Eyes on Conservation becomes… Earth to Humans!
The Eyes on Conservation podcast came into being back in theearly days of podcasts. It’s been sixyears now since we launched the series, and I could not possibly have fathomedwhat this show would become when it launched in the fall of 2014.
The name Eyes on Conservation was adopted from our documentary web series of the same name, and the show was initially just an outlet for us to repurpose the audio from particularly interesting interviews conducted as a part of this video series. Slowly, we built an audience for the podcast, while the Eyes on Conservation video series fizzled away. So the name, Eyes on Conservation, never really fit the podcast.
Meanwhile, as our audience grew, we started to use the show as a platform for experimentation and sharing new ideas. I started working with a team of amazing producers who not only shared the burden of producing episodes, but also brought new, fresh perspectives to the series. Then in 2018 we restructured and rebranded Wild Lens as the Wild Lens Collective, shifting the organization’s mission towards providing support for a growing network of media producers, artists, and storytellers who are deeply passionate about creating a better future for humanity and our planet. From there, it was a natural next step to start inviting members of our new collective to guest produce episodes of the podcast series.
As we began introducing these new voices, exploring different topics, and expanding the scope of issues that we cover on the podcast, we started to realize that the word conservation was not an accurate reflection of our goals. Conservation evokes ideas of protection – it exemplifies the goal of striving to maintain natural systems as they currently exist. While this may seem problematic, and even nonsensical in our current era of climate change, the history behind the concept of environmental conservation goes well beyond problematic – there is a deeply troubling record of genocide, oppression and slavery hidden in plain sight.
Efforts to conserve natural landscapes in the United States have always been enacted strictly for the benefit of white Americans. The concept of “wilderness” is a fallacy – there was no land unoccupied by humans when European Americans arrived in the Americas, and the first action that the US government took after establishing the early national parks was to forcibly remove the people who had made these areas their home for thousands of years.
So, let me just say – EARTH TO HUMANS! - you have been lied to and misled by yourcorrupt, colonial governments for far too long! Break free from the racist agenda that has been embedded just below thesurface of the environmental movement! Recognizewhat BIPOC thought leaders have been saying for over 100 years – the system wasintentionally designed to oppress people of color. Those of us who have been and continue towork from within this conservationist mindset need to break free and worktogether to develop ideas for the future that benefit all people, as well asecosystems and wildlife.