SCRIPT - CHURCH FORESTS OPENING CREDITS Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) In Ethiopian Orthodox teaching, a church–to be a church–should be enveloped by a forest. It should resemble the garden of Eden. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) A hundred years ago the highland was one big continuous forest. That big continuous forest has been eaten up by agriculture. It is the church who has protected these forests and who has safeguarded them from destruction. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie – interview It’s only because of the patronage and the blessing of the church these forests have survived. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) Church forests are always in my childhood memory. I used to go with my family for Sunday Mass, for holidays. I have always been told that God gives mercy when you pray here. So the spiritual connectivity is so strong. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) The more I study them, the more I understand them, the more I see their problem, their importance, their significance and then I end up being hooked with these forests. TEXT CARD - Part 1 Over the past century, nearly all of Ethiopia’s native forests have been cleared to make way for farming and cattle grazing. TEXT CARD - Part 2 Since 1992, Forest Ecologist Dr. Alemayehu Wassie has been working with priests and communities to save Ethiopia’s rapidly shrinking church forests. (Aba Gebre Mariam Alene, VO – English Subtitled) Every plant contains the power of God, the treasure of God, the blessing of God. So when someone plants a tree every time it moves the tree prays for that person to live longer. Aba Gebre Mariam Alene - Interview (English Subtitled) Just like we cultivate the new generation, we need to cultivate the forest. If we keep disturbing the young sprouts and the old trees are gone, there will be nothing to replace them. (Aba Gebre Mariam Alene, VO – English Subtitled) That’s why the wall is very important. If the church loses its forests it will lose its purpose. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) The idea of making a wall to conserve the forest came from the church itself. If you see the rural church they have a wall to protect the inner circle, which people think is the most sacred place. So let’s move that wall to the outside and include the forest as part of the church itself. You are making a barrier but not excluding humans. A barrier against cattle grazing so that regeneration and the health of the forests can be sustained. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) The church has been protecting the forests for centuries. But the forest in turn, has been a guardian it was a kind of mutual benefitting. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) The church itself was built from these forests. The inner wall of the church has been painted and all those pictures, scriptures, and murals were made out of tree leaves, roots, barks and flowers. Eight hundred, seven hundred, even a thousand years ago. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) They are living by one another, they are embedded to one another. The church is within the forest; the forest is inside the church. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) In ecology culture the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. There are millions of other creatures. It is so complicated, sophisticated–interaction you cannot explain. Because of the coexistence there is what we call emergent properties. It’s a new hybrid character. The mystery is to think beyond what we see. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) There is a problem aways, a misperception that these forests would stay forever. We don’t have any other backup. To safeguard the Ethiopian biodiversity, it is only the church forests. If we lose that, then that’s all. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (English Subtitles) – The forest used to come up to this point. The border is unknown. So the new generation and farmers keep eroding the boundaries of the forest. That’s why the stone wall is helpful. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) The biggest challenge is to open the eyes of the community to show how these forests are really disappearing. They think always they are there forever. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) The church forests are the blueprint. You can understand what kind of ecosystem, what kind of biodiversity, what kind of forest we had before. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) Everything is important and interlinked. So if you really care, we have to respect trees, the role of trees, and we have to learn to live with forests. Dr. Alemayehu Wassie (VO) We can bring back the landscape given that these church forests exist. That’s my hope, that’s my vision. TEXT CARD Dr. Alemayehu Wassie is currently working with priests and communities to help preserve 40 church forests and the biodiversity they hold. CREDITS Directed by Jeremy Seifert Produced by Jeremy Seifert Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee Cinematography by Jeremy Seifert Edited by Adam Loften Post Supervision by Adam Loften Sound Recording by Jeremy Seifert Original Music by Mathew Atticus Berger Sound Design by Adam Loften Sound Mixing by D. Chris Smith, MPSE Associate Producer Fred Bahnson Translations by Nahome Asfaha Wubetu Whimelash