Giants Rising | Mon Jan 27 | Film Screening & Discussion | FREE!

Awarding-Winning Giants Rising
Directed by the acclaimed Lisa Landers
a Climate Action NOW Monthly Film Festival Film

IMBd: Journey into the heart of America's most iconic forests. GIANTS RISING reveals the secrets and the saga of the coast redwoods—the tallest and among the oldest living beings on Earth.

It's an epic tale that explores the wonders of these silent giants and our dramatic, ever-evolving relationship with them. Living links to the past, redwoods also hold powers that may play a role in our future, including their ability to withstand fire and capture carbon, to offer clues about longevity, and even to enhance our own well-being.

How do they do it—and how will redwoods keep working their magic as they're pushed to their limits?

Through the voices of biologists, artists, Native peoples and others racing to understand and safeguard these trees, GIANTS RISING reveals the scientific wonders of redwoods, our deep cultural ties to them, and efforts to help these iconic forests overcome the legacy of logging that nearly wiped them out. It's a story that offers lessons about resilience and connection, and the promise of solutions that will help us ALL rise up from the past and face the challenges that lay ahead.

LISA LANDERS: For more than two decades, Lisa has been developing and creating award-winning programs for television and museums such as the Smithsonian Channel, PBS/KQED, National Geographic Television, Discovery, the American Museum of Natural History, and Mexico City’s Papalote Museo del Niño. We're thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase Lisa's work through our Monthly Film Festival.

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Check out the TRAILER!

PLEASE DON'T BE LATE, you don't want to miss the exciting Opener!

7:00 PM | OPENER, Supervisor James Walkinshaw of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Chairman of Fairfax County Environment Committee
7:15 PM | FILM SCREENING promptly begins (we're excited to include the 2 minute prelude screening of Tides of Change in lieu of trailers; you'll LOVE IT)
8:40- 9:30 PM | PANEL DISCUSSION Q&A

🌱SPECIAL GUEST Opening Remarks: SUPERVISOR JAMES WALKINSHAW is a lifelong resident of northern Virginia with over 15 years of public sector experience. He began his second term on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in January 2024 and serves as Chairman of the Environmental Committee and the Legislative Committee. During his first term, he advocated for the Fairfax County Plastic Bag Tax and initiatives to phase out gas-powered lawn equipment. He continues to focus on aligning transportation plans with climate change efforts and improving energy efficiency and natural resources in the County.

🌱Bring your own EMPTY drink and popcorn containers (that you can use to buy a drink and popcorn at Cinema Arts Theatres concession stand) to help make this a WASTE FREE event.

JOIN US for another one of our awesome FREE events through our Monthly Monday Film Festival series that runs from January-April and September-December each year. CLICK HERE to CHECK OUT our past Monthly Monday Eco Flicks SOLD OUT events.

If the seats become fully booked, and there's a waitlist, please show up at the door anyway. There are usually enough no-shows for everyone who shows up at the door to get in.

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OUR AWESOME PANEL:
🌱BRIAN KEIGHTLEY, Fairfax County Director of Urban Forest Management.

🌱INES NEDELCOVIC, Virginia Master Naturalist. Ines has been crowing about the perils of climate change since the early 2000s. Six years ago she retired and moved back to Fairfax County where she has done more than crow. She planted a pollinator garden in her front yard, and another one in a common area with her HOAs landscape committee. In January of this year, Ines co-founded the Fairfax Invasive Removal Alliance (FIRA) with Wendy Cohen and Rekha Dolas to advocate for a healthier ecosystem in Fairfax County by saving trees and promoting biodiversity through the removal of invasive plants and the planting of natives. She has devoted her volunteer hours to the restoration of habitats in Northern Virginia by removing invasive plants and planting native plants, rescuing trees and protecting the wildlife population. Ecosystems can absorb as much as 50% of anthropogenic greenhouse gases so her crow these days has a sense of agency.

🌱JIM MCGLONE has a PhD in Human Ecology (aka Economics) from Virginia Tech and a Master’s Certificate in Environmental Law and Policy from the USDA Graduate School. A self-taught naturalist and ecologist, he has managed the natural resources of a 500 acre park in Fairfax County and is retired from 17 years as an Urban Forest Conservationist with the Virginia Department of Forestry in Northern Virginia. He continues to do environmental education with Tree Stewards, Master Naturalists, Master Gardeners and other groups. He and his wife have been practicing conservation landscaping since 2005 and removed turf grass from their property in 2008. He is an ISA Certified Arborist and has the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification.

🌱MADDIE BRIGHT, Executive Director, Earth Sangha. Maddie has been dedicated to native plant conservation since 2011. Growing up as the child of co-founders Lisa and Chris Bright, she has a deep-rooted connection to the organization. Throughout the years, Maddie has collaborated closely with ecologists, botanists, and park managers in the Northern Virginia region, contributing to various plant conservation and ecological restoration projects. She even gained valuable experience interning at Huntley Meadows Park. Maddie's passion for nature extends beyond his work at Earth Sangha. She frequently shares her knowledge as a teacher for the Arlington Regional Master Naturalist chapter and actively participates in the steering committee for the National Capitol Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management.

MODERATOR:

🌱ELISA SOLOMON is the Project Coordinator at the Fairfax Food Council. She holds a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in food security and nutrition. Elisa comprehensively understands food systems and the interrelatedness of public health, nutrition, the environment, equity, economics, and society. She also holds a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science and is a certified exercise physiologist. Additionally, Elisa has used her knack for simplifying complex material by developing and leading health workshops covering various topics for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

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🌱EVENT SPONSOR: Climate Action NOW (CAN) 501c3. EVENT PARTNERS: Network NOVA, TRACE-The Zero Waste Store in Vienna, Climate & Clean Energy Working Group, and Go Electric DMV.

Host or Publisher Climate Action NOW (CAN) 501c3