THIS FEBRUARY, CBC-TV'S THE NATURE OF THINGS EXPLORES FRACKING, COYWOLVES AND FRUIT HUNTERS

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is ushering in a new energy boom, but why is it so controversial? A new hybrid predator lurks in North American backyards and streets, but why do so few Canadians know about this mysterious species? Fruit agriculture is crucial to life on Earth, but what are the effects of humanity’s interference in this precious system? THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki kicks off February with all-new documentaries that explore these issues, and more.

The documentary Shattered Ground serves up the latest information on the controversy over fracking. “Fracking”, or hydraulic fracturing, is a new technology that has opened up immense resources of natural gas buried in deep shale beds. But the process, and its spread across the North American landscape, has become an incredibly controversial issue, dividing communities and families.

A new carnivore has slipped unnoticed into cities across the Eastern seaboard. This versatile predator dines on everything from rabbits to moose and from Canada geese to cat food. The coywolf is a new hybrid species, part wolf and part coyote. Follow along with scientists as they track this intelligent and adaptable shape-shifter from the wilderness of Algonquin Park, where it first came into being, through the alleyways, cemeteries and backyards of Toronto, to the streets of New York City.

The Fruit Hunters takes us from the dawn of humanity to the cutting edge of modern agriculture in a series that will change the way we look at what we eat. In Part 1 of 2, The Evolution of Desire, join Richard Campbell and Noris Ledesma, the Indiana Joneses of fruit, as they travel to Bali, in search of an elusive white-fleshed mango, which they hope to preserve before it is erased by industrialization and urbanization. And in the picturesque hills of Umbria, Italy, we meet an arboreal archaeologist, Isabella Dalla Ragione, as she searches for heirloom varieties of fruit by investigating Renaissance paintings for clues. To preserve this diversity is to retain this living memory.

Supermarkets are stocked with fruit year round in a global permanent summertime, but despite its accessibility, have we lost the diversity that makes it so special? The second episode of The Fruit Hunters, Delicious Diversity, looks at what happens when we abandon the Garden of Eden for an industrialized monoculture.

Hosted by the iconic David Suzuki, THE NATURE OF THINGS brings science - in all its diversity - to Canadian audiences. The series illuminates the way for a greater understanding of the increasingly complex world in which we live.

To view past episodes of THE NATURE OF THINGS, and other CBC programming, visit CBC Player, download the CBC App for your mobile devices, and download CBC podcasts.

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