The Nature Conservancy’s new animated short film ‘To The Jungles That Be’ highlights inequities in community access to nature through the works of poet Kondwani Fidel and artist Saba Hamidi
CURes began working with The Nature Conservancy (TNC)’s Baltimore Program in Fall 2022, first joining a project to examine the network of environmental stewardship funders in Baltimore, MD. In 2023, with funding from the US Forest Service, TNC partnered with CURes’ Dr. Michele Romolini to implement “Healthy Trees Healthy Cities Baltimore”. This 3-year project will utilize ‘To The Jungles That Be’ to explore how art-based engagement, targeted science communication, and partnership with communities may impact urban forestry participation and outcomes. We developed this work with a focus on recognition justice, an area of environmental justice that acknowledges the different lived experiences of people across diverse communities.
In the new animated short film To The Jungles That Be, the work of Baltimore poet Kondwani Fidel and artist Saba Hamidi highlight how people experience “nature” differently depending on where they grow up and whether they have access to healthy natural environments. The film is being used to start conversations in urban and underserved communities to better understand their relationship to nature and their interest in participating in Maryland’s Tree Solutions Now Act, which aims to plant 5 million trees in the state by 2031 with 500,000 in urban and underserved communities. The film can be viewed on The Nature Conservancy’s Youtube channel or www.tothejungles.com, where users are also invited share their stories and experiences of nature.
The full press release can be found here.