Alice Aedy is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, environmental campaigner and CEO of Earthrise Studio, the impact-driven media company for people and planet. Her social impact work has seen both Alice and co-founders Jack and Finn Harries recognised in the most recent Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. Indeed, since launching in 2020, Earthrise has amassed more than 3.6million YouTube subscribers, with a global audience spanning 45 countries. Here, Alice shares the ways we can all make a difference this Earth Month 2024 and beyond.
Learn about climate solutions
Learning about the climate crisis doesn’t mean just reading grim headlines. In a media landscape dominated by climate doomism, it’s important to remember that the climate crisis is also being matched by innovation, change and progress – and it’s important to hear about those things too. A good starting point is Earthrise’s series Spotlight, which we launched last year in partnership with Bloomberg – a 12-part presenter-led series focused on climate solutions.
One of the themes we included in the series was plastics – plastic pollution is projected to triple by 2040, and recycling isn’t working with only 9% of plastic waste being recycled. Spotlight looked in detail at the circular economy and whether it can help solve our plastic predicament.
We also explored farming – agriculture is the source of 11% of all greenhouse gases emitted in the EU and this is only increasing. We looked at how, in order to move forward, we can actually learn so much from our original farming roots. As well as Spotlight, check out the BBC’s Future Earth newsletter and the Bloomberg Green Daily newsletter – both are well worth subscribing to for more climate solutions delivered directly to your inbox.
Support climate projects
There are so many incredible conservation projects around the world and they need support every day, not just Earth Day. For the last few years, Earthrise has joined forces with the non-governmental organisation Choose Love to launch Choose Earth – a campaign directly supporting communities on the frontlines of climate change and under threat from displacement. Besides displacements directly resulting from extreme weather, climate change is what we call a “threat multiplier” — it magnifies the impact of other factors that can contribute to displacement such as poverty, loss of livelihoods, and tensions relating to dwindling resources. Choose Earth exists to support these communities.
Indigenous communities comprise just 5% of the world population but protect a massive 80% of the world’s biodiversity. Over the last three years, Choose Earth has supported Brazilian Indigenous leaders from 25 of the 27 Brazilian states, providing £350,000 to leaders for various projects – ranging from building community infrastructure and supporting nutrition to helping leaders travel to key gatherings to build awareness, share knowledge and shape decision making. As well as Choose Earth, other climate projects worth checking out include the amazing Coral Gardeners – a global movement to save the world’s coral reefs – and ClientEarth, who mount high-profile legal cases to protect the planet.
Listen to NATURE
Launching this Earth Day 2024, you can now listen to – and support – the natural world from the comfort of your own home. Thanks to the Sounds Right project, NATURE has become a verified music artist on streaming platforms, collaborating with the likes of David Bowie x Brian Eno, Ellie Goulding, Aurora, London Grammar and more.
Follow NATURE on Spotify to listen to awe-inspiring collaborations between A-list artists and the natural world. Ellie Goulding’s Brightest Blue feat. NATURE incorporates sounds of wind, water and native birds from the Páramo region in Colombia; while Cosmo Sheldrake’s Soil is a homage to the powerful capacities of subterranean ecosystems. Every listen contributes towards vital environmental projects, supporting nature for generations to come through conservation projects spanning Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands; Indo-Burma, India and Myanmar; Sundaland; Philippines; Tropical Andes; the Atlantic Forest and more.
Join a local community energy project
Earlier this year, Earthrise launched POWER – our four-part video series investigating how fossil fuels changed the world and crucially, how we can move away from them. Not only has the burning of fossil fuels led to the current climate crisis, but it has also reshaped the world map and driven global geopolitics. And, as temperatures rise, it is imperative that we move away from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources.
One of the ways we can begin to do that is through harnessing renewable energy. In making POWER, we learnt about all the amazing communities that are investing in local renewable energy projects, like Repowering London, where community owned solar projects allow them to create, control and benefit from renewable energy. Getting involved in one of these projects is one of the best things you can do to make a tangible impact and help move towards a more sustainable future.
Read a book that inspires a different way of looking at the world
There are so many amazing books that inspire different ways of looking at and engaging with the natural world. Why not treat yourself to one this Earth Day? One of my favourites is Braiding Sweetgrass by Indigenous scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer, a beautiful book re-examining science with Indigenous teachings and emphasising the importance of gratitude and giving back to the Earth. Other books I’d recommend include James Bridle’s Ways of Being, which explores non-human intelligence and the natural world, and Thomas Halliday’s epic book Otherlands, an exhilarating journey into the deep history of our planet.
I’m currently enjoying The Overview by my dear friend Willow Defebaugh, a series of essays combined with incredible photography reflecting on the many learnings we can take from nature on our own, personal journey. Whatever you do today, just make sure you do something! Share a story with your friends. Celebrate the amazing soundtrack of nature. Join a community project or learn about the amazing climate solutions and how another world can be possible. Together, we can ensure we’re celebrating Earth Day for millennia to come.
Alice Aedy’s Eco Influencers to Follow
Willow Defebaugh
@willowonearth – Willow Defebaugh, Co-founder & Editor-In-Chief of Atmos Magazine, and Author of The Overview. Atmos is a non-profit biannual magazine and digital platform curated by a global ecosystem of artists, activists and writers, devoted to ecological and social justice, creative storytelling and re-enchantment with the natural world. Something that we at Earthrise feel very connected to.
Joycelyn Longdon
@climateincolour – Award-winning climate conversations for the climate curious created by Joycelyn Longdon, Environmental Justice Technologist and Educator. Joycelyn brings an intersectional lens to the climate conversation, connecting it to themes of colonialism, tech and more. Joycelyn is very inspirational as she has founded an education platform that is dedicated to making climate conversations more accessible and diverse for people that are curious about the climate.
Tori Tsui
@toritsui – Tori Tsui is a Bristol-based climate activist, speaker and consultant from Hong Kong. She is the co-founder of the space Bad Activist Collective and a member of the climate coalition Unite For Climate Action. The author of It’s Not Just You, Tori brings enriching and crucial discussion around mental health and climate change.
Sophia Li
@sophfei – Sophia Li is an award-winning journalist, climate advocate, public speaker and UN Human Rights Champion. She is passionate about climate change and is an amazing public speaker.
