fact, I've... I've probably killed more plants
than I have nurtured. I'm not proud of it.
This is me getting my hands in the soil, in the earth for the first time.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
JEFF: But who better to teach this late bloomer
than these mini garden wizards.
So this is where the worms are.
The worms help make dirt have more nutrients.
They eat the compost and then they poop it out
and then it's also good for all the other...
-CALEB: Even more for the plants. -...plants
I love that cycle of life. It's a win-win situation.
I just remembered a poem.
"I saw a little worm one day, a-walkin' on the ground.
"I picked him up, he looked at me and then I put him down."
(CRICKET CHIRPING)
What do you think of that poem?
CHILD: Uh, kinda boring. (CHUCKLES)
Really? I thought it was short and... and profound.
I think I've just been put in my place.
I think he cut me to down to size, a peg or two.
It may be the children of the corn who rule the roost in this collective.
But the idea was planted by a local mom.
How did this all come about?
I wanted to figure out a way to,
have kids invest in themselves, you know, like,
regardless of where they came from. So I started Acta Non Verba.
-Acta Non Verba... -Yes.
...which means "Deeds, not words."
The USDA uses the phrase "Food desert,"
meaning that there's not fresh good food readily available
to communities like East Oakland, where we are now.
And you, uh, rectify it.
We work towards rectifying it
by bringing, like, real actual practical knowledge
to our babies to take care of themselves.
That's so beautiful.
What's your favorite thing that you've ever eaten, that you yourself grew here?
I think it would be our tomatoes
because the tomatoes just tasted way better when you make it yourself.
Do they? I'll bet they do. Why is that? It's just fresher and...
No, it's like you just, like, kinda feel proud...
that, like... That you're eating what you made.
I never ate anything, I just look for slugs.
(CHUCKLES)
JEFF: Well, whatever the motivation for digging around in the dirt,
this is an endeavor that nourishes not only the kids,
but the whole neighborhood.
So when I moved here, it was just a park
and all of a sudden this garden of Eden...
-(KELLY CHUCKLES) -...came in the middle of East Oakland.
CHEF TU: This is more than just a garden,
it's allowing these kids to touch soil, to eat good food,
to feel human.
We're Oaklanders and we do this together.
JEFF: Indeed. All for one and one for all.
What we're standing in right now is a beautiful oasis,
that has provided a... you know, water in the middle of a dry desert.
You know, in this case, food and fruit, and vegetables.
There's dirt under my nails. It feels good.
The earth and nature, will connect us to each other
and it nourishes our inner essence and important parts that make us human.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(INSPIRING MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: Welcome to America's backyard.
Ah!
It feels so good, to be wandering through the wilderness.
The whisper of the wind through my hair.
The sun kissing my golden skin.
I tell you, I haven't done this for years.
The woods in Pennsylvania can be wonderful, wonderful, thick.
When I was a kid, my friend Bobby D and I
used to tramp around the woods. Oh, we had a great time.
There's something about these trees that is medicinal.
It's enriching, it's exhilarating, it's enchanting.
It's phantasmagorically transmogrifying.
Hi, Jeff.
Huh, what?
-ANTHONY: Hey, Jeff. -Thanks for coming to join us.
Yes, I was pretending not to see you
and now we can introduce Wendy and Anthony.
This dynamic duo are in fact forest scientists
and they spend much of their working days
perched way on top of these leafy, leafy canopies.
Ooh, what an office.
Come on. Let's get right into the meat. What are you doing exactly?
We are doing a study, looking at the...
effects of drought and fire and understanding...
-Whoa! (LAUGHS) -Oh, my God. Did you see that?
-JEFF: That was good. -(LAUGHS)
That's in the cut, note to editor.
-Include that. -No... Note to editor.
JEFF: That's actually very exciting!
ANTHONY: We're trying to understand where the trees are getting their water
and how does that influence their vulnerability to drought.
Would you like to help us collect some samples?
Well, sure, what do I get? You... you get something,
you'll toss it down to me?
-No, I think you should come with us. -No, you're gonna come up there with us.
I've never climbed a tree before like this.
My knees are turning to jelly, but my belly's excited.
For somebody with a well-developed, let's call it "respect" for heights...
Uh... I don't think this is gonna be a walk in the park.
-JEFF: Right, right. okay. Up we go. -ANTHONY: Good. Feet up against the trunk.
Up we go. (GROANS) Okay, here we go. Come on tree, thank you. Thank you.
-Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. -ANTHONY: Little bit further.
-JEFF: Little bit further? Okay. -All right.
-(JEFF GROANS) -ANTHONY: You're doing great, Jeff.
Oh, this is fun. I like it.
I just looked down for the first time. My golly!
(ALL LAUGHING)
ANTHONY: You can stop there if you want.
-JEFF: Oh, really? -Yeah, we can get our sample here, so...
JEFF: We're kind of there? We can get it there?
It is... a thing of beauty. And this is a living being.
Yeah, I mean they're like, the pinnacle of what a plant can be.
Connections underground with all the other trees
-and all the other plants around here. -Yes.
-(BIRDS CHIRPING) -(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
JEFF: And this connection that he's talking about
is more similar to how we humans operate than we can imagine.
You know, they might look like solitary giants,
but underground these trees are communicating
through a network of fungi at their roots. It's fondly known as the wood wide web.
(MODEM CONNECTING NOISE)
In times of need, these green tremendous titans lend a helping hand,
or should I say helping branch, to one another.
When there's a drought, they'll point to water sources.
When the soil is poor, they'll share nutrients.
Some older trees, listen to this, will even relinquish their own resources
to supply much-needed food to nearby saplings.
And because we humans depend so much on this precious ecosystem,
we should really be paying close attention to these trees,
I'd say now more than ever.
-WENDY: Do you wanna collect the sample? -JEFF: Oh, my golly. Okay.
WENDY: So basically, you just twist it into the tree.
-Oh, like a corkscrew, like a wine opener. -Exactly.
-ANTHONY: Exactly. -JEFF: Yes.
(TREE BARK CREAKING)
Oh, listen to that, I like that sound. Okay, so... (GROANS)
WENDY: I think we're in far enough.
-JEFF: Really? -Yeah. Wendy's got the tube ready.
-WENDY: Yeah. -Yup!
And I'm gonna pull this out.
-JEFF: There it is... That's the sample. -WENDY: There it is.
-JEFF: Are you trusting me... Now, Oh! -WENDY: Of course, yeah.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
JEFF: This little sample of water, should help Wendy and Anthony
preserve these miraculous trees for the future.
-(BIRDS CHIRPING) -(LIGHT MUSIC PLAYING)
At the end of this, um... little picture, what can we say?
We're stewards. We have a responsibility
to take care of our natural backyard.
So, that we can hand it on to those who come after us.
If there's one thing that I've realized,
it's that our connection to nature has of course been there
since the origin of our species
and that one place for me to cultivate and reconnect with these primordial roots
is, well, just outside my own back door.
There's no place like home. There's no place like home.
-JEFF: You wanna plant these? -Yeah.
'Cause I know how to do it. I'm making that line.
This is where the seeds are gonna go.
-Who wants to plant the first seed? -Me.
Okay.
I may have started out
underestimating the importance of backyards,
but my adventures through verdant emerald-colored landscapes
have truly opened these hazel-colored peepers.
-Whether we use 'em to relax... -(BEES BUZZING)
...or to escape from the strains of our busy lives...
(BELL TOLLING)
...backyards can become a place to feed our bodies, as well as our minds.
The most important thing is that
we should never take our priceless green spaces for granted.
And you know, it may seem sometimes like the whole lovely blue and green planet
that we live on is overwhelming.
But, you know, if you start in your own backyard and you say,
"This is what I'm gonna do with my little spot,"
if you got one, that's pretty good.
What I now understand is that the health and the wealth
of our great planet is, well, it's on us.
We really do reap what we sow.