Stories to Inspire
How is Conservation Working?
From the wetlands of Kenya and the reefs of the Maldives, to our local schools and the British countryside – there are hundreds of examples of conservation success across the globe. This collection of empowering stories will take you on a journey of inspiration as you follow the efforts of those driven by their care for nature and witness the tangible results making a real difference to our planet.
Choosing Sustainability
Practical solutions to addressing biodiversity loss and reducing emissions begin with us. Find out what we can do to eat more sustainably, cut out plastic waste, and approach the challenges ahead with ambition and hope.
Hope for our Planet
Join science broadcaster Liz Bonnin as she talks with the world’s favourite naturalist about why he is optimistic about our planet’s future, and asks him your questions.
Innovating for Conversation
Stories of achieving conservation success in very different ways – from small-scale fishers to large-scale business, and from science to online gaming.
Making Space for Nature
Despite all we hear in the media see there are many places around the world where people are successfully saving and restoring natural habitats. Discover what’s happening here in the UK, in India, and in some of Europe’s most endangered landscapes.
Reasons for Optimism
Hear diverse perspectives on why the natural world and our responses to the environmental crisis inspire optimism, and discover how prospects for two very different wetlands are changing for the better.
Saving Species
Meet the heroes rescuing species around the world – from Brighton to Mauritius, via Mexico and the Caribbean – and learn what inspires and encourages them.
Stories from Around the World
Discover more inspiring examples of evidence-based conservation successes which are happening around the world.
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Q&A
Why should we be optimistic about nature’s future? How can we innovate for conservation? How can we save species? Find the answers to these and many other questions by watching our Q&As sessions featuring leading conservationists and passionate celebrities.
Films to Inspire
From Gorongosa National Park’s beautiful documentary on girls and women living side by side with the animal kingdom to guided tours from Cambridge University Botanic Garden and Museum of Zoology – be sure to explore all of these heartening movies.
Welcome to Reasons for optimism
As an introduction to Earth Optimism's session on Reasons for Optimism, Andrew Balmford and Rosie Trevelyan talk about changing the narrative around nature conservation.
The importance of the natural world
TV star and presenter Chris Packham explains his reasons for being optimistic about the future of nature, and his insights into why the natural world is so important for us all.
Responding to the biodiversity and climate crisis
Climate strike campaigner Junayd Islam sets out how young people are responding positively to the ecological crisis facing our planet. What are the aims of the movement, what has it achieved so far, and what are its plans as we look to the future?
The Wicken Fen vision
Sarah Smith talks about making space for nature on Cambridge's doorstep.
Why nature inspires optimism
Award-winning author of H is for Hawk and celebrator of the natural world Helen Macdonald explains why writing her new book Vesper Flights has made her optimistic for the future of our planet.
Saving the crane
How a community in Kenya has protected a wetland and saved a population of endangered cranes.
Why should we be optimistic about nature’s future? A Q&A with Chris Packham
A Q&A between Rosie Trevelyan and Chris Packham where we find out why Chris thinks we should we be optimistic about nature’s future.
Welcome to Choosing sustainability
Seth Daood is an undergraduate studying Zoology at Cambridge. As well as producing his own videos aimed at widening access to the University, he has long-running interests in sustainability and nature conservation. He will share his views on why we should all choose sustainability.
Reducing an organisation’s footprint
Three University pioneers set out how they're transforming the footprint of an 800 year-old institution. Focusing on food, Amy, Nick and Emma will explain how science, cookery and smart business-sense came together to make a real difference.
Bringing peatlands back to life in Belarus
Reporting from one of Europe's greatest peatlands, young conservation leader Anna Trofimtchouk explains how restoring degraded habitats can help biodiversity while fighting climate change.
Ocean optimism in a sea of plastic
Discarded plastics pose a major threat to marine biodiversity but Heather Koldewey explains how she's protecting the ocean from plastic pollution.
Driving for change in plastic pollution
The Tyre Collective is a clean-tech company, building innovative solutions to save our air from tyre wear.
Stubborn optimism
Co-author, with Paris Climate Agreement Champion Christiana Figueres, of The Future we Choose, Tom Rivett-Carnac sets out the case for what they describe as Stubborn Optimism.
Q&A – How can we choose sustainability?
Join us for an expert panel discussion about how we can choose sustainability.
Welcome to Innovating for conservation
Champion of wildlife charities and supporting communities, Veronica Pickering will introduce some inspiring stories that show how conservation can succeed through creativity and innovation.
Activating new wildlife enthusiasts via games
Computer games are often blamed for taking people away from nature, but can their power be harnessed for conservation? Games data analyst and passionate conservationist Raff Mares thinks they can.
Forest to furniture: a sustainable journey in home improvement
Find out from Caroline Laurie, how one of the UK's biggest retailers switched entirely to sustainably-sourced wood and paper products and how B&Q continues to support innovations in forest management around the world.
How the tuna saved the shark
Visit the Maldives with Lisama Sabry to find out what's being done to secure one of the world's most important sites for sharks - and discover and why local tuna fisherman are proving powerful conservation allies.
Big data, big ideas and the big blue ocean
The problems facing the world's oceans can seem overwhelming. But advances in technology and new partnerships with other sectors are not only revealing the need for change but leading to innovative solutions with real potential for scaling-up.
Anegada rock iguanas
Travel to Anegada Island in the British Virgin Islands and learn from local conservationists and schoolchildren how an ambitious programme for safeguarding hatchlings from feral cats is bringing a lizard found nowhere else on Earth back from the brink.
Q&A – How can we innovate for conservation?
Find out at this Q&A session (chaired by Veronica Pickering), how Gautam Shah and Mark Spalding think we can innovate for conservation.
Welcome to Saving species
The Director of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Mike Maunder, celebrates how people around the world are bringing species back from the brink.
Lessons from the dodo: saving species and rebuilding ecosystems
Carl Jones has saved more species from extinction than almost anyone else alive. Hear him explain the remarkable stories of how the Mauritius kestrel, the pink pigeon and the echo parakeet have been rescued - and how ground-breaking work with giant tortoises is now restoring near-extinct habitats too.
Reversing the Red
Find out from Venezuela's leading conservation biologist and chair of the Species Survival Commission how conservation efforts are saving endangered species and hear about his vision for enhancing conservation capacity around the world.
Making waves for ocean conservation
Join Caribbean marine biologist Dr David Gill as he investigates how local communities and researchers are devising solutions for conserving the biodiversity of the oceans and securing coastal livelihoods.
Butterflies as agents of change within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
How school children and their inspiring teacher created an extraordinary reserve for butterflies in the heart of their campus - and have gone on to use butterflies as flagships for conservation from Sussex to Ghana.
How many species would have gone extinct without conservation action?
By consulting a global network on experts on the world's most threatened birds and mammals, Birdlife International's Chief Scientist, Stuart Butchart was able to investigate how many species would have gone extinct over the last three decades in the absence of conservation action.
Women of the Land: conservation of golden eagle in Mexico
Women of the Land tells the story of a group of women in a natural area in Mexico, who, inspired by their children, decide to get involved in the conservation of the golden eagle.
Q&A – How can we save species?
Do you have questions about how we can save species? Join us for this Q&A (chaired by Mike Maunder) where we asked Jon Paul Rodríguez, Mariana Martinez del Rio and Dan Danahar your questions.
Welcome to Making space for nature
The Chair of England's statutory nature conservation agency and former Friends of the Earth Director Tony Juniper explains how ambitious new initiatives are aiming to restore natural habitats across the country.
Lessons from transforming UK landscapes for wildlife and people
RSPB's Global Conservation Director, Martin Harper, takes us on a journey around the UK showing how Europe's largest conservation charity is working with industry, local communities and government to restore nature at scale.
Recovering India’s megafauna
One of India's leading conservation biologists Dr Krithi Karanth discusses how big creatures are staging a comeback in some of the most densely populated places on Earth.
Farming for biodiversity
The RSPB purchased Hope Farm 20 years ago, to identify and demonstrate how to farm profitably while addressing the loss of farmland wildlife.
Conserving tropical rainforests
Join us for a personal message from Steve Backshall where he tells us why he's optimistic about our natural world before travelling over to Brazil where Michael Palin will share a remarkable story of how a rainforest there is making a comeback and allowing the wildlife to return.
Restoring landscapes for life
We visit three of Europe's newest and largest habitat restoration schemes with the Endangered Landscape Programme, and find out their plans for restoring biodiversity and the benefits it brings to people in some of the most exciting conservation programmes on the continent.
Q&A – How can we make space for nature?
Do you have questions about how we can make space for nature? Join us for this Q&A, chaired by Tony Juniper, where we asked Georgie Bray and Georgina Mayhew your questions.
Welcome to Hope for our planet
Liz Bonnin is a TV and radio presenter passionate about environmental issues and how to solve the planetary crisis. Join us for a short message from Liz.
In conversation with Sir David Attenborough
Join us for a conversation between Liz Bonnin and Sir David Attenborough where he tells us his hopes for our planet, before answering some of your questions.
People and pandas
Giant pandas have been in decline for centuries, but now a bold conservation programme is working with villagers to protect and restore their habitat. Populations of pandas and many other extraordinary animals are starting to recover.
Getting albatrosses off the hook
The world’s albatross species are extremely vulnerable to being accidentally caught by longline fishing, but an initiative led by BirdLife partners is now working with fishing fleets across the southern oceans to address the problem. The results are remarkable.
Making space for snow leopards
Find out how Chinese conservation organisation Shan Shui is working with local communities to monitor and protect one of the planet’s most charismatic and elusive animals.
The making of an island
Discover how Europe's biggest conservation NGO teamed up with Crossrail to create one of the largest wetlands in western Europe while simultaneously protecting vulnerable coastal communities from flooding.
Regenerating rainforest with Puro Coffee
Find out how Puro in partnership with the World Land Trust are working with local NGOs and coffee growing communities to deliver conservation success as well as great coffee.
Stuck on a Rock
Stuck on a Rock tells the important story of one of Australia’s greatest conservation blunders and victories side-by-side, as well as the human story that is so inseparably tied to it.
Conservation Success Stories at the Museum of Zoology
Explore the Museum of Zoology with conservation experts and discover the wildlife conservation success stories behind the animals on display.
Our Gorongosa
Find out about Gorongosa National Park and how it has managed to become a model for both wildlife conservation and community development.
Threatened plants with a ‘Ray of Hope’
Join us to meet a selection of plants growing at Cambridge University Botanic Garden with inspirational back-stories.