“What we need is soils that are resilient… that are sponges” Discover more stories of hope with Eliane and other climate innovators on the newly released ‘The Green Room - What (On Earth’s) The Story’ film on You Tube. Full film: https://youtu.be/UWoO9UmWscM Trailer: https://youtu.be/zmQqj5WHSPM Éliane Ubalijoro, PhD,  is the Executive Director of Sustainability in the Digital Age and the Future Earth Montreal Hub and founder and Executive Director of C.L.E.A.R. International Development. She is a Professor of Practice For Public-Private Sector Partnerships at McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development, where her research interests focus on innovation, gender and sustainable development for prosperity creation and her teaching over the last decade has focused on facilitating leadership development. In addition, Eliane is a Research Professor at Concordia University in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment. She is a member of Rwanda’s National Science and Technology Council. Eliane is a member of the Impact Advisory Board of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet and a member of the Expert Consultation Group on the Post COVID-19 Implications on Collaborative Governance of Genomics Research, Innovation, and Genetic Diversity. Eliane is a member of the African Development Bank’s Expert Global Community of Practice on COVID-19 Response Strategies in Africa. She is a member of the Capitals Coalition Supervisory Board as well as the Crop Trust Executive Board. Eliane is a former member of WWF International’s Board of Trustees. She was the principal investigator on a Gates Grand Challenges Phase I grant looking at Innovations in Feedback & Accountability Systems for Agricultural Development. Eliane was the project manager and an investigator on a Gates Foundation Grand Challenges in Global Health project led by Professor Timothy Geary, the director of McGill’s Institute of Parasitology from 2009 to 2014.  As a result of this work, she has been a reviewer for the Grand Challenges Canada Stars in Global Health program since 2012. Eliane is a co-editor of the 2021 book Building Resilient African Food Systems after COVID-19. https://linktr.ee/DavidPearl Timeline 00.00 - 00.43 Opening Credits 00.44 - 05.23 Introducing Eliane Ubalijoro 05.26 - 08.40 Sustainability in the Digital Age & Future Earth 08.41 - 10.43 Soils are sponges 11.25 - 12.42 The big stories Eliane is up against 13.30 - 15.04 Bridging the knowledge systems of the West & the knowledge of Eliane’s ancestors 15.06 - 16.00 Technology & sustainability coming together: the collective and planetary intelligence 16.07 - 17.20 The story of the fig tree 17.44 - 19.40 Planetary intelligence (Yesterday & Tomorrow) 19.56 - 21.26 Innovators and early adopters: connecting and supporting communities 22.11 - 24.41 Harnessing the collective intelligence with nature and artificial intelligence 25.28 - 26.16 The big lie: discounting nature’s intelligence 26.20 - 29.11 Leafy greens: healthy diets for the body and the planet: biodiversity thrives 29.21 - 30.31 The power of storytelling: cultivating planetary intelligence 31.00 - 32.39 The connection of the past, present and the future 33.10 - 34.51 Loving nature is not enough: the value of living with nature 35.27 - 37.25 Optimism v Realism 37.30 - 39.07 Dreaming is free 39.10 - 43.15 The Wanderful Exercise - Walking with our past and our future 43.34 - 47.10 Post exercise - epilogue 47.11 - 48.01 Closing credits Quotations “What we know is soils are a living space… soils that have worms, that have fungi, that have insects, can hold fifty times more water than soils that have been polluted or have no microbial life in them anymore.” (Eliane) “What we need are soils which are resilient, which are sponges.” (Eliane) “Part of my story is the story of an African woman, who was born in a space where I was deeply connected with nature and with the stories of my ancestors, who flew