- [Stephfond] Tonight on "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories," when the pandemic first hit, nature seized the moment.

Wolves moved differently.

Birds sounded different.

These findings were recorded in a Canadian nature documentary, and we'll share 'em with you.

And thought you've seen it all with winter sports, did ya?

Not if you haven't seen kite skiing.

Join us as we take you on an adventure with us.

Also, it's still comfort food season.

Discover a few stir fry recipes that you will adore.

Your stories, your region, coming up right now on "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories."

(uplifting music) - [Announcer] "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories" is brought to you by the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation, the Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center, CSX, the Oswego County Community Foundation at the Central New York Community Foundation, and by the Richard S. Shineman Foundation.

- Good Tuesday evening, everyone.

Welcome to this edition of "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories."

I'm Stephfond Brunson.

When COVID struck, the world reacted with lockdowns and restrictions, and while this period may have been frustrating and difficult for many, a recent documentary shows it was likely a boon for animals and the environment.

Peder Myhr of "Inside the Story: CHCH" has more on "Nature's Big Year."

(soft music) (birds chirp) - [Peder] Spring 2020 was, for many, a shock to the system, the regular day to day and hustle and bustle of life put on hold as the world reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But while people put their lives on pause, not all was quiet throughout the world.

(goats bleat) (muffled chatter) (seal huffs) - Early in the pandemic, probably about a month into the pandemic, there were these little social media snippets and clips on TV about dolphins appear in the canals of Venice without cruise ships, and animals retake the streets around the world.

So that got me curious.

- [Peder] Toronto-based filmmaker Christine Nielson embarked upon a globe-trotting journey to discover if the anecdotes online were accurate in the real world.

Had wildlife adapted in real time to the pandemic by retaking the habitats humans were retreating from?

Her new film, "Nature's Big Year," premiered recently on the nature of things and answered her question with a resounding yes.

(birds squawk) - I was shocked and completely amazed at how many species changed their habitat use during the pandemic.

(vehicles rumble) - So the lockdown was a very unexpected controlled experiment.

- What happens when you put the world on pause and nature reboots?

(dramatic music) - I was absolutely floored by our results.

- Scientists were using terms like shocked, amazed, floored by these results because everybody intuitively knows that animals will respond in some way to changes in human behavior, but for virtually all of our scientists, it was the overnight change, the dramatic speedy change that was a really, really big surprise.

- [Peder] In Juno Beach, Florida, lockdown saw endangered loggerhead turtles nest at record rates in areas usually trampled on by people.

In the UK, a sharp drop in traffic during the pandemic prompted a spike in the threatened hedgehog population, often only seen by the public as roadkill.

Coyote and white-tailed deer expanded their territory in Alberta's Bighorn Backcountry, and wolves even shifted their activity from night to day.

(birds chirp) (soft contemplative music) And for those that may have noticed the sounds of nature seeming a bit more noisy during lockdown, it may not have been from boredom-fueled imagination.

- [Woman] Okay, so let's hear what he's doing during lockdown.

(birds chirp) Shh.

(birds chirp) Shh.

Very close together, those two.

(animal groans) (birds chirp) Shh.

Again, blackbird in lockdown, you notice that his songs were shorter, and they were closer together, and they were coming on top of each other.

- While wildlife was able to thrive during conditions set by lockdowns, a new study shows emissions also dropped worldwide and, with it, some unexpected, even troubling results.

Carbon dioxide emissions fell by 5.6% in 2020, yet a new study by the World Meteorological society shows that impact barely registered as a blip in the course of the planet's ongoing warming.

Scientists say the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere actually continued to grow at about the same rate as in preceding years, a surprise to many experts because another drops in emissions, like what was seen in the 1973 world oil shortage, scientists could immediately see a change in the growth rate of CO2.

Scientists believe that continued growth of climate warming gases in the atmosphere, despite the drop in emissions, may be directly linked to the speed at which the world is now warming.

Around half of the emissions that come from human activity are absorbed by trees, lands, and oceans, but their absorbing ability is dependent on temperatures, rainfall, and other factors, global warming slowing or halting their ability to suck up greenhouse gases, a self-reinforcing cycle that scientists worry could be speeding up.

But instead of saying it's too late to do anything to curb the climate crisis, the study concluded that to make real change, we need to reduce emissions in longer, more concrete lengths and that the impacts of deforestation may be much more severe than previously thought.

- The elephant in the room, the biggest story of the era, maybe the biggest story ever, climate change and what's happening, my hope is that the type of information that this film reveals and that many other filmmakers and journalists and scientists are trying to get out there, I hope we take that on board (laughs) and make some of the changes we're gonna need to make.

- [Peder] And even though we may have already reverted back to some bad habits, top scientists and activists agree that not only what we've learned from the pandemic but the way we responded to it gives a glimmer of hope.

Speaking to David Suzuki last year, the iconic Canadian conservationist said COVID-19 is perhaps the wake-up call humanity has needed.

What we're going through right now with the pandemic, do you think that can help the cause?

- Yes, I think so.

First of all, it's given Mother Earth a bit of a breather, although China is cranking it right back up now, but it gave us pause to start thinking about things.

I hate this business about this is a new normal because what was pre-COVID was not normal.

What COVID did was it brought us all together.

You have a major crisis.

Everybody is in it together.

- [Peder] Peder Myhr for "Inside the Story."

(soft music) - Sometimes there's snow, and sometimes there's not.

It's that time of the year where Mother Nature plays with us temperature wise, but one thing's for sure.

It's still comfort food season.

Tonight, we warm you with two tasty recipes from One World Kitchen chef Pailin Chongchitnan.

It's Thai stir fry, and you don't wanna miss this.

(soft music) (muffled chatter) (bright upbeat music) - Rice is the central part of a Thai meal, and Thais love Jasmine rice.

You ask me, best rice in the world 'cause it smells like Jasmine flowers, and Thais also love stir fries.

And if you're coming home on a Tuesday night and it's late, there's nothing faster to make, so much so that I'm making two, shrimp and tofu.

First, tofu, and this is medium firm, and I'm gonna fry it until it's nice and golden brown.

(tofu sizzles) Tofu's done, and you know what?

Stir fries are so much fun to cook 'cause everything just happens so fast.

Next, veggies.

Always start a Thai stir fry with lots of garlic.

(garlic sizzles) This is gonna go fast, so all my veggies all at once.

(veggies sizzle) Sauces, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and, of course, fish sauce.

Balance all that salt, a little bit of palm sugar.

I got bean sprouts, pea shoots, carrots, chilies, and green onion, and finally, the tofu back in there.

And boom, done!

(soft bright music) (pans clatter) Next one, just as fast.

Big, juicy shrimp.

(shrimp sizzle) Just get them going, and then garlic, always, always garlic.

Mushrooms going in first.

Give 'em a little more at the time.

And the rest of my vegetables.

Got baby corn, snow peas, pea shoots, bean sprouts, anything in your fridge, really.

Same sauce, so versatile, soy sauce, oyster sauce, that sweet, salty thickness.

Fish sauce.

Can't live without it.

And palm sugar to balance.

And that looks like a party.

Done!

(soft bright music) Mm, back home the smell of Jasmine rice is a sign that dinnertime is coming.

And this is what you would find if you walk into a Thai home at dinner time on Tuesday.

We have simple stir fries with just whatever vegetables in the fridge all the time.

This is our fast food.

(silverware clinks) Mm.

Simple goodness.

A little salty, a little sweet.

A little kick from the chilies.

Mm, tender tofu.

So tender, mm.

Love baby corn.

(silverware clinks) Mm.

Same sauce, different vegetables, different character.

This is how versatile a simple stir fry sauce like that is.

Anything you've got, promise you, it's gonna be good.

Mm.

Shrimp perfectly cooked.

Moist, crunchy, sweet.

It doesn't get much better than this.

Tuesday night, 10 minutes, Thai dinner on the table.

- [Man] Then you walk into (indistinct) into the bottles.

(Pailin laughs) Cut!

- It's that point in our show where we take you on a snowy adventure.

Winter kite skiing has grown in popularity.

It's a sport that takes advantage of the winter winds and the frozen fields of Northern New York.

This innovative alternative to traditional skiing will no doubt blow you away.

Check it out.

(soft music) (birds chirp) - [Male Reporter] The kites for winter skiing come in various sizes, ranging from four square meters to 12 square meters.

The kites are constructed with nylon fabric with diagonal ribs, or battens, on the inside for extra strength and stability.

The shape and design of the kite is similar to that of an airplane wing and provides lift.

The control bar allows the skier to maneuver the kite and adjust speed.

The strings or lines of the kite are made of Dyneema, a strong synthetic material that is prestretched and cut for durability.

There's also a color-coded system with labels to make it easier for the writer to set up the tight.

- Okay.

Ready?

- Ready.

- All right.

- Let's bring your skis.

- Pull a little bit.

- Yup.

- Keep your arms straight.

No, don't go back that way.

You need some more this way.

There we go.

Woop!

Bring it up.

All right, pull down.

I'll tease it for you.

- [Erin] All right, thanks.

Let go.

Let her go.

Pull on the left!

There you go!

All right!

(whoops) Pull to the right!

- Yeah!

(lively music) (Erin laughs) - [Jan] Down, down!

There you go!

There you go!

Beautiful!

Bring it back!

Bring it back!

- There you go.

- Bring it back!

- Nice.

- Beautiful!

All right!

Woo hoo hoo!

Woo hoo!

(wind blows) (Erin whoops and laughs) (Erin cries out and laughs) Nice, Erin.

- [Male Reporter] People like Jan and his family and friends typify the adventurous spirit here in Northern New York.

What's most impressive is their generosity to share their knowledge with anyone who is willing to try these activities for the first time.

- [Chris] I grew up with Alaina.

She's from my hometown.

We went to high school together, and she also is a school teacher at the high school we went to.

- I absolutely loved downhill and cross country skiing.

I have even skied behind snowmobiles, which is a blast, but I think kite skiing would be a lot more fun.

You don't have to worry about the exhaust fumes and the loud motor purring.

It's more pristine, enjoying the environment while you're maybe getting an adrenaline rush, so best of both worlds.

All right.

- We have liftoff.

- This is fun!

- Now bring it back.

Bring it back!

- Okay.

(laughs) - All right, there you go!

(Jan and Alaina groan) It's a good start.

- [Chris] So Jan, can you tell us just a little bit about the sport of kite skiing and how it evolved and what it is today?

- Five years ago, we started the Tug Hill event, which has become a national event, and that gathers over 100 kiters up on the Tug Hill for a weekend in January.

- Excellent.

- It's slowly taken off.

In Europe, snow kiting is really popular.

- Okay.

- But here in the US, it's not really taken off yet.

- What's the average wind speed that you need to actually get momentum to actually do kite skiing?

- With skis, I like to have around at least 10, 11 miles an hour will get you going.

- Well, we're gonna hang out for a while, see if we can catch some wind, and if we're lucky, we'll get to take off.

(upbeat music) Come on.

- Oh, I forgot.

- All right.

- [Jan] Okay, see what I did?

I was choking the kite when I'm like this, see.

Now come on right underneath me.

- Okay.

- Now grab ahold of it.

- Okay.

- All right.

Then slide it down.

- Okay.

Help me.

(everyone laughs) - And off they go.

- You ready?

- Yeah.

Oh yeah.

I've only known Jan for about 20 minutes, but we're dancing, real close proximity here.

- Okay, down.

Now up.

(laughs) Hold on!

Hold on!

Feel that power?

- I do feel the power.

(everyone laughs) - [Male Reporter] As with most outdoor activities, kite skiing is at the mercy of Mother Nature, particularly the wind.

- [Chris] Yeah, yeah.

- Okay, it's just- - Oh no!

- [Male Reporter] Unfortunately for the team, the winds were not cooperating this day, and so they decided to travel to Porterdale Farm located in Adams, New York and try their luck there.

♪ La la la la la la ♪ - [Erin] Well, we're getting some wind.

All right, I'm ready to dance with the wind.

Hopefully we can take off, get going like a couple of the other guys over here.

♪ La la la la la la ♪ ♪ La la la la la la ♪ - Gonna try it.

(laughs) I'm excited.

♪ La la la la la la ♪ (muffled chatter) - [Jan] Heads up!

(laughs) There she goes.

(laughs) (up-tempo music) (mid-tempo relaxing music) (up-tempo music) - Oh, she's going!

- And she's off!

Go Erin!

(muffled shouting) - [Male Reporter] Once you get the hang of flying a kite, kite skiing can become very addictive.

The appeal of the sport is that the wind does most of the work for you, and you just hang on and enjoy the ride.

- "WPBS Weekly" is proud to showcase original musicians and other creators as it meets our mission here at WPBS to bring you the very best programming that educates, engages, and inspires.

Tonight, we share the vocal power of singer songwriter Mike Powell, If you haven't heard this artist's music yet, you'll be a fan before this next song is over.

(up-tempo percussive music) - My name is Mike Powell, and I'm a singer songwriter.

So I went down the road of playing music.

I guess the road started when I was 13 years old.

I found my dad's old guitar in our attic.

It was an old Fender guitar, and it just had the top three strings on it, and I remember I brought it into my room and figured out that baseline, that old country baseline.

♪ Boom boom boom boom, dicky doo, dicky doo ♪ And I wrote like 100 songs in my room just with those top three strings, and I said to my dad, I said, "Dad, I wanna get the bottom three strings."

He said, "What do you need the bottom three strings for?"

I didn't really know, I didn't really know, but I was fascinated with music and just being able to, I was always into poetry and writing as a kid as an outlet, and this gave me a foundation to work with.

The song I'm gonna play today is "Submarine Gin," and it's a song that had an interesting start.

A lot of my songs start as I find this little thing on the guitar, and then I make noises for two hours, and that's what I was doing in our studio.

I was making ridiculous noises, and John, the lead guitarist, yelled to me.

He said, "Did you just say 'submarine gin'?"

And I said, "No, I didn't say 'submarine gin.'

I don't even know what that is."

And he goes, "I think back in the day, there was somebody that made a gin specifically for people that were on submarines."

Sometimes you just need a little something to get the song going, and that's where my mind went was like, "Drinking gin on a submarine.

That's an interesting thought."

My name is Mike Powell, and this is a song called "Submarine Gin."

("Submarine Gin") ♪ Fingers are burning ♪ ♪ My back is, too ♪ ♪ Well, I crossed the seven seas ♪ ♪ But who is foolin' who ♪ ♪ Everywhere I turn leads to the next ♪ ♪ Should be cooking ginger tea ♪ ♪ Go down like submarine gin ♪ ♪ Didn't like it then ♪ ♪ And I don't like it now ♪ ♪ Steam is risin' ♪ ♪ Off the maple leaf ♪ ♪ And up north on the pastor's porch ♪ ♪ They're prayin' for the stolen thief ♪ ♪ In the misty air ♪ ♪ I failed to come near ♪ ♪ Close the latch on the BILCO door ♪ ♪ The devil is loose again ♪ ♪ I didn't like it then ♪ ♪ And I don't like it now ♪ ♪ The neon is buzzin' ♪ ♪ Leon sings a tune ♪ ♪ Colder drafts of a barroom dance ♪ ♪ Not bad for a cheap saloon ♪ ♪ Woke up in the morn ♪ ♪ Couldn't believe I wasn't dead ♪ ♪ I had heard he ate an armadillo on nighstand by the bay ♪ ♪ Didn't like it then ♪ ♪ And I don't like it now ♪ ♪ My Cadillac is coughin' ♪ (man coughs) ♪ So is my throat ♪ ♪ Settin' my soles on a Texas road ♪ ♪ Left my keys in the back with a note ♪ ♪ If you're reading this, it's already too late ♪ ♪ A lullaby from a broken horse ♪ ♪ Will always keep the baby awake ♪ ♪ I didn't like it then ♪ ♪ And I don't like it now ♪ ♪ Don't like it now ♪ ♪ Hey ♪ ♪ Well I didn't like it then ♪ ♪ And I don't like it now ♪ (uplifting music) - That does it for us this Tuesday evening.

Join us next week for a fresh look "Inside the Stories."

Sekali, a 29-year-old orangutan at the Toronto Zoo, is expecting.

It's big news for the endangered population and the first pregnancy at the zoo in 15 years.

And how and when did the Watertown Fire Department get started?

We'll share with you their rich history.

Also, visit the Happy Tales Animal Sanctuary in Harrowsmith, Ontario, where second chances for animals are never second guessed.

Meantime, if you have a story idea you'd like to see us explore or you're a poet or a musician that would like to be featured, email us that "WPBS Weekly" at wpbstv.org.

Until then, good night, my friends.

- [Announcer] "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories" is brought to you by the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation, dedicated to improving the wellbeing of communities by helping disadvantage children and families, online at dmjf.org, the Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center, a free resource offering confidential business advice for those interested in starting or expanding their small business, serving Jefferson Lewis, and Oswego counties since 1986, online at watertown.nysbdc.org.

Additional funding provided by CSX, the Oswego County Community Foundation at the Central New York Community Foundation, and by the Richard S Shineman Foundation.

♪ My back is, too ♪ ♪ Well, I crossed the seven seas ♪ ♪ But who is foolin' who ♪ ♪ Everywhere I turn leads to the next ♪ ♪ Should be cooking ginger tea ♪ ♪ Go down like submarine gin ♪ ♪ Didn't like it then ♪ ♪ And I don't like it now ♪ (gentle pleasant music)