“Alice, we know your first love was documentary filmmaking - how has this inspired your career and evolved into Earthrise today?”

Documentaries are portals into different worlds, and invite us to step into completely different lived experiences. I’ve always been in awe of this power – where stories can engage us emotionally in ways where data and facts fall short: they can move us, change us, confront us, and drive us to extraordinary action. The right story, well told, allows us to move beyond our known reality. Not only can they allow us to understand and empathise but to build something better. When it comes to engaging with the climate crisis, this becomes absolutely crucial. Not only can we inform through documentaries and stories, we can engage and inspire those who are looking for a direction to turn to in what can often feel like an overwhelming and impossible situation. And we can’t do that alone – so that’s how Earthrise was born.

“What does a typical day at Earthrise look like?"

A typical day at Earthrise starts with a (strong!) coffee from our favourite cafe around the corner, Mare Street Market. Once the team have all piled into the studio Alice likes to kick off the day with a quick debrief about current projects – from editorial partnerships to documentaries to impact campaigns and consultancy work. Between our creativity agency work and production studio, there’s never a dull moment.

The mornings quickly fill up with client calls, emails and strategy sessions, while the incredible creative team of Josephine, Paolina, and Marley bring projects to life. But all of that creative buzz needs some fuel and air to recuperate, so lunch breaks are quickly becoming a ritual at the studio.

While Paolina and Isabella head off to their ‘Hot Girl Boxing’ session, Hassan and Izzy hit the pavements of Hackney for a 5k run. Joi’s lunch breaks are spent savouring the fruits of her weekly meal preps, while other members of the team opt for a peaceful lunchtime stroll around London Fields with the newest Earthrise member: Lyla, a four-month-old puppy.

Once we’re all back and feeling refreshed, the afternoons are often spent in the production studio. One day it might be Joi presenting a new upcoming series with the BBC on the links between climate change and health, another day it might be Isabella presenting an explainer video in Spanish. If not in the studio, team members like Chloe are meeting with new collaborators and clients to set into motion the next big project.

Before we know it, the day’s over. We tidy up the office and water our plants – Izzy is our resident plant mom – close our laptops, and head off into the endless possibilities of London evenings.

“The Earthrise team is passionate about storytelling to make the world a better place. How does storytelling inspire action? What are the most effective methods for changemaking?”

It’s in the science! Research suggests that we are 22 times more likely to remember a fact when it has been told in a story. When we read or watch a powerful story we use visual and emotional centres in both hemispheres of our brain, triggering a powerful emotive response. It’s this response we believe can empower people to take care of their inner world, so they can create change in the outer world.

“What’s the most powerful campaign you’ve seen or worked on? Was there a particular story or campaign that inspired your journey into climate activism?”

Our most recent campaign was pretty POWERful (pardon the pun!). Presented by our very own Jack Harries and Joi Lee, POWER is a four-part series unraveling the origins of the global energy crisis and exploring how fossil fuels came to rule our world.

It felt like a massive topic – and campaign – to take on. How do we take something as big and complicated as the global energy crisis and tell it in a way that is digestible and engaging? The good thing about any campaign is that it’s a collective effort.  We asked our audience and community what they wanted to know, and we shaped the series based on their input. With their help, we were able to tackle the energy crisis and break it down.

It was a great reminder that often those in power want us to believe that things are simply too complicated, too big, and too impossible to take on. But that’s a lie that they want us to believe. And when we put our heads together, that lie starts to lose its power.

It’s about community. Beyond our own projects, every day we’re inspired by the campaigns, initiatives, and wins of the wider community around us. For example, in 2021 the incredible team and organisers behind #StopCambo announced that Shell had withdrawn its support from the Cambo oil field development off the coast of Scotland. This was an incredible moment for the movement, keeping 150 million barrels of oil a year in the ground.

"Can you explain to our community why indigenous communities are so important to protecting the planet and reversing climate change?"

One fact that we come back to time and time again is: 

Whilst Indigenous communities are only 5% of the world's population, they protect 80% of global biodiversity.

Yet every day, they are under threat. They are being systematically displaced from their lands, marginalized by larger society, and often endure state-sponsored violence.

Indigenous Peoples are the ‘real’ experts in environmental conservation, existing in synergy with complex ecosystems. Just as there is no monolithic identity of what it means to be Indigenous, instead encompassing a diversity of cultures, beings, identities – there is also not a monolithic way to steward our natural resources and environment. Diverse stewardship, diverse ecosystems.

At Earthrise, we have built a growing relationship with different Indigenous communities of Brazil who hold many of the answers to healing our planet.

Back in 2021 we launched Choose Earth, an innovative campaign standing with Brazilian Indigenous Peoples fighting for the future of our planet in collaboration with Choose Love and Voo da Vespa. Over the last two years, the Choose Earth collective has raised over £350,000, reached over 44 million people and directly supported more than 80 Indigenous leaders, working for their communities across the breadth of Brazil.

"Everyone has a role in creating change. So once we’ve heard the story, read the news, watched the documentary, etc, how do we move from sofa activism to physical action? How do you turn that knowledge into reality, and how important is seeing real, tangible change in keeping people motivated?"

Breaking news: the world won't save itself while we binge-watch documentaries in our hemp pyjamas. Let's face it - Mother Nature isn't impressed by our Netflix queue!

The system is broken, and we need change. As individuals, we can take impactful actions like switching banks. In 2021, 44 banks committed to Net Zero yet invested over £120 billion in the 100 largest companies driving oil, gas, and coal expansion. Our friends at Switch It Green can help you switch for free, quickly, and without hidden costs (it literally takes 2 minutes!)

Have you registered to vote yet? 4 billion people are expected to vote in elections this year. 2024 could be the most significant year for democracy in human history, with over half the world's population set to cast their votes. The results could significantly impact the climate. Remember, your vote is your voice, use it wisely!

What keeps us motivated is the power of community. We value close collaboration and learning from creatives, activists, and thought-leaders who genuinely care about building a more just and beautiful world. Everyone has a place in the climate space. Your skills, voice, and energy are not only welcome but also much needed!