What to watch for some ecological optimism?
Mike O'Connor [environmental engineer]
Environmental Maintenance Engineering Manager at Network Rail
I’ve been struggling recently. Working in biodiversity management has been…hard. ?The difficulty in establishing credible targets and a seemingly never-ending stream of mainstream media headlines on the biodiversity crisis. I’ve found myself questioning my professional life choices: Do my work circles understand why I care about nature? What impact am I having through my work? And, as my most capable working years are ticking by, what have I got to show for it?
This introspection led me to recall why I got into the ecological protection game in the first place. It was due to a simple tome, beautifully illustrated, and its accompanying TV series, narrated in plummy, staccatoed half-whispers by a future nature conservation GOAT.
I revisited and rewatched this seminal work over a weekend, and…it wasn’t too hard to find inspiration! But I felt motivated to go and find more doses of hope, to view life on earth through some different lenses. These have been some of my favourite slivers of ecological optimism pick-me-ups:
?
1.Planet Earth II
I think the zenith of the work of the great man. Six stories full of awe-inspiring cinematography and music. A love letter to Life on Earth.
?
2.History of Mother Earth: Gaia Uncovered
We often treat the earth today as a lump of stone and liquid with which we are allowed to do as we see fit. But for thousands of years, people have seen the earth not as an object, but as a subject, who lives and thinks. In this secular age, what can we learn from the ideas of the ancient Egyptians, the ancient Greeks and the people of the Middle Ages about our planet? Another BBC documentary but this one looks at whether the past offers answers to make a sustainable future possible. In what different ways can we relate to our planet? What abilities does the earth have, and can you speak of 'intelligence' in that respect? And if the earth is smart, are we smart enough to listen to what she has to say?
3.How Trees Talk To Each Other
Ted Talk #1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un2yBgIAxYs
Ted Talk #2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=breDQqrkikM
Delivered by Suzanne Simard, a Canadian Professor of Forest Ecology, who is dubbed 'the Tree Whisperer'. She became world famous with her discovery that trees communicate and work together through an underground network of fungi. Simard calls this network 'the wood wide web'. Her work invites us to look at the world around us in a different way. Learn to listen to nature, Simard advises, she has plenty to teach us. For example, that communication and cooperation are essential for a healthy whole and to be able to continue to exist. The accompanying book expands in a truly inspirational Attenborough-esqe way: Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the Wisdom and Intelligence of the Forest.
?
4.Knowledge Keepers
Keeping a Canadian theme, this documentary work focuses on the realisation that indigenous people interacted with nature in a very different way than we do. But their knowledge about local plants, about the pollinators needed to sustain our food sources, and about natural medicines is in danger of being lost due to the ‘intergenerational effects of colonisation’. This documentary series partially captures this knowledge, which has traditionally been passed down orally from generation to generation. The vision of these ‘cultural knowledge keepers’ can help us cultivate a different relationship with the earth: they do not live on the earth, but with the earth. The first episode is about the tradition of harvesting bark from the cedar tree and what is the importance of such a natural ritual, the second about the healing effect of plants.
领英推荐
?
5.The Story of Knepp: A Rewilding Success
Six passion-firing episodes, with links to the other five shows included in the first of this Natural History Museum production.
Knepp Castle Estate in South East England was once intensively farmed, but since 2001 has been devoted to a?pioneering rewilding project. The what has become an iconic project uses herds of free-roaming ungulates to drive habitat generation. Focusing on restoring dynamic natural processes, in just 20 years the project has seen a spontaneous revival of many rare species.
?
6.Tomorrow
Tomorrow?(Demain) is a French documentary film that instead of the negative aspects of human actions on the planet, focuses on hopeful initiatives worldwide that seek solutions to current ecological challenges. The documentary won multiple awards, including a César Award and a Golden Salamander for best documentary, and is a bit of an optimism fillip in these times of ecological gloom. French actress Mélanie Laurent and eco-activist Cyril Dion, after reading in the scientific journal Nature that part of humanity will become extinct if we continue on the same footing, travel to ten countries. There they speak to pioneers who each offer an alternative to the current model in their own way, for example with an organic market garden, urban farming or a revolutionary education system.
?
7.Better Days (I Came By Train)
If you only have 3 minutes and 51 seconds free, watch this. Introduced to me by the Network Rail Southern Region Sustainability team, I can never unsee this. Not so much fitting in the inspirational bracket but more the watch-this-its-so-bonkers-its-brilliant category, this never fails to put a tear in my eye (think peeling onions) and set my mood to ‘love all things nature and rail related’.
A song by legendary turn of the millennium R&B artist, Craig David, he “wrote this as a reminder that by making one small change, we can have such a big impact on all our relationships and our beautiful planet. ??????”.
Absolutely sure that there are more inspirational nuggets out there. Like, proper bo ones. Be very pleased to receive any recommendations, in comments, for ecological optimism (they don’t necessarily need to bring a tear to my eye)...
Views in this article represent the author’s personal opinions only.
With thanks and appreciation to the Network Rail Southern Region Ecology team - Leo Hughes Aline Gomes Jon Matthews Brad Draga-Williams - inspirational is one word for you all. I won't share the other words in public.
Group SHEQ Director at Renew Holdings
1 年Great share Mike. Thank you.