Taking place on Saturday 25 April at the Cambridge Conservation Initiative’s flagship campus, experts and youth leaders will celebrate environmental success stories from around the world. Alongside Cambridge, Washington, Sydney, Nairobi, Beijing and Rio are holding their own Earth Optimism events to spread the unanimous message: conservation works, and the time to act for nature is now.
Worldwide, young people and citizen movements are opening everyone’s eyes to the magnitude of the biodiversity and climate crisis. 2020 will be a pivotal year for biodiversity, with an unprecedented series of meetings of world leaders setting out the conservation agenda for the next decade. Coupling growing demands for real change with a detailed understanding of what’s already working and why offers the potential for real impact in the years ahead.
In support of the day, Sir David Attenborough said: "We all know that there are great problems [but] we don’t hear enough of some of the successes. Successes which can give us the courage, information and the inspiration which we need to continue."
The #EarthOptimism global movement invites everyone to celebrate conservation wins and take informed action for the planet. The day itself will showcase success stories from the restoration of Wicken Fen to the recovery of lions in southern Kenya, sharks in the waters around the Maldives, and the critically endangered Mauritius kestrel. Above all Earth Optimism will celebrate nature's resilience and the people who help it flourish.
Dr Rosie Trevelyan, director of the Tropical Biology Association and organiser of Earth Optimism 2020 said: "We are shining a light on stories that teach us valuable lessons that can be scaled-up. Earth Optimism offers an invitation to focus on the positive and the potential of nature to recover, while reminding us of our responsibility to do what we can, wherever we are, rather than resigning ourselves to apathy over nature’s fate."
At the same time as the talks, the event will include a family-focused Solutions Fair, where participants can get practical and effective advice over the changes we can all undertake in our everyday lives to make a real difference for nature - from reducing our energy use to cooking lower-footprint foot, appreciating nature and getting involved in local campaigns for transformation. We invite you to arrive hopeful, and leave empowered to be the change.
You can see a full list of Stories of Hope speakers and Solutions Fair stalls on the website here. The entire event is free for the public, but booking is required for the talks. Share your own stories using #EarthOptimism.
Earth Optimism Cambridge is being hosted by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI), a unique collaboration between the University of Cambridge and nine leading internationally focused biodiversity conservation organisations based in and around Cambridge, UK
The event in Cambridge is one of a number of #EarthOptimism celebrations happening around Earth Day, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.