We invite you on a cinematic journey as we shine a global lens on regeneration. From Hugh Wilson, who's spent the last 30 years regenerating farmland into native forest on banks peninsular to a community-led initiative to mitigate forest fire risk using goats in Victoria, to visioning our world in 2030. A session to truly inspire action.

Regenerating Australia (17 minutes)
What would Australia look like in 2030 if we simply listened to the needs of its people? Regenerating Australia is the latest film from Damon Gameau, the award-winning director of 2040 and That Sugar Film.

Fools & Dreamers: Regenerating a Native Forest (30 minutes)
This documentary is about Hinewai Nature Reserve, on New Zealand’s Banks Peninsula, and its kaitiaki/manager of 30 years, botanist Hugh Wilson. When, in 1987, Hugh let the local community know of his plans to allow the introduced ‘weed’ gorse to grow as a nurse canopy to regenerate farmland into native forest, people were not only skeptical but outright angry – the plan was the sort to be expected only of “fools and dreamers”.

How Goats are Regenerating a Forest and Protecting this Town from Bushfire (12 minutes)
From Weedy Forests to Grassy Woodlands tells the story of a community-led initiative to mitigate forest fire risk using goats and hand tools rather than herbicides, heavy machinery, and burn-offs. On the edge of Daylesford, a town on Dja Dja Wurrung country in Victoria, Australia prone to massive bush fires, a small group of community-minded folk have pulled together to work towards restoring the ecology of their commons forest – in order to stop the future need for controlled burn-offs by the local fire authority.

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The Wao Summit is a six day annual event held in the Southern Lakes (Wānaka and Queenstown). Its aim is to inspire, educate and enable our transition as a community and nation to a healthy, thriving, diverse, low carbon community.

This event is part of the Wao Summit 2022, check out the full programme here.

wao.co.nz