About Conservation in action: Film showcase and panel

From the wilds of Alaska to our very own National Museums Collection Centre in Granton, join us to explore inspiring conservation and environmental stories.

In partnership with the Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival (ECFF) and Edinburgh Communities Climate Action Network (ECCAN), see a selection of short films and hear more from our panel of conservation champions.

The films screened will showcase the beauty of our natural world and the ways in which individuals and communities are taking action to alleviate the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Introduced by the Director of the Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival, the six films will explore themes of tree-planting, biodiversity enhancement, beach cleans and rewilding on land and sea. These inspiring projects are taking place in Scotland, the UK and Alaska. The screening will be approximately 60 minutes. 

The screening will be followed by an interactive panel discussion with the director of the Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival, Simon Dures, impact producer and digital storyteller, Nicola Brown, and Nick Fraser, Keeper of Natural Sciences at National Museums Scotland.

This event will be followed by an opportunity to find out about the work of the film makers and charities whose projects have been screened, alongside local environmental action charities who are part of ECCAN, with information, activities and reflections at stalls in our Events Space (Level 2) 15:00–16:30.

Come along and see what you can do for climate change and biodiversity loss.

Our speakers

Simon Dures

A woman with blonde hair is wearing a blue raincoat, and looking off to the right of the camera. It looks like she's standing on a beach, or near a body of water. — Nicola Brown

Simon Dures

Simon is a conservation filmmaker and conservation biologist based in Edinburgh. He is also the founder and director of the Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival. Much of Simon’s working career has been spent on the frontline of conservation in and around Southern Africa. As a filmmaker, he aims to build positivity and hope regarding what is being done to protect the natural world.

Nicola Brown

Nicola specialises in environmental storytelling and documentaries. Her work includes the award-winning digital campaigns #OurBluePlanet and #OurFrozenPlanet that ran alongside the BBC TV series.  Nicola is continually looking for ways to tell natural history and conservation-focused stories to new audiences through the ever-changing landscape of social media.

Image credit: Gail Jenkinson

Nick Fraser

Nick is the Keeper of Natural Sciences at National Museums Scotland, specialising in fossil vertebrates. He is closely involved in the annual Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival and serves as a judge on the selection panel.