This butterfly is excited to be speaking with Maxi Cohen.

Maxi is an award-winning artist and filmmaker based in New York City. Her films have played in movie theaters, in film festivals, and on television internationally. Her films, photographs, and multimedia installations have been exhibited internationally and are in the

permanent collections of numerous museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

Currently, she is making Ayahuasca Diaries, a feature documentary for the curious and well-seasoned. From what’s mind-boggling humanly possible, to how ayahuasca is changing world culture, it includes spiritual leaders from Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia. Previously, she executive produced From Shock to Awe (about suicidal veterans recovering with ayahuasca and MDMA) and directed The Holy Give Me, about the Santo Daime.

For twenty-five years she has been filming and photographing bodies of water around the world from Argentina to Zambia, Antarctica to Iceland, Bali, Bosnia, Brazil, and onwards, resulting in video, video furniture, photographs, paintings, multimedia works, and mixed reality. In 2024, her exhibition, “The Poetry of Water” was featured at the Leila Heller Gallery in Dubai, the largest gallery in the UAE.

In this episode, you will hear about her multimedia art, Poetry of Water, Four Bodies of Water, the Amazon, her work on social justice, and more.

Some notes...

More about 1treellion & Maxi Cohen.

To support planting all over the world, please check out this link.
The great music is credited to Pixabay.

This butterfly is excited to speak with Jeff DeQuattro, Director of Restoration, Gulf of Mexico.

“I love the Gulf of Mexico, from alligators in the wetlands and sunsets over the marshes to its salty air and the sight of blue crabs scampering over tidal oyster reefs. I love this place.”

TNC hired Jeff to manage a $3 million Recovery Act project to restore 1.5 miles of oyster reef in Mobile Bay, Alabama. Soon thereafter, he found himself leading TNC’s oil spill recovery efforts along Alabama’s coast. His role at TNC was then expanded to encompass other conservation and restoration activities along Alabama’s coast.

Before TNC, Jeff worked as an environmental consultant and stormwater professional for large industrial clients and developers throughout Alabama. He has also worked as a hazardous and non-hazardous waste broker, which included cleaning contaminated sites and oil spills.

Jeff, who earned a degree in environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, says life on the Gulf has a “priceless quality that is unmatched in bounty and possibility. It’s not appreciated for the natural resources that sustain the livelihoods of not only Gulf Coast residents but much of the entire country as well. Who would have thought that it would take the largest environmental disaster in the United States; history for the Gulf to be recognized for its contributions? But hopefully, this disaster made us realize that by working together with a sustainable frame of mind, we can achieve a more resilient and more bountiful Gulf of Mexico that will continue to support the quality of life that is our home.”

In this episode, you will hear about his work at the Gulf of Mexico, oil spills, the value of oyster reefs, community involvement, youth, and more.

Some notes...

More about 1treellion & Jeff DeQuattro.

To support planting all over the world, please check out this link.

The great music is credited to Pixabay.

This butterfly is excited to be speaking with Shubber Ali.

Shubber Ali is the CEO of Garden for Wildlife, a program that began within the National Wildlife Federation. Shubber has spent the last three decades helping companies in the consulting and software industries solve problems through innovation. It was while Shubber was one of Accenture’s Global Leads for Digital Innovation that he worked with the NWF to launch Garden for Wildlife as its own for-profit e-commerce company.

Garden for Wildlife allows people to make a difference for the environment by shipping plants native to their zip code that support local wildlife. Their team of experts has thoughtfully utilized 50 years of experience, science, and data to curate plant collections that support wildlife and benefit local ecosystems in every season. And for every plant GFW sells, they reserve one plant for donation to a community garden or public space.

Shubber is incredibly passionate about innovation, nature, and wildlife, and is on a mission to get as many people as possible to help save the planet, yard by yard. In 2023, GFW shipped over 62,000 plants across 38 states and 2,900+ cities in America.

In this episode, you will hear about his journey, rain-friendly gardens, what’s the value of buying native species, our lawns, pollinators, and more.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Books:

Nature's Best Hope - Doug Tallamy

The Nature Fix - Florence Williams

Last Child in the Woods - Richard Louv

Links:

Buying Native Plants for your own yard - https://gardenforwildlife.com/

Fundraising platform signup - https://content.gardenforwildlife.com/fundraising

Native Plant Finder (NWF) - https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/

Some notes...

More about 1treellion & Shubber Ali and Gardens for Wildlife .

To support planting all over the world, please check out this link.

The great music is credited to Pixabay.