When I set out to write about conservation optimism, I found myself asking, ‘How does one hold onto hope amid this drumbeat of loss?’ As I often do when I need inspiration, I went for a walk in the bush — the Manly Warringah War Memorial State Park, known simply as “Manly Dam” to locals...
Around you, voices ripple through the clearing: young people from six different countries gathered in one place, some meeting for the first time in person after years of working together online. Their laughter carries across the forest floor, mixing with the calls of unseen birds. The moment feels simple, but it is profound: a living proof that when youth come together across borders, they can nurture both ecosystems and each other. This is the spirit of Climate Conservancy, an international nonprofit built by and for young people determined to rewrite the narrative of climate despair into one of collective resilience.
As we at Conservation Optimism are gearing up for the 2025 Good Natured Conservation Optimism Film Festival, we're excited to spotlight one of our youngest featured filmmakers, Finn Middleton, and his entry for this year's festival: "The Onny's Story: A Fight for the Future." Read on for a short interview about Finn's journey, his sources of inspiration, and reasons for hope as a young person using his creative voice for nature.
What does it mean to see a whole landscape transform? Read on to join the team of Joy of Impermanence on a journey of restoration, optimist and education as they transform a deforested rainforest landscape back into a thriving home for biodiversity!
Night had begun to fall when we found the small dirt track. We’d already traveled for over two days to get here. The Serra da Estrela, Portugal, is a place like no other. On surface level you see deep forests, steep gorges and sunsets that remind you of the African plains. But as you look a little closer you begin to see a lie: Invasive eucalyptus. Where Eucalyptus stops, seas of maritime pine – thin, tall, closely packed – flood to the plains below, another alien from post-war industrialisation. What is initially a beautiful sight is in fact a matchbox mountain, just waiting for a spark.
A woman married to nature: The inspiration behind ‘The Woman from the Mangrove’ and ‘The girl who fell in love with the mangrove. ’
A filmmaker discovers how to spread the word about climate change – and her animated short – in fun and creative ways!
"I wanted more people to know how magnificent and important corals are, and to care enough to do something about them"; this thought resulted in an exciting storytelling project - I'm with Lorac! Read to know more about the journey behind the first novel of this project where Neus, a marine researcher and writer, attempts to spread awareness about corals and climate change using characters and settings inspired by her experiences working in remote islands of Burma.
A picture tells a thousand words… well, in this case, each picture tells a story of conservation optimism.
From orchids to gibbons, we have been collecting photos from conservationists all around the world to inspire us as conservation optimists.