Kiss The Ground
Narrated by Woody Harrelson
FERTILE FACT
The climate saviour we’ve been waiting for might just be soil
Every now and then we bring you a book or a documentary, that for us, changed how we look at the world, awoke, educated or inspired us. This film was one of those.
Why this film? A runaway success on Netflix, think of this as the science lesson you wish you’d had at school. Your teacher is Woody Harrelson and he unveils a dramatic twist in the climate tale that will have you gripped like Hollywood’s best. It’s complete with renegade heroes, wonder, love and tears. Most of all, the possibility, of a shining sequel, for Planet Earth. And you have popcorn.
The gist: So far, the focus has been on fixing the air above us, but what might really hold the key to saving the world turns out to be the earth under our feet. This is the story of a simple solution to healing our planet and keeping our species off the extinction list. Soil, it appears, could just be the thing that can balance our climate, replenish our fresh water supplies and feed the world. That’s why, says Woody, in the film’s opening sequence, people are racing to save our soil and our soil is racing to save us. How are they doing it? With a fail-safe formula for a fresh way to grow our food. Yes, it’s that simple. It’s called Regenerative Agriculture and it does exactly what it says on the tin. Like anything that’s intrinsically good, it works for everyone - every microbe, sheep and spring onion, every adult and child, the air, the water, the earth. Financially too, believe it or not, farmers earn more and are more resilient to weather changes when they farm in this way. It was always there this wisdom, we got lost and vandalised it. Now it’s waiting to be remembered. And there are incredible people, as you’ll see in this film, reminding the world just how.
You can watch it on Netflix or rent it for £1 on Vimeo.
here’s the trailer
We…
Aimee: I’ve watched this twice now - first time around the things that struck me were: (i) that depleted soil is essentially just dirt with no nutrients so our food suffers (and utlimately us) and (ii) globally, we have 60 harvests left if we don’t take action. Second time around: (i) depleted land leads to mass migration which leads to civil unrest and (ii) the land can be restored really quickly (in a decade or two) if Regenerative Agriculture is used - so there’s immediate hope and results. Excited for us to play our part.
Sonia: If I’m really truthful, sometimes I lose hope. The icebergs, floods, wildfires…I walk a wavering line between is it too late and yes, we still can; though hope is where I always choose to place my feet. So besides the utter revelation this film has been, there’s one thing I take away more than all else. And that is proper firm-footed hope. It can be done and at a speed I didn’t think possible, with amazing people actively working all over the world to make it happen. Towards the end of the film, and this isn’t a spoiler, Woody looks at the camera and says ‘I’ll make you a deal, I won’t give up and neither should you’.
Deal, Woody. Deal.
“The green, green grass of home”