By: Diogo Verissimo, Lost and found nature
Talking about biodiversity has frequently become talking about extinction, decline and loss. But it does not have to be. #NatureForAll’s newest partner, the storytelling project “Lost and Found”, works to bring to life the inspirational stories of those species that were thought extinct for at least a human generation but where subsequently rediscovered. Their goal is to change the conversations around conservation, away from doom and gloom, and towards more a positive message.
“We work to get this content to as many people as possible, by making it freely available online in a diversity of formats. We currently have 13 stories, soon to be 15, from squirrels to toads and salamanders to bower birds, from across Latin America, Oceania and Asia.”
All of them can be found at www.lostandfoundnature.com in both narrative text and comics, with a new video animation format already in the works. If you are curious, have a look!
Lost & Found also has a blog to share species rediscovery stories from from those with one to tell. Drop them a line if you are interested!
Beyond talking about the species Lost & Found also focuses on telling the stories of the people involved in these rediscoveries. This is to ensure that the content is appealing even to those people who are no naturally motivated to read about biodiversity. After all, who does not like a good story?
Lost & Found was launched at the Earth Optimism Summit, organized by the Smithsonian in Washington DC. It was a great reception, with more than a 1000 people visiting the website so far.
The work has been funded (so far) by the Society for Conservation Biology and the British Ecological Society.