About this Event
Join Victorian film maker Lewi Haskins and a panel of forest advocates for a screening and discussion of his powerful short film, Forest Country. Shot over the course of a year alongside activists, conservationists and ecologists, this is a film maker’s plea to protect his beloved forest community in the Yarra Ranges from logging.
Runtime: 20 mins
Discussion time: 60 mins
Presented in partnership with Yarra Climate Emergency Team.
Meet the panel:
Lewi Haskins is an Australian photographer and film maker. For the last decade he has travelled extensively, hitchhiking across Africa, writing for conservation organisations, adventure companies and, recently, solo horse trekking in Mongolia…capturing moments through the lens.
Lewi has had his work featured on BBC Earth, Africa Geographic & International Elephant Foundation. An all round creative with developed skills in photography, cinematography, editing, colour grading, scoring, sound production and drone work.
Telling the story behind the image, Lewi focuses his art to inspire, using positivity to inform and induce change.
About Jo Hopkins - Victorian Campaigns Manager, Wilderness Society:
Jo campaigns for the permanent protection of Eastern Victoria's tall forests to secure this precious habitat for threatened species and to ensure these native forests are not again subject to logging and can be enjoyed for future generations. Her professional background includes extensive experience in protected areas management, environmental policy development and program delivery at the local, national and international levels. Jo is passionate about the health and wellbeing benefits derived from nature and has a deep commitment to the vital role that nature plays in ensuring a healthy natural world.
About Stacie Piper:
Stacie Piper carries story, sovereignty, and experience to shape the Yirramboi Festival. As a Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung, and Ngurai Illum-Wurrung woman, Stacie is a curator, dancer, cultural leader, and mentor. Her work goes beyond roles—she honours Country through action, stewards story with integrity, and creates space for truth-telling and First Nations visibility.
From her involvement with the Djirri Djirri Womens Dance Group, five years as Chair of the Victorian NAIDOC Committee, to public speaking for the Wurundjeri Land Council and her role at the Victorian Indigenous Research Centre, she brings a legacy of cultural leadership.
Stacie is a Senior Global Atlantic Fellow for Social Equity where her work spans continents but always returns to her roots in Narrm. Stacie's voice is gently rebellious and her vision is rooted in truth-telling and a future where First Nations knowledges are honored, evolving and alive.
About Luke Chamberlain – Campaigns and Policy Officer, Environmental Justice Australia:
Luke joined EJA in 2023 as their Ecosystems campaigns policy officer to help build momentum to permanently protect Victoria's forests from logging.
Before joining EJA, Luke worked in the European Union on forest and climate legislation. He built an alliance of over 120 NGOs fighting to protect forests from being burned for so-called renewable energy.
Luke continues to work for the US-based Environmental Investigation Agency on an investigation in eastern Europe into the sourcing of biomass for renewable energy from the EU’s last intact, old-growth forests.
Luke has worked for decades as a forest campaigner, including at organisations like the Wilderness Society, Environment East Gippsland and the Partnership for Policy Integrity.
If you have accessibility questions or requirements, please contact us at [email protected] or on 1300 695 427.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Richmond Library, 415 Church Street, Richmond, Australia
USD 0.00
