[CHEERY INTRO MUSIC]
Welcome back to Nature League!
For the last year and a half, we’ve been exploring topics like ecology, evolution, and extinction --
all of the ways that life on Earth comes and goes, and changes along the way.
Personal projects, relationships, jobs, and other pieces of our human lives do the same
thing -- they come, they go, and they change.
Unfortunately, Nature League is coming to an end.
While our content will still remain available on YouTube, this is the last video we’ll be producing,
at least in its current form.
In the future, I might make videos on this channel where I break down an article,
or maybe even just chat with Adrian.
Though I’m sad to see Nature League go in its current form, I find solace in remembering
the ridiculous amount of fun we’ve had creating and sharing life on Earth adventures with all of you.
I loved getting into trouble with my director and editor, Maia, while on set,
cracking ourselves up and making the best of each shoot, despite any difficulties.
And then there was Adrian... oh Adrian...
Whether it was singing when we should have been mic checking
or dressing up like characters from mythology and history, Adrian was a very good sport
and provided entertainment the whole way through.
We also had a lot of fun outside of the office. It was so awesome to meet with new and old friends
and to learn about their work and discoveries.
And how absolutely wonderful to take advantage of filming in Montana! There are so many
stunning places to explore in this state, and we had some great experiences filming
and sharing these places with you.
While there’s no doubt we’ve had a lot of fun, we’ve also covered some pretty deep
and difficult topics as well.
I constantly ask myself what it means to have a healthy and happy Anthropocene
and how that relates to everyday practices and thoughts.
And you came along with me in that journey.
As hard as it was to think and talk about, we went through recent reports about the complex
state of Earth’s current biodiversity and discussed some of the solutions offered by
international working groups.
And I’m so thankful that we were able to take the time to talk about complicated issues
like model organisms, extinction, and invasive species.
While I had teaching in mind every time I worked on Nature League, I wound up learning
a ton as well.
I’ve been learning what it means to make a show for the YouTube space.
I’ve been learning about the process of creative collaboration
and how to work with a team of video producers to get to a final product.
But most importantly, I’ve been learning from you.
Every time you leave a comment or talk to me on social media,
you help me think more complexly about the world, and for that I am so thankful.
It’s one thing to write scripts and work with a team to bring the words to life,
but it was an entirely other thing to see how you responded to our Nature League content.
There were so many wonderful things shared and fascinating topics for discussion, and
it made my day to see examples of how this work affected day to day lives.
When Nature League was just starting out, I tried to think of what our set would look like.
Almost everything here is something I already had, so hey, the upside of packing up is that
my room back home is about to get its stuff back!
So all the books here are from my personal collection, and there are definitely some fun ones in here.
This one, Sharks and Their Relatives 2, is actually one of my first publications.
There's a chapter in here that I'm actually a co-author on from when I was in undergrad
that's all about shark attack risk assessment in Volusia County in Florida.
So it's kind of my first piece of actual science that I published.
And then of course, there are a ton of stuffed animals, again from my personal collection.
Here's one that's very impressive, as a good friend of mine
from musical theatre here in Missoula actually made this by hand as a gift, and I love it.
Though to be fair, it does have three gills,
which we've established is not very correct, but still quite loved.
So here's another special one.
This is actually one of a few meerkats,
because one Christmas my parents a group of them, a little family.
So there's two big ones for my mom and dad and a couple little ones.
So now matter where we are or where we move,
we all have a stuffed little version of our family unit.
There are also quite a few fossils on the set.
This fossil is of a fish, and it's been glossed over
and was found by my friend down in the Green River Formation
that's here in the United States near Utah and Wyoming.
And he got it for me so that I could keep it as a little momento.
The Nature League desk, table that we have here is actually made from
wood scraps that came from the local community theatre.
And another fossil, one of my favorites, is this megalodon tooth
that was a gift from my parents one Christmas.
This here is a fun little thing we made for the set.
It's a photo of one of my childhood heroes Jacques Cousteau
and then a photo of me dressed up as Jacques Cousteau.
[MUSICAL INTERLUDE]
Thank you so much being a part of our Nature League adventure.
While this current version of Nature League won’t be continuing, the Nature League itself
is totally still a thing.
As long as there are people like you who keep thinking and feeling critically and passionately
about life on Earth, the Nature League isn’t going anywhere -- it’s just going to evolve,
like all other living things on this beautiful planet.
So make sure to follow me @BritGarner or @Nature_League
to hear about what’s coming next and to
keep up our conversation about a happy and healthy Anthropocene.
Come on, Adrian, it’s time to go.
[LIGHTS SWITCHED OFF]
[BRIT:] You know what’s ironic?
[BRIT AND ADRIAN SING "IRONIC" CHORUS]
It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought, it figures
[BRIT:] That's horrible in this room, it's like ging-ging-ging-ging!
[BRIT AND ADRIAN LAUGH]