Documentary Movie: Guardians not gardeners – reconnecting with the web of life on Planet Earth

A personal story of Joanna Wis environmental activist and climate policy expert traveling to the Amazon Rainforest and across Europe to meet Guardians of Life on the Planet Earth, those from the first nations following the teaching of their ancestors in the Ecuadorian rainforest and those in the modern world gathered under the We are the ARK.

We are the ARK – where biblical ARK stands for Acts of Restorative Kindness is a global movement of over 1000 private landowners (Joanna is one of them) who return their gardens to wild nature.

The problem

Two billion people do not have access to drinking water in their homes, 9 out of 10 breathe polluted air and almost 10%, or about 829 million, suffer from hunger. At the same time, in the name of economic growth, we are destroying the natural environment and biodiversity, which provides us with basic system services and is a guarantee of human survival on the planet.

Every day we lose 150 to 200 plant and animal species. Many scientists believe that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction in Earth's history. With the development of civilization and our disconnection from the natural rhythm of life, we have forgotten that all forms of life - from fungi in the soil and ants in the forest to large mammals - play a vital role in the circle of life.

“All creatures play a vital role in the circle of life. That is, every creature other than us. When a gap appears in that circle or a strand of that web disappears, the system gets weaker and closer to collapse. We rely upon their presence for our clean air and water, healthy foods, and beautiful environments, what’s not so obvious is how many of these species form the basis of the earth’s immune system and indeed our own continued protection from disease and sickness.  Each moment of our lives is dependent on this web of life remaining intact.” – reminds Mary Raynolds a reformed landscape designer internationally acclaimed author and founder of “We are the ARK” global movement.

Joanna believes that to stop the destruction of life on the Planet Earth humanity needs to rebuild its bond to the nature, its true connection to the web of life and we better do is fast as If we do not stop the loss of biodiversity, humanity may suffer the fate of the saber-toothed tiger. 

The author 

My name is Joanna Wis. I am a journalist, climate policy expert and a mother for nearly 20 years professionally engaged in the environment protection. I am also an owner of a plot of land in a small village near Warsaw, an area that I decided to give back to the nature. My neighbors think I simply neglect the property, but I know my true, I belong to the global movement WearetheARK, and my property is one of the four official ARKs in Poland and over 1000 plots globally which had been given back to the nature by their owners, to guard life on the Planet Earth. I believe that along with the First Nations we are the Guardians of life.