Calling all eco-conscious students, teachers, schools 🌱

Documentary Australia and ACMI hosted a special online Q&A discussion on TikTok and YouTube series Stay Tuned To Our Planet (aka STTOP) and the themes of biodiversity and tree planting, and you’re invited to tune in and watch!

Led by YouTuber Mat McKenna, STTOP is a 28 episode climate action series for young people who want to play a part in the fight to save our planet. In this conversation, we unpack the making of the episode on biodiversity and tree planting with Mat, and hear from our friends Maree Lowes, actress and change-maker best known as dirtgirl, Planet Ark and National Tree Day’s Rebecca Gilling and Bush to Bowl Co-Founder Adam Byrne on how you can get grubby, get involved, and get planting!

We are also joined by graphic artist Sarah Firth, who captures the conversation through live illustration - seriously impressive.

Tune in with your class, friends or pet snail to STTOP: Get grubby, get planting!

This event is presented as part of Documentary Australia's Environmental Accelerator program, with support from Intrepid Travel.

Please note: This event is pitched to students in years 7-9, however all are welcome! The live event was held on Thursday 25th July, 2024, but is relevant and available to watch all year round.

PANELLISTS

Mat McKenna is a YouTuber with over 320,000 subscribers, and the host of the Youtube and TikTok climate action series STTOP. Having experienced his own climate anxiety, Matt wanted to do something in the climate change space for young people. STTOP is it!

Rebecca Gilling is the CEO of Planet Ark, which runs National Tree Day. She holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development. Rebecca has been with Planet Ark since 2002 and was appointed as Co-CEO in 2021, joining the Planet Ark Board as Executive Director. In February 2023 she became CEO. Planet Ark’s strategy under Rebecca’s leadership is focused on three spheres of activity: carbon neutrality, circular economy and connecting people with nature.

Maree Lowes, watched and loved as dirtgirl and now Dr Bronner's Australia Ambassador, is an actress, change-maker, and Emmy Award winning community manager. As dirtgirl, Maree's face & heart have been seen on TV by millions of people across 128 nations. She is also a published writer on resilience and regeneration, and has extensive experience as an environmental speaker.

Adam Byrne is a Garigal (Garu) descendent, currently living on Kamay Country on the Northern Beaches of NSW, and is a passionate teacher of the importance of his Culture. As a qualified landscaper and designer specialising in horticulture, Adam is inspired by food sovereignty and traditional land management. He is also a co-founder and co-owner of Bush to Bowl, a social enterprise connecting First Nations people to Country and their traditional foodways.

Moderated by Stephanie King, Documentary Australia.

ARTIST

Sarah Firth (she/her) is based on Wurundjeri Country, Melbourne, Australia. She is an artist, writer, cartoonist, graphic recorder and animator, originally trained as a classical sculptor. She has received a Talking Difference Fellowship from the Immigration Museum, was a finalist in the Incinerator Gallery Award For Social Change and her comics were part of Eisner Award-winning and Ignatz nominated comic anthologies. Her debut graphic novel “Eventually Everything Connects” was listed as The Age’s Non-Fiction Pick of The Week, ALIA’s Notable Graphic Novels of 2023 and one of The Best Graphic Novels Ever by Refinery29.

TAKE ACTION

Get involved this National Tree Day
Trees are natural carbon sequesters - meaning they absorb and capture carbon from our atmosphere. So, it’s important we continue to plant trees and look after our natural environment. As we hear in the Q&A, National Tree Day has seen communities plant nearly 27 million native plants and trees since 1996!

Get involved and get your hands grubby this National Tree Day (and all year round)

Get planting native plants and bushfoods
We learned so much from panellist and Bush to Bowl Co-Founder Adam Byrne about the importance of native plants and caring for Country wherever we are, whether that's out bush or in the city. We also learned a few things about native bushfoods and how we can grow them and use them in our cooking!

Get native plants and produce and support First Nations enterprise

Learn more about Documentary Australia's Environmental Accelerator:
documentaryaustralia.com.au/environmental-accelerator

Learn more about STTOP: sttop2030.com