Recycling the Gift explores how personal passion intersects not only with education, but also with the larger community and with Nature itself. The film weaves in ecology as metaphor and model for how our schools can more effectively and equitably serve students. 

Recycling the Gift investigates the genesis of modern education in the United States, and how special interests have exerted their influence, often to the detriment of students and underserved communities. The film ends with a call for "mass change" in order to achieve justice for  underserved students, the larger community, and for the Earth itself. 

Recycling the Gift was created by former Chabot College and UC Berkeley student, Skye Ontiveros. She did a great deal of background research and conducted 16 lengthy interviews with community college and university students and professors. 

The film is a primary document supporting the work of TEA  because the film embodies the idea that to confront the crises in education and with the planet,  we must start with rethinking how we understand our students, and ourselves as educators.