At its root, songwriting is an act of cultural memory, emotional truth, and place-based storytelling. ‘Forest Calls’ is an ambitious transmedia initiative that bridges art, Indigenous wisdom, and ecological conservation to safeguard our planet’s endangered ecosystems and cultural heritage.
Music has the unique power to translate the quiet struggle of endangered species into a deeply personal, visceral experience. Forest Calls is an ambitious transmedia initiative designed to give a powerful voice to our planet’s fragile ecosystems. By marrying an introspective, highly emotional original score with evocative narrative and Indigenous wisdom, we are creating a living, breathing acoustic bridge to amplify the global struggle for biodiversity before these vital natural voices and ancestral stories slip into silence forever.
Last day at Prix Jeunesse International 2026! Day 6 included screening and discussing the fiction shows for Up to 6-year-olds. There were two shows in this category that had a focus on nature and the outdoors: 1) Wow Lisa from Chile, and 2) Microterrestrials: The Fantastic Explorers from Chile. Wow Lisa uses stop-motion animation and shows eco-friendly living with a neighborhood of anthropomorphic animals. Microterrestrials followed the adventures of two bugs as they met different animals in the Valdivian rainforest.
Time for preschool shows and shorts at Prix Jeunesse International 2026! Day 5 included screening and discussing the non-fiction shows and shorts for Up to 6-year-olds. We also screened about half of the ‘Up to 6 Fiction’ shows.
Another busy day at Prix Jeunesse International 2026! Day 4 included screening and discussing the fiction shows and shorts for 7-10-year-olds.
What a day and night at Prix Jeunesse International 2026! Day 3 was filled with screening and discussing the non-fiction shows and shorts for 7-10-year-olds.
There were four shows that featured connections with nature in this category: 1) My Class in Greenland from Denmark, 2) Call Me Wild Child from Taiwan, 3) Animal City from Colombia, and 4) Mho Khao Mho Gang from Thailand.
Day 2 at Prix Jeunesse International 2026 was filled with screening and discussing the fiction shows and shorts for 11-15-year-olds. This is the first year that Shorts have their own categories by age group.
There were 3 environmental-themes shorts for the 11-15-year-olds: 1) “Earth is Home” from the U.S., 2) “Whoever Whatever” from Ukraine about recycling, and 3) “Biodiversity; Little Blue Dragon” from Mexico.
Ella and I are thrilled to be attending Prix Jeunesse International 2026 in Munich, Germany.
Yesterday, Ella sharpened her writing skills at the ‘Funnybones: Writing and directing humor for Kids’, a 5-hour workshop on how humor can become a constructive part of children’s and youth programs.
By weaving artistic expression, scientific knowledge and Indigenous wisdom into a powerful transmedia bridge, “Forest Calls” amplifies the urgent global struggle to preserve our planet’s interconnected biological and cultural diversity before these vital native voices, ecosystems, and ancestral stories are lost to silence forever.
“Ecologies of Sound” (MUHS 8048-001)
To get more information about this graduate level course, please contact Ailsa Lipscombe at: lipscoaa@ucmail.uc.edu
To get more information about Ailsa, please go to: UC Research Directory – Ailsa Lipscombe
