PBS Terra

PBS Terra is the science and nature home of PBS Digital Studios. It hosts several series, including Weathered, which looks at extreme weather and disasters, and Overview, presented by Joe Hanson.

The videos combine strong filming with clear science storytelling. They cover hurricanes, heatwaves, earthquakes, rivers, coastlines and unusual ecosystems. Many episodes look at how human activity and natural forces interact. Some focus on preparing for disasters, which brings in planning, infrastructure and risk.

Some highlights include:

A long feature explains the Cascadia subduction zone and why a major earthquake there is expected to reshape the Pacific Northwest.

The story of the Colorado River shows how dams, farming and growing cities have drained one of America’s great rivers.

A visit to one of the most dangerous stretches of coastline on Earth explains the forces that make it so hard to navigate and protect.

The channel has over 1 million subscribers.

These topics connect directly to civil, structural and environmental engineering. Engineers design buildings to survive earthquakes, manage water supplies and build flood and coastal defences. The channel helps viewers see why that work matters and how science informs the decisions engineers make. Climate adaptation is a fast growing area of engineering, and these videos show the problems that today’s students may one day help to solve. The episodes are well made and easy to share in a classroom or at home.