Big challenges demand bold ideas. For years, I’ve believed that the only way we tackle the overlapping crises we face—climate, nature, inequality—is by pairing sharp data and innovative tools with a belief that change is possible. It’s not about perfect solutions. It’s about collaboration, testing ideas, learning fast, and keeping people inspired. If there’s one lesson I keep coming back to, it’s that hope isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s an essential strategy. Without it, we risk getting stuck in a doom loop where nothing moves forward.
In 2023, this mindset shaped the “We Are Nature” campaign, where we set out to reframe how people see themselves in relation to the planet. Instead of treating nature as something “out there” to protect, we asked people to see themselves as part of it. AI visualization tools helped us create striking imagery that blended human and natural forms, while global surveys uncovered how people connect to nature and what inspires hope. These efforts helped us craft messages that felt both innovative and personal, creating a foundation for the work that followed.
Defund Nature Destruction begins
In February, a new team met in Austria to map out the campaign arc for 2024 and the campaign's evolution to Defund Nature Destruction Now (DNDN), which combined hope and nature with drying up the financing for nature destruction. I was asked to step in as Digital Engagement Lead for the year. The challenge was clear: we had to merge two very different campaigns—one rooted in the hope and connection of “We Are Nature,” the other focused on calling out the financial sector for destroying nature or "Bankrolling Extinction." Early on, I crafted a unified story and frames in our engagement plan that struck a balance between urgency and hope, people and finance. It became our guide for the year, linking people’s connection to nature with the systemic action needed to save it.
When I stepped this role, I was fortunate to have a small but incredibly effective engagement team by my side. Christine, our communications officer, kept the messaging sharp and creative. Bamboo, our digital content producer, brought clever memes in everything from videos to graphics. And Zane, our digital lead and fundraising expert, helped ensure our strategy not only reached audiences but also drove meaningful engagement helping me with data analysis. Together, we worked as a tightly focused unit, turning ideas into action. We worked closely with project leads Syahrul and Sandra, global campaigner Andy directing the action, and our regional campaigners Cris in Brazil and Lukas from the EU. Global collaboration is key to making things happen.
At the heart of the plan was a balance we called “Destruction and Resurgence.” On one side was the stark reality: unchecked financial greed was enabling food and commodities companies through billions in investment, which was in turn fueling environmental devastation in places like Brasil and Indonesia. On the other was an essential message of hope, grounded in the belief that nature has its own immense restorative power—and that humans, as part of nature, play a vital role in helping it heal. Hope and nature are renewable resources. This "yin/yang" approach framed the campaign, balancing the urgency of defunding destruction with the possibility of a thriving, interdependent future.
MoneyTrees: Putting financiers on notice
Greenpeace had worked with film house Studio Birthplace on past Greenpeace campaigns; we knew they were capable of cinematic storytelling. Principals Jorik, Sil and Alea had this knack for creating unforgettable visuals that hit you like a gut punch. They love using special effects and music to push boundaries, crafting what they call “mindbombs” to shock people out of complacency and spark action.
Their initial concept for the DNDN "hero film" leaned into a clever news spoof, which had real potential for European audiences but, to me, felt too culturally specific to work in the Global South as humor doesn’t always translate. I suggested we go for something more universal—a bit more zen—where the visuals and mimed action alone could carry the message without relying on narration.
One image from their moodboard stopped me in my tracks: bankers in suits wielding chainsaws. It kind of said it all. It was the perfect metaphor for the campaign— financiers cutting through nature to fuel their greed. Overnight, I iterated on their storyboard using generative AI tools MidJourney and DALL-E and pulled together a counter-moodboard to riff on their idea.
A few months later, the production team was on location in Indonesia with actors as bankers and politicians, bringing the vision to life with elaborate sets, and an incredibly "unhinged" hip-hop track called MoneyTrees to tie it all together. Throughout production, I worked closely with them along with Bamboo and Christine on our core team, providing feedback on how the film could resonate across diverse audiences. When the film launched in late May, we reversioned it into short-form vertical formats for our global offices. The response was explosive—MoneyTrees racked up 1.3 million views in just 24 hours, putting the DNDN campaign squarely on the public radar.
Studio Birthplace even went above and beyond to make sure no trees were harmed while they were illustrating how humanity is destroying nature, so they made a behind-the-scenes film to prove it—using fallen trees, fire experts, rapid and bored actors and some creative effects to pull it off safely.
May Days of Action and the "Mother Tree"
Pelle, a creative coordinator in our Dutch office, envisioned the Mother Tree as a bold centerpiece for our offline mobilizations—a towering, portable representation of nature’s resilience. Inspired by the concept of real “Mother Trees,” which nurture entire ecosystems, this installation was designed to symbolize the interconnectedness of people and the planet. More than just a prop, the Mother Tree aimed to serve as a unifying force at rallies, marches, and public gatherings—a tangible representation of hope and collective action.
To help refine and visualize Pelle’s ambitious idea, I used generative AI tools like MidJourney and DALL-E to suggest approaches. AI tools allowed us to prototype how the Mother Tree might look and function in real-life scenarios—whether standing prominently in city centers, surrounded by crowds, or as part of a moving march. By translating an abstract idea into vivid possibilities, we bridged creative imagination with practical execution, ensuring the Mother Tree could inspire action wherever it went.
When the Mother Tree debuted during the May Days of Action in Amsterdam’s financial district, it stood as a towering symbol of resilience and defiance. Beyond representing nature's healing power, it carried a sharp message. The live re-enactment of MoneyTrees, complete with actors portraying bankers wielding chainsaws, put corporate greed in the spotlight. Sil, co-founder of Studio Birthplace, joined the march, capturing the day’s energy in a vlog that seamlessly connected the film's message to its real-world impact.
We always saw the May Days of Action as a dress rehearsal for something larger we had planned for the fall. In the Netherlands, we joined a coalition with Milieudefensie, Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future, Oxfam Novib, and others, bringing 15,000 people into the streets of Amsterdam's financial hub. The Mother Tree stood tall amidst the crowd, a striking symbol of hope and defiance.
In Brazil, demonstrations in front of Banco do Brasil in 12 cities drew public attention and secured government engagement, with 12 groups and 150 volunteers mobilized. Meanwhile, in Luxembourg, activists called on their government to prioritize nature laws and regulate financial institutions. In Indonesia, a visit to the Kanasaimos in South Sorong, West Papua, resulted in official recognition of Indigenous land after photos and videos published on International Biodiversity Day highlighted the urgent need for protection.
The May Days of Action were always seen as a precursor to something larger—an opportunity to refine our approach ahead of the CBD COP in Cali that fall. The COP, focused on global biodiversity, was a critical moment to pressure governments to implement the ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework agreed upon in 2022. Our aim was to ensure the commitments made at the COP weren’t just promises but a call to action for real change.
World On Fire: Nature Destruction From The Frontlines
In May, I traveled to Indonesia with three clear objectives: to reconnect with Studio Birthplace on potential collaborations, to embed with the Indonesian engagement team and observe their highly effective operation, and to work with the core campaign team to plan the next phase of the year. First, I met with Jorik from Studio Birthplace in Bali to explore how we could do more cinematic storytelling that year.
Later that week, our team—Cris, Andy, Syahrul, Sandra, Lukas, Arie, and I—met outside Jakarta to plan the rest of the year including our exposes on fires and Global Days of Action ahead of the Cali COP. We agreed that to convey the human and systemic impact, we needed frontline stories from Brazil and Indonesia. I mentioned my chat with Jorik and six story concepts emerged, focused on resilience and the forces driving destruction. I proposed using video storytelling with a cinéma vérité style, collaborating with Studio Birthplace to ground the narratives in lived experiences.
I spent several days with the Indonesian engagement team at their office, embedding with their impressively disciplined operation. Equipped with strong in-house video capabilities, they decided to produce their own series, focusing on three powerful stories: fire prevention heroes, a teacher navigating life amid haze, and activists suing palm oil companies. Together, we refined the narrative arcs to balance urgency with hope. Meanwhile, Studio Birthplace took the lead on filming in Brazil, collaborating with director Roberto to bring additional frontline stories to life.
By summer, two teams were deployed to bring these stories to life in Indonesia and Brazil. Among the most compelling were the legal case in Lebung Itam, where activists sued palm oil companies for environmental destruction, and the fires in the Pantanal, capturing the devastating impact on one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. The other stories highlighted fire prevention heroes, a teacher navigating life amid constant haze, and grassroots activists in Brazil confronting deforestation and corporate greed.
Together, these six mini-documentaries aimed to expose the financial drivers of destruction while showcasing the resilience of those on the frontlines, building momentum ahead of the CBD COP Biodiversity Summit.
Curating Messages of Hope For Nature
Emma from our EU team joined Christine, Pelle, and Bamboo to help craft the campaign’s biggest moment. She proposed a central website to collect messages of hope for nature globally, uniting Greenpeace offices in a simple but powerful way. These messages, delivered directly to CBD COP delegates, ensured the world’s demand for biodiversity action was impossible to ignore. The website became the foundation of a broader strategy, combining on-the-ground activism, bold visuals, and a global online conversation.
The plan centered on four key elements: people on the streets, Greenpeace direct actions, striking landmark projections, and a social media push. Activists carried out nonviolent direct actions targeting institutions tied to nature destruction, while projections in Austria, Hungary, and Mexico displayed urgent calls to action. The website and social media campaign encouraged individuals worldwide to share their messages, linking local efforts to a global movement. Together, these elements made the Global Days of Action a powerful and unified call for change.
As everything unfolded, Zane and I tackled the challenge of collecting and visualizing thousands of Messages of Hope for Nature from direct submissions and social media channels. We needed a streamlined solution to consolidate this data into a usable interface. After refining the concept, we collaborated with Nick and Ilona at Greenpeace’s Global Mapping Hub to create a global heat map using Flockler, a social wall tool. This tool pulled posts from Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, and LinkedIn, pairing them with geolocation data the map could read. Within three weeks, we moved from concept to deployment, creating a powerful tool to visualize the global impact of the campaign in real-time.
Light It Up: Global Days of Action
Dozens of people across 12 countries worked together in real-time, coordinating through Slack to bring the Global Days of Action to life. Projections lit up landmarks like St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, the Tower Bridge in London, the Liberty Statue in Budapest, and the Torre Latinoamericana in Mexico City, delivering urgent calls to protect biodiversity. Using creative assets produced by a UK-based agency, these projections featured actual Messages of Hope harvested from the campaign’s global map, tying local visuals to a global movement. The striking displays stopped people in their tracks and garnered significant media attention, with outlets like El Universal in Mexico, Kronen Zeitung in Austria, and Reuters amplifying the campaign’s urgency and scale.
The offline mobilizations made a bold statement. In the Netherlands, the Mother Tree was part of an art installation in a forest, while climbers in a city center staged a dramatic action targeting Rabobank for its role in funding nature destruction. Direct actions in Spain and Portugal took aim at Santander, highlighting the financial sector’s complicity in biodiversity loss. Art installations in Germany and the Netherlands created striking visuals that engaged local communities and captured media attention. These efforts, coordinated across 12 countries, turned localized actions into a powerful global push for governments to honor their biodiversity commitments.
Bringing It Home: Messages Received in Cali
Zane and I led the final phase of the campaign, starting with curating the most compelling Messages of Hope for Nature from the global map. These carefully selected messages became the backbone of a striking digital ad campaign at Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali. Collaborating with a UK-based agency, we transformed the submissions into vibrant visuals that greeted delegates and negotiators as they arrived, tying grassroots voices directly to the high-stakes biodiversity discussions at the COP.
We then adapted the creative for a LinkedIn campaign to target key audiences. In two phases, we geo-targeted ads to negotiators and stakeholders, first focusing on delegates in Cali’s Blue and Green Zones and later refining the scope to priority individuals near the conference venue. With over 74,000 impressions and 1,100 clicks, the campaign ensured that messages from around the globe remained front and center during this critical moment for biodiversity.
Measuring Impact
Zane and I worked closely with Ludene from our insights department to design a custom dashboard in Google Data Studio, pulling engagement data from multiple offices and platforms. After many discussions and iterations, we created a streamlined tool that became the campaign’s nerve center, providing real-time insights and guiding strategy adjustments. Beyond this campaign, the dashboard now serves as a valuable template for measuring the health and impact of future initiatives.
The Global Days of Action demonstrated the campaign’s global reach and impact, both online and offline. The World On Fire series, a key storytelling pillar, delivered 348,629 video views from 28 posts across 12 Greenpeace NRO channels between September and early November. Instagram led as the dominant platform, driving 166,855 likes, comments, and shares, with the highest engagement recorded in Indonesia and Brazil— regions directly impacted by the stories told. These videos amplified the urgency of addressing biodiversity loss while highlighting the resilience of those fighting on the frontlines.
The campaign also generated 12,647 Messages of Hope for Nature through direct submissions and social media, creating a dynamic global map of participation. Across social media, the campaign achieved 310,711 likes, comments, and shares from over 1,800 social posts. Offline, 16 flagship activities were coordinated across 12 countries, including projections on iconic landmarks in Austria, Hungary, Indonesia, and Mexico. Nonviolent direct actions (NVDAs) targeted financial institutions in the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, and Colombia, while art installations in Germany and the Netherlands provided striking visuals that engaged local communities and captured global media attention. Together, these efforts turned localized actions into a cohesive global call for change.
At the Cali COP, the campaign’s message reached decision-makers directly. Messages of Hope featured prominently in digital ads at Cali’s international airport, generating over 91,800 impressions. A LinkedIn campaign followed, targeting multilingual messages at stakeholders near the COP venue, generating 74,843 impressions and 1,174 clicks. According to the CBD team in Cali, the campaign succeeded in elevating biodiversity on the global agenda, ensuring the commitments made in 2022 remained a focal point of negotiations. By uniting grassroots activism with high-level advocacy, the campaign proved that public pressure can drive meaningful momentum toward systemic change.
Conclusion
This campaign reminded me that the best ideas don’t come from one person or one tool—they come from collaboration and a willingness to take risks. Whether it was using AI to bring the Mother Tree to life or pulling together local insights to ground our strategies, every breakthrough was rooted in the interplay between creativity and teamwork. Innovation wasn’t just about the tools we used; it was about how we used them to connect people and ideas across cultures, time zones, and channels. Balancing global vision with local expertise was the key to making the campaign feel both authentic and impactful.
I also learned that hope is more than a message—it’s a practice. In a campaign this complex, it could’ve been easy to focus only on urgency or scale. But what moved people—what inspired action—was the belief that they could make a difference. The multichannel approach showed me how much power lies in meeting people where they are, from social media feeds to city streets. In the end, it wasn’t just the numbers or the headlines that stood out—it was the way thousands of people came together to demand a better future. That’s something I’ll carry forward: bold ideas and hard data matter, but it’s the shared human connection that drives real change.
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