A Climate Change with Matt Matern
Climate Podcast

You’re listening to A Climate Change. This is Matt Matern. I’ve got Jayda G on the program today.

Really excited to have you having me.

Yeah. Well, tell us a little bit about this project that you’re doing regarding the environment and how you got involved in this.

Yeah. So we are releasing an environmental documentary. It’s called Blue Carbon. And it’s basically a documentary where we explore what Blue Carbon actually is. And I go all over the world, meeting all the kinds of people that are involved with Blue Carbon. And it’s really a story about hope and combating climate change. And in terms of how I came across it, I have a background in Biology and Environmental Toxicology. I’m also a musician, a DJ, and artists. That’s kind of my main thing. Um, but yeah, I have that background. And so because of that background is how this film kind of found me. So yeah.

Yeah, well, I read a bit about you and the project. And I thought it was pretty amazing. I didn’t realize how much kind of these mangrove forests capture as far as carbon capture, but something like 10 to one over the rainforest, which is kind of surprising. And so and makes them incredibly important for for us as far as winning the battle against climate change.

Yes, definitely. So yeah, Blue Carbon ecosystems for anyone who, you know, is listening. They’re exactly what you said, they’re really good at pulling carbon out of the atmosphere out of the atmosphere and putting it into the ground. So those ecosystems include mangrove forests, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows. And we go through the film, basically exploring these ecosystems and the communities that are involved with them.

It’s pretty fascinating. So how did you get involved in this in this project?

Yeah, so basically, so again, I’m a DJ, and music producer. And when I was writing, my first album was called significant changes. I was basically using nature sounds, to help me create my album. And it was kind of an ode to my thesis at the time, because I was writing my master’s thesis at the same time as writing my album. And yeah, and so in terms of my background, people know me for kind of putting music and science together.

And later on, I started a small talk series called JMG talks, which was really just me interviewing my friends who are doing awesome PhD projects. And me just being a nerd and wanting to share that with my platform.

And so I started that in 2019. But of course, we all know what happened after that. So doing kind of live sessions, because that’s what they were, they were in person, like, talk sessions with people coming like being hosted within the City of London, where I live.

And so after 2019, obviously, COVID happened. And I wasn’t able to do those talks series as much, obviously. But that was out in the world. And I think that’s how the production company found me essentially, they saw that I’ve been trying to put the two music and science together for a while and thought I would be a good fit for the film.

So take us back. How did you kind of come to the environment being something that you wanted to study?

Yeah, so I am Canadian. I grew up in British Columbia, Canada. And I really grew up around nature. I grew up with the trees and the river and on mountaintops and just really out in the wilderness. I grew up in a very small town. It has about 4000 people who live there. So it’s really in the middle of nowhere. And my family, just nature is a huge thing within our family. We really value nature. My parents were tree planters back in the 70s.

That’s how they actually bought their property was through many seasons of tree planting trees. And so with my my parents, they just that was a big set of values and my dad would take me out camping and fishing and it’s just something that everyone in our small town does because there’s not a lot to do in our small town and Yeah, and I also attribute a lot to my science teachers that I had in school.

They I had great biology and biology and chemistry and physics teachers who really took us out. And we would do like field excursions. And so I really got a taste for the outdoors and science together from where I grew up.

Well, that’s a great story. So then fast forward a little bit. Then you went to college and decided to pursue it as a major.

Yeah, exactly. I was very clear after like, you know, after high school, I definitely want to go into sciences, and got my undergrad and biology honors. Yeah, I was studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. And yeah, I did that, and then did a bunch of field work opportunities for a few years. Then I went in to do my master’s, which is a natural resource and environmental management, specializing in Environmental Toxicology. So the study of chemicals and how they affect the environment.

So then, how does the music career kind of fused into all that?

Yeah, I know. It’s kind of like, yeah, it’s kind of weird. What do you think of is definitely like, a big sharp turn into a very different direction. Um, so I’m just a big nerd for music as well, I’m pretty obsessed with it. Like, even when I was studying for my degrees, like how I would procrastinate, was looking for new music. And that just kind of never went away. And it got to a point where I would basically I just want to share the music that I was collecting.

So I bought a pair turntables, and I taught myself how to DJ over summer. And I moved to Vancouver, around that time. And so I was studying my masters in Vancouver, in Canada. And I was basically DJing on the side as a hobby. And that’s kind of all I thought it would be like, my biggest goal was to like get a residency at like a small bar in Vancouver. And that was a big deal.

And also, at the same time, I was teaching myself how to produce music. So I was experimenting with different sounds, and just yeah, how would it make a song? And I got the opportunity to do a remix. And that’s how my booking agent found me. He, he found that record, the remix. That was on an Australian label. And yeah, he just sent meYou’re listening to climate change. This is Matt Matern. I’ve got Jayda G on the program today really excited to have you having me. Yeah. Well, tell us a little bit about this project that you’re doing regarding the environment and how you got involved in this.

Yeah. So we are releasing an environmental documentary. It’s called Blue Carbon. And it’s basically a documentary where we explore what Blue Carbon actually is. And I go all over the world, meeting all the kinds of people that are involved with Blue Carbon. And it’s really a story about hope and combating climate change. And in terms of how I came across it, I have a background in Biology and Environmental Toxicology. I’m also a musician, a DJ, and artists. That’s kind of my main thing. Um, but yeah, I have that background. And so because of that background is how this film kind of found me. So yeah.

Yeah, well, I read a bit about you and the project. And I thought it was pretty amazing. I didn’t realize how much kind of these mangrove forests capture as far as carbon capture, but something like 10 to one over the rainforest, which is kind of surprising. And so and makes them incredibly important for for us as far as winning the battle against climate change.

Yes, definitely. So yeah, Blue Carbon ecosystems for anyone who, you know, is listening. They’re exactly what you said, they’re really good at pulling carbon out of the atmosphere out of the atmosphere and putting it into the ground. So those ecosystems include mangrove forests, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows. And we go through the film, basically exploring these ecosystems and the communities that are involved with them.

It’s pretty fascinating. So how did you get involved in this in this project?

Yeah, so basically, so again, I’m a DJ, and music producer. And when I was writing, my first album was called significant changes. I was basically using nature sounds, to help me create my album. And it was kind of an ode to my thesis at the time, because I was writing my master’s thesis at the same time as writing my album. And yeah, and so in terms of my background, people know me for kind of putting music and science together. And later on, I started a small talk series called JMG talks, which was really just me interviewing my friends who are doing awesome PhD projects. And me just being a nerd and wanting to share that with my platform.

And so I started that in 2019. But of course, we all know what happened after that. So doing kind of live sessions, because that’s what they were, they were in person, like, talk sessions with people coming like being hosted within the City of London, where I live. And so after 2019, obviously, COVID happened. And I wasn’t able to do those talks series as much, obviously.

But that was out in the world. And I think that’s how the production company found me essentially, they saw that I’ve been trying to put the two music and science together for a while and thought I would be a good fit for the film. So take us back. How did you kind of come to the environment being something that you wanted to study?

Yeah, so I am Canadian. I grew up in British Columbia, Canada. And I really grew up around nature. I grew up with the trees and the river and on mountaintops and just really out in the wilderness. I grew up in a very small town. It has about 4000 people who live there. So it’s really in the middle of nowhere. And my family, just nature is a huge thing within our family. We really value nature. My parents were tree planters back in the 70s.

That’s how they actually bought their property was through many seasons of tree planting trees. And so with my my parents, they just that was a big set of values and my dad would take me out camping and fishing and it’s just something that everyone in our small town does because there’s not a lot to do in our small town and Yeah, and I also attribute a lot to my science teachers that I had in school. They I had great biology and biology and chemistry and physics teachers who really took us out. And we would do like field excursions. And so I really got a taste for the outdoors and science together from where I grew up.

Well, that’s a great story. So then fast forward a little bit. Then you went to college and decided to pursue it as a major.

Yeah, exactly. I was very clear after like, you know, after high school, I definitely want to go into sciences, and got my undergrad and biology honors. Yeah, I was studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. And yeah, I did that, and then did a bunch of field work opportunities for a few years. Then I went in to do my master’s, which is a natural resource and environmental management, specializing in Environmental Toxicology. So the study of chemicals and how they affect the environment.

So then, how does the music career kind of fused into all that?

Yeah, I know. It’s kind of like, yeah, it’s kind of weird. What do you think of is definitely like, a big sharp turn into a very different direction. Um, so I’m just a big nerd for music as well, I’m pretty obsessed with it. Like, even when I was studying for my degrees, like how I would procrastinate, was looking for new music. And that just kind of never went away. And it got to a point where I would basically I just want to share the music that I was collecting.

So I bought a pair turntables, and I taught myself how to DJ over summer. And I moved to Vancouver, around that time. And so I was studying my masters in Vancouver, in Canada. And I was basically DJing on the side as a hobby. And that’s kind of all I thought it would be like, my biggest goal was to like get a residency at like a small bar in Vancouver. And that was a big deal.

And also, at the same time, I was teaching myself how to produce music. So I was experimenting with different sounds, and just yeah, how would it make a song? And I got the opportunity to do a remix. And that’s how my booking agent found me. He, he found that record, the remix. That was on an Australian label. And yeah, he just sent me an email, a random email. And he was like, Hey, do you want representation? And I was like, what’s that? And yeah, fast forward, like, basically, at that time, I had finished my coursework for my masters.

And I just had to write my thesis. And I was getting a lot of bookings in Europe. And so I thought, Well, why don’t I move to Berlin, and I’ll write my thesis over there while touring. And yeah, that ended up being a lot harder than I definitely don’t recommend being an international touring DJ, while finishing your thesis. It’s very difficult to do those two things at the same time. But um, I did it, I finished my masters. But by that point, my career had really taken off. And here I am a touring DJ.

That’s fantastic. Yeah, it’s what I what I kind of caught from that was your experimentation is kind of scientist and musician to experiment with these tracks, and also kind of like experiment with science. And those things kind of go together.

They kind of do they have a lot of similarities. Funny enough, like, also, like with field biology, like how you have to be really good at observing, just like, you know, observing your surroundings, if you’re looking for a specific animal, looking at the kind of nature that you’re around, like, whether there’s like, certain rock outcrops, or certain trees that lead you to those animals, it’s kind of similar thing with DJing.

It’s, you’re watching the crowd for like, certain reactions that will kind of lead you down, like the path in terms of where the music is going. And vice versa. And it’s, yeah, it’s it’s definitely some crossover in terms of skill set.

That’s fascinating. So tell us a little bit about the movie and what, what’s going to be the kind of the journey that you’re going to take us on?

Yeah, so we have so many people places that I visit basically looking at Blue Carbon ecosystems. We start in Vietnam, and then we go onwards to Senegal. We go to Florida as well, we actually start in Florida sorry, then we go to Vietnam. We end up going to Colombia to Brazil, there’s a segment in France as well. So we go all over the world exploring these ecosystems, to really showcase that these ecosystems exist everywhere, so that everyone can really see themselves when they’re watching this film, and maybe ask themselves where their own Blue Carbon ecosystem is where they live. So yeah, it’s quite the journey. And I can’t wait for people to watch the film. And yeah, just relate to it.

Well, I saw one clip where you were holding like baby crocodiles. That was kind of interesting. Why we need to have crocodiles.

Yeah. Oh, my goodness. So crocodiles are a huge part of the mangrove ecosystem in Colombia, they basically help clear some of the waterways within the mangrove forest. by clearing those waterways, you are allowing more water to run through the forest and so that the plants can really live and thrive. And from that, it’s, you’re basically having the waterways or like the beating heart, like the veins to the mangrove forests.

So crocodiles are actually like, super, super important towards the mangrove forests. Which who would have known it’s, it’s a crazy thing, you never would think that these really scary animals could be like, so important. So yeah, we learn about so many different parts of these ecosystems that people slowly discovered over time being like, Oh, this is something we actually need to protect versus harvest or kill or x.

You know, we go through the whole film like talking about the various ways that people learn about these ecosystems to keep them because they’re really essential to combating climate change.

That’s fascinating stuff. Well, you’re listening to A Climate Change, and this is Matt Matern, and I’ve got Jayda G on the program. We’ll be right back in just one minute.

You’re listening to A Climate Change. This is Matt Matern. And I’ve got Jayda G on the program and Jayda. I was just down in Belize. And they have mangrove forests there on on the islands that on the island I was on it was really beautiful. And there were two crocodiles there.

So that’s awesome. Did you go try and pet them?

At them, but they did feed them something. So you know. And they’re very amazing. They’re so prehistoric. I mean, they’ve been around for probably hundreds of millions of years. They’re fascinating.

So yeah, crocodiles are so cool. You see it in the film? I get very excited that I get to hold one.

Did you see any crocodiles down in Florida? Are we only dealing with the crocodiles in Colombia?

Yeah, so in Florida, not so much mostly in Colombia. But my favorite bet is that we were introduced to the crocodiles by this amazing man, his name’s Betsy Bay. And he actually used to be a crocodile poacher. And so he spent most of his life killing crocodiles and selling them on the black market. And at some point, he realizes that he’s killing all the crocodiles, like there’s fewer and fewer crocodiles.

And he basically decides that you he doesn’t want to do it anymore and wants to help the crocodiles instead of kill them. Because as we were talking earlier, they’re super essential to the health and well being of the mangrove forests in that area.

So it’s just so amazing to meet this person who completely changed change their life, to being someone against the climate to being someone for it in a very real tangible way in terms of basically hatching these crocodile eggs, raising them and then they release them back into the forest. And so they’re getting the crocodile numbers up slowly, but surely, it’s pretty amazing.

Well, that’s good to hear. So tell us a little bit about kind of more about this Blue Carbon and, and are we destroying more of it than we’re regenerating or protecting or where are we at as humans, and in terms of this, this process?

Yeah, so Blue Carbon ecosystems, there’s not a lot left, I think you have to double check with the numbers. But it’s something around like 60 to 67% of Blue Carbon ecosystems are gone already. So we have very little left, and we need to protect it. That’s like the big take home message, because these ecosystems are not only really good at taking carbon out of the atmosphere, putting it into the ground for like, 1000’s of years.

But they are really fast at doing that as well, we were talking about that comparing it to the Amazon rainforest is 10 times faster. The other thing about these ecosystems is that they’re also carbon sinks. So when we destroy those ecosystems, it also releases more carbon out into the atmosphere. So by also destroying these, we’re just creating more havoc towards climate change. So they’re very, very important.

So what are organizations planting more of the mangroves and creating more of these Blue Carbon areas? And are is that happening in the US or in other parts of the world?

Yeah, so slowly, but surely, more governments and like countries are realizing the importance of this, like Blue Carbon, the actual term of Blue Carbon was only coined, maybe like 15 years ago. And at that point, nobody knew what it was and nobody cared. And slowly, but surely, people are realizing how important these ecosystems are, and are also trying to learn more about what the different ecosystems that could be coined as Blue Carbon ecosystems.

I know there’s research around kelp forests, as being considered as Blue Carbon ecosystems. Also, people are there’s a lot of research around humpback whales as being part of the Blue Carbon ecosystems.

So there’s a lot of really cool research that is out there. In terms of preserving these ecosystems. We go through the film and learn about how people are replanting these ecosystems, as well as just taking care of these areas because they’ve lived there forever. We go to an amazing area, it’s called Naima bar in Senegal.

And we ended up I get introduced to these amazing group of women who’ve taken it upon themselves to basically keep their home alive. Like I asked them, why they preserved the mangrove forests there. And they said that their grandparents said it used to be beautiful in this area, and they realize that wasn’t anymore, and they want to change that.

So it’s just so inspiring to hear them wanting to take responsibility for their own home, and trying to change things around and one of the main ways they do that is that all of them are oyster harvesters. And by harvesting oysters, usually people cut the roots of mangrove forests to gain access to the oysters. But these women have figured out amazing ways to basically gather oysters without having to cut the mangroves. So it was pretty cool. I actually went out to actually harvest some of the oysters. It was an amazing time.

Oh, that’s really cool. Yeah, I think having those kinds of experience where you see things firsthand and seeing how people are, you know, working within the environment and not destroying it, because for so long, we’ve just taken it for granted that we could just take take take without having a consequence. Bring us back to where the film started in Florida and what you saw there and whether the Florida mangrove forests are being preserved, are they being destroyed?

Or some of Yeah, so yeah, it’s a bit of both because Florida, you have the Everglades, which are amazing and are being protected. But then we also find out like, this isn’t so much in the film as much, but Miami are old mangrove forests, but Miami definitely doesn’t look like a mangrove forest.

And so it’s areas like these that have lost their forests that are now super exposed to hurricanes and typhoons, etc. And we also talked about how mangroves are kind of like, almost like the skin to these areas. They’re like these barriers that help protect them. from storm surges and hurricanes and without them leaves the land super vulnerable.

So it’s it. They’re so important. I can’t stress enough. But yeah, in Florida, we definitely go around and explore the Everglades, which is fantastic. We even do core sampling, which is like a bio nerd. I was really pumped. So it was super fun.

Well, I’ve, I’ve read a bit about all the invasive species that have gotten into the Everglades and that area. Are they is that affecting the mangrove forest adversely?

No, we didn’t actually go into that too much. All I know is that they have definitely different types of mangroves within that area. And I’m sure there is a lot of work that’s being done to preserve them in terms of invasive species, but also to learn just the health, the overall health of these mangrove forests. And what that means in terms of carbon capture.

So that’s kind of what we did out in the field is, we got taken in deep into the mangrove forests, like we took the canoe like weaving through all these canals, and then actually got in the water and did core sampling. So we can actually see what Blue Carbon actually looks like, where it’s actually not blue.

Obviously, it’s just brown because it’s soil. But the type of soil is so rich with nutrients and has a lot of like spongy Matern that really lock and hold the carbon from the atmosphere deep into the ground, and hold it there for for many, many years.

So in terms of the film, when is it coming out? And where can we see it?

Yeah, it is coming out so soon. I can’t believe it. This film has been in the light many years in the making. So it’s really exciting is airing on CNN on Sunday. So yeah, April 21, just before Earth Day, and so you’ll be able to watch it there in the States. So yeah.

Exciting. And how long is the program is that it is about, I think it’s just under 90 minutes. So it’s a good length of time, think an hour and 20 minutes. But it’s a really full on journey. And we talk a lot about music. And that is super incorporated within the film, as well as, obviously, the learning about Blue Carbon and the people who really live there and why it’s so important to them. It’s a real journey that we take.

Well tell us how did you weave music into the story?

Yeah, so basically, what I do throughout the film is I take all these fields sounds sci fi with like a big boom and my headphones. And I’m just listening to the trees and the birds and all the little pops and cracks that you hear within those ecosystems. It’s quite magical. And then I take all those sounds and I build a song out of it, which we play at the end of the film. So it’s, yeah, it was a really cool project to be part of that I could actually make music for as well, because that’s obviously one of the main things I do. So it was awesome. It was a fun time.

Well, I guess it just gives people yet one more reason why to go out into nature and find nouns. And I mean, that is the beauty of being in nature is that when one is at peace, you just kind of hear things that you don’t normally hear. Or when you’re in a city.

Oh yeah, big time.

You’re listening to A Climate Change. This is Matt Matern. And we’re going to be back in just one minute with Jayda G telling us a little bit more about Blue Carbon and her adventures around the world to help us protect this Blue Carbon which is just vital for our survival. If we’re going to be climate change, we’ve got to do it, in part with protecting these carbon sinks. Stay tuned.

You’re listening to A Climate Change and I’ve got Jayda G on the program, Jayda, you know just talking during the break about your podcast and tell us a little bit about your podcast. Yeah, so it’s not quite out yet, but it’s going to be out in May. So keep your eyes and ears open everyone Yeah, I’m really excited. I’ve been wanting to do a podcast for a while. And it’s basically about hope, which is really corny, but makes me like, well up in my heart about it, because it really started through this film. A lot of this film is centered around hope, what kind of hope we can get from the stories that we learn about Blue Carbon, to kind of galvanized galvanized us to go forward in terms of the fight against climate change. And my director would always ask me is like, what gives you hope? What gives you hope, wrong climate change? And I really found that a hard question to answer.

And I actually was doing because I’m a researcher, and a big nerd. So I was doing a little research around hope, this amazing woman, Brene Brown, you might have heard of her. She’s fantastic. She has a book called Atlas of the heart. And it talks about the research around emotions, and what hope actually is. So you have hope, when you have pathways of goal and agency towards that goal, when you have those three things, then you have hope. And once I understood that, it makes so much sense why this film was about hope, because we talk about the goal of combating climate change with these ecosystems, the pathways by preserving these ecosystems, and having the agency we talk a lot about these communities that have taken it upon themselves to save their home. And that when you have those three things is when you have hope.

And I was like this is perfect for a podcast, to talk about hope about how people’s lives how they’ve had their goals and their pathway and agency and how they found that in order to find hope within whatever it is that they work. So that’s what my podcast is about.

Oh, that’s great. And, and it’s so important, because, after talking to a lot of experts doing my podcast is that if, if we don’t have hope, then people won’t act. So exactly. Have some sense that, that acting makes a difference and that our actions will help us. You know, combat climate change, and, and there are just so many things that we can do. There’s 1000s of organizations out there that are doing great work. And one of the things I like to do during the podcast is talk about the various places that people can engage with and help the situation.

You know, I know there’s one organization that somebody else on the podcast to talk about it, the Billion Oyster Project here in New York, in New York today, right by Central Park, you can see over my shoulder and you’re in Brooklyn, and I guess there’s a project to to, you know, see the beds of the shore with a billion oysters, which would help clean up the water here in New York. I love that. Right. And there’s just tons of projects like that out there. Why don’t you Why don’t we you take us to Vietnam and what you saw there and what was the hope that you saw coming out of Vietnam?

Yeah, so Vietnam was really cool. We kind of while we get there, we explore the city a little bit, and then we get outside the city. And there’s this huge, huge mangrove forests just out of the city of Ho Chi Minh City. And we end up meeting a man named Dr. Nam. And Dr. Nam, basically was hired by the Vietnamese government really shortly after the Vietnamese war, or the Vietnam War. And because obviously, while people know the story with the Vietnam War, there was Agent Orange orange that was sprayed all over that area to kill the mangrove forests in order to reveal the soldiers that were living within those mangrove forests. And through killing it, they lost all their mangrove forests.

And so Dr. Now basically went out and replanted the entire forest, which is absolutely remarkable. And he’s like, you know, well into the 70s. Now, so he’s been doing this literally, you know, for most of his life, and he is so proud of it. And it was really amazing to see how his face would just light up by showing us all the different mangroves and his story around it. What he sacrificed to really plant the replant this forest. It’s absolutely amazing. And they had to learn as they went as well. It’s not like, there’s a guidebook of how to plant mangroves, like, they’re out there like with their canoes, and just like panting, a planting the mango of propagules, they’re called, they’re just like these kind of like these green, like small banana things that they stick into the ground.

And it’s not just like, you put them in the ground, and they can, you know, grow, there’s so many different things that have to happen in order for them to thrive. And they really are just learning as they go over the decades. It’s so fantastic that they were successful, like the whole forest is back, we saw it, it was amazing. So that was such an uplifting story. To hear about Dr. Nam and how he how he took care of the forest in Vietnam.

That is a great story. And thank you for sharing it and, and, you know, spreading it widely because it shows how one person can make a difference. I had somebody on the program a while back and, and one of his graduate students decided to go to Madagascar and create a nursery there because there was a lot of deforestation there and and now they’re reforesting Madagascar. And so it just shows one person can dive in there and turn things around.

Exactly. We need more of those people who just care so much about the environment to take it upon themselves to like, get in there and get dirty and take, like replant everything. It’s absolutely amazing to see. So yeah, and it was it was really cool to meet Dr. Nam Ike. I don’t think he gets many camera crews out there. So it was a really big deal. It was really sweet.

Oh, that’s, that’s fantastic and great of you to bring light to, to that remarkable story. So you also visited some other places you visited Colombia. Tell us a little bit about what you saw.

Yeah. Yeah, Colombia is really amazing. It’s at the end of our film, and it really talks about what happens when community is like put first in terms of the importance of these ecosystems and taking care of them. What does the community actually need, in order to thrive and to protect these ecosystems. There’s this amazing community with this amazing woman that we meet Ignacia. And she is like, what we she’s called, like the mother of the mangroves. She’s an older woman who’s just like out there, just like teaching everyone about the mangroves. And talking about we actually talk a lot about carbon credits in that segment, as well as the segment before where we learn about what carbon credits are doing in Senegal. And kind of the pros and cons about carbon credits. There’s a lot of contention around it.

But the cool thing about Columbia is that they actually get it right, how they go about carbon credits, they don’t take carbon credits or money to, you know, towards carbon credits from they don’t take it just from anybody. The people have to have their values aligned with them in terms of how they go about the world and interact with the world. So it’s not like an oil company can come and buy carbon credits from them. It doesn’t work like that. So it’s really quite amazing that the community has taken it upon themselves to work in that manner. So that the, so that planting, the mangroves are really about saving their home first.

Well, certainly aligning with people who have the similar values and are not just doing it so they can pollute more and destroy the planet because the oil companies are kind of greenwashing things and saying, Hey, we’re, we’re now the green oil company. And it’s in it’s really a lie. There’s Yeah,

it’s a bit of an oxymoron. Okay, like Yeah.

Right. And they just, they just put it into a law into place in California, that punishes people who are greenwashing. So, you know, anybody who is aware of greenwashing practices, you know, give me a call, but To because we do some environmental cases. And yeah, we we want to stop that we want to stop people from claiming, hey, we’re doing the right thing when in truth they’re putting the hell out of the planet, it’s good to see that that group and Columbia is is doing the right thing. Yeah,

it’s pretty amazing to see. And it’s, it’s really awkward, like there’s a scene in the in the film, where they’re basically trying to open the waterways a little bit because there needs to be more water that flows through the mangroves to kind of for it to thrive, or else. If it only gets overgrown, then the mangroves kind of can choke and it doesn’t grow a super well. So we ended up going through with Ignacia. And she’s like, basically, you know, cheerleading all these amazing people who are out there, like swimming in the water, and helping, like take care of these mangroves, like right there in real time. And she was just such an inspiration to watch. So yeah, well,

that that must have been cool. And well, then there’s also the crocodiles that they have to be worried.

I know they really did seem that worried, which I definitely was, I was just like, I don’t know if I’d be in that swimming in that water. didn’t seem to care that much.

Some people are just incredibly courageous. So kudos to them your change, and we’ll be right back talking to Jayda G. About her new film, which is going to be coming out on CNN Blue Carbon.

You’re listening to A Climate Change is Matt Matt. And I’ve got Jayda G on the program, who has been nominated for a Grammy and she’s also doing a environmental documentary that’s going to be playing on CNN, at 9pm. This Sunday, April 21. Tell us a little bit about your music career and what’s coming up for you on that front.

Yeah, no. So in terms of my music career, yeah, I released an album, actually, last year, that was a really big project, getting that across the line. And it’s really a album that’s very close to my heart. It had a lot to do with my father who passed away when I was about 10 years old. And we actually talked about him in the Blue Carbon film, because he really established a lot of my love for nature. And that was something that we did a lot together was like camping and going fishing and just exploring nature. He taught me about curiosity, essentially, when it comes to being in the outdoors. So that album got released.

Yeah, last year, and it kind of I can’t believe it’s like out already still, because it took a couple years to make that. And yeah, and now we’re entering a new festival season. So every summer around this time, around April, I start touring again, pretty full on and going from festival to festival playing DJ sets. And yeah, making new music as well. That’s always on, you know, later happening down the pipeline. So any

festivals that you’ve got coming up on the horizon?

Oh, gosh, there’s so many I play mostly in Europe when it comes to to festivals and, and the UK. I live in London. So that’s an easy one for me to do. But I’m definitely playing a little bit in the States as well. So I know I’m playing in Detroit. For Memorial Day weekend. There’s a festival there called movement. And it’s just it’s such a good Festival. It’s been around for a while and it’s a real honor to be invited to play honestly. So really pumped for that one.

Well, that sounds great. So you know, the people in the US will get a chance to see you and otherwise we’ll just go to Europe and watch.

Yeah. No, I do. I try and come out about like three or four times a year. So it’s not too far a few between but definitely kind of have to mark it on your calendar for one.

So you said you also visited Brazil and France. What types of things were you visiting while you’re there?

Oh my goodness. Brazil was such an amazing trip. So we went to Brazil to visit Seu Jorge who is a huge musician in Brazil. I don’t know if you’ve seen Life Aquatic, the Wes Anderson film but Seu Jorge has it Um, he’s playing the guitar. And he ended up doing, I think an album, like, with a bunch of David Bowie covers. That’s kind of like how he first got known. And when I first heard about him, and he’s just like a real, like, he’s a proper superstar.

In Brazil, like, everywhere we would go, like we would go out for dinner or just like go out for lunch or like in just walking around, you hear his music everywhere. It was really cool to like, be in the country that like, really revered him and loves him. So we got to meet him. And he is a huge climate activists and just an activist in general, he was ending up doing a benefit concert while we were there. So we were ending up going to the concert, which was super fun. And I got to talk to him a little bit more about our project, and kind of just the beauty of music and kind of putting those things together and how we do that.

And the different ways you can do that. Like he has an amazing song that really talks about the water and how we need to protect it. And that there’s so many things that he does. And so it was nice to kind of have like a mentor within the film to kind of talk about bringing music and nature together really?

Well, certainly music has a way of communicating emotions and feelings and things that are that are beyond kind of language. So I think that you’re incorporating that into the your climate messaging is super powerful, because it’s it’s connecting people in a way that’s it’s hard to quantify, but it communicates something maybe deeper than words. Maybe you can talk about that a bit more.

Yeah, no, that’s exactly it’s like, music is kind of like for me personally is like the big connector. When I’m DJing out, I’m always trying to reach like, a moment, hopefully more more than once within my set, a moment where everyone is feeling the same thing at the same time. And you can really like you can tell when that’s happening, like whether it’s everyone’s hands are in the air, or it’s just like this energy within the air. When you reach that that’s like pure magic for me personally. And I really feel like a similar thing happens when you are in nature, it’s really a moment to kind of come together with the basics of our world of what we’re all made up of.

And it can be a quite a spiritual thing. And that’s the kind of things that I feel like there’s so in common have a lot of common. And so it makes sense to me personally to put the two together, like in terms of bringing nature sounds within my music, just to also bring awareness in terms of my love for nature, I think that’s kind of the My biggest thing when it comes to kind of my activism or just being an advocate for things that I care about is I have this platform, which is amazing and lovely. And people actually listened to me, which is also very strange and weird to me. So I can use that platform to actually talk about things that are super important in this world, like this film and the environment, whether it’s Blue Carbon or other things. And it’s Yeah, it makes me feel like there’s a bigger purpose in terms of my career within music.

Tell us a little bit about have you had the chance to collaborate with other musicians. Besides Seu Jorge about your your climate activism and and how that’s gone.

Yeah, no, mainly with Seu Jorge that was amazing to kind of talk to him about there’s not a ton of people that actually that I know super well, I know they’re out there, I’m sure they are, in terms of people who do a similar thing to me is using, you know, field sounds and stuff and bringing them together within their music. But I’m definitely open to collaborating and bringing more people into my world and me into theirs because it’s definitely something I think that’s growing and something that a lot of artists are experimenting with. Just to, again, bring awareness around climate change.

Yeah, it’s it’s, it’s great that you’re using your platform for that purpose, and I really appreciate what you’re doing. Tell us a little bit about you know what you’re doing and pop popular culture and your social media. How do you? How are you using that to kind of message on these topics? Yeah. So,

yeah, in terms of popular culture and stuff, like it’s funny, because when you’re a DJ, or a music producer and DJ, those things kind of together, you get asked to do remixes. And so that’s really helped my career because I’ve gotten, you know, remix requests from like Dua Lipa, and Taylor Swift, just to name a few big names. And so that really helps, you know, bring more awareness of me to all their fans, which is fantastic. And in terms of yeah, just bringing it more into the mainstream is using social media, social media, even though it can be really hard at some times.

It really is a great way to communicate to my fans, especially my younger fans, they, you know, they really live on Instagram and TikTok. And if you’re able to communicate well with on those platforms, people listen, people take note and they engage, and they’re excited about it. So that’s kind of like my main way of kind of getting out there and talking about these things. But yeah, hopefully more with like the podcasts, especially screening these films, screening, this film is definitely a way for me to kind of get it all out there. Well,

I took a look at your social media. And maybe you can tell us a little bit about where we can find you on social media as well. As you know what, what you see is your next steps moving forward, and thanks for your being on the show. And just thank the work that you did and your documentary and your career so far.

Thank you. Thanks so much. Yeah, so you can find me at Jayda G Music. Also, you can find me on Spotify. If you want to listen to my music. Again. That’s Jayda G. That’s Jayda G. We are trying to get this film as much out there as possible. We’re going to have another screening in the UK, which I’m really excited about.

And again, my podcast is called Here’s Hoping with Jayda G, and that’s going to be coming out in May.

Well again, thank you, Jayda, for being on the show and I look forward to watching your documentary, Blue Carbon, and following you on all your social media channels.

Thanks so much for having me.