As conversations about the future of biodiversity, and its effect on our environment, continue to take place, Wild Hope is a show that seeks to give hope about the future of our planet. Through its episodes, it puts on display environmental changemakers who are restoring the nature of their communities with bold ideas, one step at a time.

On March 28th, GPB hosted a screening of an episode of Wild Hope, in collaboration with the Fruitful Community Foundation and Science for Georgia. At this event, we watched the Vertical Meadows episode of Wild Hope. This episode opened the eyes of attendees to the idea of vertical farming, a technique becoming popular in urban areas. Vertical meadows, a type of vertical farming, according to Alistair Law, are “a new way to bring nature into the open space”. It consists of using a variety of naturally sourced materials to build farms that grow on the side of buildings. You may have seen displays similar to these in some spaces in your community.

Following the screening, attendees had the opportunity to learn more about some organizations concerned about the environment, working within Georgia. The panel featured remarks from representatives of the Fruitful Community, who have worked to design sustainable landscapes at public libraries and are working on expanding their environmental work across the state. Similar to the idea of Vertical Meadows, the library landscape projects serve as an example of how sustainable greenspaces can be blended with our everyday living spaces. People truly enjoyed learning so much from this panel, and many were inspired to think about ways to advocate for sustainability in their local communities.

After the panel, a conversation was had with Science for Georgia. Science for Georgia is on a mission to improve communication between scientists and the public, through public engagement and advocating for the responsible use of science in public policy. In the spirit of Wild Hope, Science for Georgia discussed ways the public could make environmental change in their daily lives. Science for Georgia hosts events throughout the year, and you can learn more about them at scienceforgeorgia.org.  

Overall, this was a very eye-opening and inspiring event. We hope that attendees were able to learn a lot and continue to have wild hope for what the future holds for the environment. Interested in learning more about Wild Hope, and sparking your own environmental creativity? Watch free episodes here.

This event follows an event that GPB hosted in the fall at CompassionCon, where attendees explored conservation successes from around the world and learned about fun and exciting ways to get involved in our comm unity