Dear ReWilder,
We are so glad to finally share our two latest films for WWF that we produced with BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions. This was a part of the Age of Change series, showcasing some of the organisations and innovators who are finding solutions to our planet’s complex issues - discover more here!
The first film took place in the Matatiele region of the Southern Drakensberg in South Africa, WWF has a deep working relationship with two remarkable women – Mme Sissie Matela and Nicky McLeod, who run an organisation called Environmental Rural Solutions (ERS). Matatiele is an isolated rural area where traditional communities rely on the land – water, grassland, soil – to rear their cattle. But the area is also beset with environmental problems including the proliferation of invasive alien vegetation that sucks water out of river systems, erosion, pollution and the ever-increasing risk of drought.
This film was part of the #AgeOfChange series, presented by WWF and content partners, alongside the amazing team at BBC StoryWorks. Check out the official film on the WWF site here.
#Brandedcontent #WWF #ad #restore #wetlands
A word from Tae who worked on this one:
Nicky and Sissie aren’t a big fan of praise, but they are way too humble for their own good. So often the words ‘conservation’, ‘restoration’ and ‘community-driven projects’ conjure up these images of grand work on large scales; and the reality is that this work is being driven, for the most part, by local grassroots organisations, with limited resources, and a truck load of passion. In the South African context we all talk about the necessity of ecological restoration needing to go hand-in-hand with community upliftment and socio-economic development, and it’s not often that we see this playing out successfully. It was an incredible experience to witness Nicky and Sissie, and their mission-driven team at ERS, integrating ecological restoration and community upliftment with such ease for the last 20 years. For them it was not a box ticking exercise, it was deeply ingrained in the mission: the upliftment of local people benefits the local environment, and vice versa. Their solutions are holistic and support eco-enterprises operated by local youth, all the while tirelessly pursuing a goal of regenerating the local landscape.
The area is an extremely important strategic water catchment area for the whole of Southern Africa, and often we forget that the clean water that comes out our taps in big cities, is stewarded by local people, grassroots organisations, and passionate individuals, all the way from its source to our homes. It’s a complex journey of water, and the people protecting it at its source are the people who should be celebrated and supported a whole lot more.
Cheers to the unsung heroes at ERS, and to WWF for their amazing support of local organisations like this.
The second film that we embarked on took place in Uganda. This film centres on the efforts of individuals working at the Velux sites in the Kagombe Central Forest Reserve who are helping to restore degraded forest to functioning forest and protect and conserve areas of the forest, as part of Velux’s nature-based efforts to achieve their goal of lifetime carbon neutral.
We followed the story of a forest guardian, Mr. Boaz Basigirenda, a range manager under the National Forestry Authority. He is absolutely passionate about this landscape, and had a smile that could light up a shadowed canopy of trees.
A word from Meg who worked on this one:
I planted a tree there! Yay! But what really struck me about this project is that we hear all this talk about offsetting carbon etc etc, but I didn’t really think about how carbon absolutely does not get offset the moment you plant a baby tree in the ground, but in 10-20 years time - once that tree has reached it’s full carbon capture potential. One cannot expect to throw money and that’s that, but we need to really be responsible in following the journey of your trees, and ensure that they do eventually reach their full potential, and only then you can say you’ve offset your carbon, and not when you've spent money.
This was part of the #AgeOfChange series, presented by WWF and content partners, alongside the amazing team at BBC StoryWorks. Check out the official film on the WWF site here. #Brandedcontent #WWF #ad #restore #forest #uganda
News from ReWild Africa 🐋
Meg and Justin are off on another BBC StoryWorks shoot in Kenya on Sunday
ReWild had an awesome getaway in Scarborough where we dreamed our future
Watch this space 💚