On World Environment Day on June 5, the Food and Agriculture Organization and UNEP’s North America Office will mark the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration with a screening of the critically acclaimed documentary, Kiss the Ground.

Narrated by Woody Harrelson, the film examines the potential for change hidden in the ground under our feet, showing that by regenerating the world’s soils, we can stabilize the climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. Using compelling graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, the film shows how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon, soil is the missing piece of the climate puzzle.

The film will be available for streaming from June 5-7.

Join an interactive Q&A session with featured guests from the film and environmental experts on Monday, June 7. The Q&A session will look at how regenerative agriculture is reviving ecosystems around the world and discuss how we all can be part of this #GenerationRestoration movement.

What: Panel Discussion of Kiss the Ground film

When: June 7; 11am - 12 (EST)

Where: Click here to watch the film from June 5-7

To register for the panel discussion, click here.

Find out more about the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration here, and follow the live virtual launch on June 4 here. Follow all the global events around World Environment Day here and make your voice heard as part of #GenerationRestoration.

Learn more about Ecosystem Restoration with the report's interactive.

Get involved by registering your own World Environment Day event, or check out the official schedule. And keep up with all news surrounding the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration here.

It’s nearly time! Are you ready to join #GenerationRestoration and make this next crucial decade count like no other? If so, you won’t want to miss this star-studded celebration of planet earth to mark the start of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration?

Tune in to the virtual launch gala from June 4-5 and don’t miss a thing as we join host country Pakistan to kick off a global movement on restoration that could change the world.

Check out this link for all the details.

There will be inspiring messages from world leaders, activists, celebrities, and musical performances that will make you forget you never left your couch or desk.

Just a few highlights to whet your appetite: Goodwill Ambassador, singer and environmental educator Alex Rendell will talk to UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa about restoration and climate action; supermodel, author and philanthropist Gisele Bundchen will talk to ecologist John D. Liu; there will be a message from Dr. Jane Goodall; and performances from international musician Rocky Dawuni; spoken word poet and climate change activist Jordan Sanchez; as well as the world premiere of a new love-song for Mother Earth by DJ Don Diablo and Ty Dolla Sign.

There will be remarks from Prime Minister Imran Khan from host country Pakistan, as well as UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UNEP’s Executive Director Inger Andersen, the Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi, and the Dr. Qu Dongyu, Director General of the Food and Agricultural Organisation, which co-leads the Decade with UNEP.

What: Virtual Launch Gala for UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

When: June 4; 13:00 - 14:45 (UTC); 16:00 - 17:45 (EAT); 2 pm - 3:45 (BST)

Where: Live on YouTube or follow on this dedicated page.

You can also follow all the World Environment Day events from host country Pakistan on that same page all through June 5.

Make sure you join the conversation online using the hashtag #GenerationRestoration and #WorldEnvironmentDay. Because the planet needs all of us.

The benefits of green spaces are well documented: they can decrease stress, release tension, accelerate physical healing and offer a respite from the thrum and din of city living. But all too often, low-income residents live in hotter city neighborhoods with higher rates of air pollution and less access to green spaces.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. In New York, NYC Parks GreenThumb has been working for decades to turn vacant concrete lots into lush and welcoming places for everyone to gather, grow and breathe.

The organization now manages approximately 550 community gardens that range from park plots for rest and relaxation to high-functioning farms churning out fresh food and natural products.

Find out more about this amazing New York project here.

This kind of hands-on healing of our natural world will be at the heart of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which launches officially on World Environment Day on June 5.

Stay up-to-date with World Environment Day by checking the website here, and the official schedule of events here. Why not join in and register your own event here. And follow the virtual launch gala of the UN Decade here.

Show you are ready for change by joining UNEP’s online Snap Challenge. Check out this video for inspiration and show the world what you will do to heal nature.

More tips here and when you post be sure to share your action on social media channels with the #GenerationRestoration and #WorldEnvironmentDay hashtags. Challenge friends, organizations, or companies to take action too.

In 2014, Pakistan launched an initiative to plant a billion trees, playing its part in the worldwide forest landscape restoration targets of the Bonn Challenge. In 2017, the country achieved this goal ahead of schedule and so decided to increase its ambitions tenfold, launching the five-year Ten Billion Tree Tsunami.

Find out more about one of the world’s largest afforestation efforts here.

Ahead of the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration on World Environment Day which Pakistan is hosting, this Global Landscapes Forum Live event will bring together two top experts to discuss the future of the programme – Malik Amin Aslam Khan, Pakistan’s special assistant to the prime minister on climate change, and Mark Halle, who established IUCN’s program in Pakistan in the 1980s and helped establish the Tsunami’s financing mechanisms.

What: How will Pakistan plant 10 billion trees?

When: June 4; 11 CEST; 1400 Pakistan

Find out more, including registration details, here

Keep up-to-date with all the World Environment Day events here and learn more about the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration here.

Facing the triple threat of climate change, loss of nature and pollution, the world must deliver on its commitment to restore at least one billion degraded hectares of land in the next decade – an area about the size of China.

A flagship report from UNEP and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) -- #GenerationRestoration: Ecosystem Restoration for People, Nature and Climate -- synthesizes evidence of the state of degradation of the world's ecosystems and details the economic, environmental and social rewards that restoration can bring.

During the report’s online launch on June 3, a panel of authors and experts will offer the latest data on restoration in selected ecosystems ahead of the formal launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration on World Environment Day on June 5. The UN Decade is a global push to halt and reverse the degradation of our precious ecosystems so that they can continue to support humanity’s survival.

A decade may sound like a long time but scientists say that these next 10 years will count most in the fight to avert climate change and the loss of millions of species. Click here to read about 10 actions that will make a difference.

Everyone must play a part. This World Environment Day, we are urging everyone -- individuals, governments, businesses and others -- to join #GenerationRestoration. This new report shows us just what needs to be done.

Join the launch and hear from speakers including Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director and Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General.

What: Launch of #GenerationRestoration: Ecosystem Restoration for People, Nature and Climate

When: June 3; 12:00 - 13:00 EAT

Where: Watch Live on YouTube here

Learn more about Ecosystem Restoration with UNEP’s practical guide to healing our planet.

Get involved by registering your own World Environment Day event, or check out the official schedule. And keep up with all news surrounding the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration here.

The last time Madrid was surrounded by forests was in the 1500s but now the municipality has launched a drive to connect a series of existing woodlands, creating a 75km-long green belt around the city of 3.3 million.

Once complete, the forest -- dubbed the Bosque Metropolitano or Metropolitan Forest -- would cover 35,000ha. It will help the city improve its air quality, counter climate change and create a wealth of recreational opportunities for residents.

Madrid is one of several major cities, from Bangkok, Thailand to Medellin, Colombia, that are attempting to re-green themselves. The Madrid effort comes ahead of the official launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global push to revive natural spaces lost to development, on World Environment Day on June 5.

Read more about Madrid’s Green Belt project here

Find out more about why regreening the world’s cities is so critical

As we count down to World Environment Day, keep up-to-date with all the global events here and follow the virtual gala launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration here. Join in by following #GenerationRestoration here.

At times, it may feel like we will never be able to repair the damage we have done to the natural world. But that is not the case.

Restoration, both of land and water ecosystems, is a process that can, on a major scale, revive the natural world that supports every one of us. The benefits are many. Soil health is restored, supporting healthier food. Renewed treescapes can alter climates, restoring aquifers and cooling the land. Healthy mangroves on a shoreline restore nurseries for fish. These projects are already happening.

Ahead of World Environment Day on June 5, and the official launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the Earth Institute at Columbia University is hosting a dialogue with scientists and policy experts on the goals of the decade and exploring specific paths to recovery, restoration and a thriving future.

This dialogue is part of the Sustain What conversation series and will be hosted by Dale Willman of the Columbia Climate School. You can explore all the episodes of the series here.

What: Designing a Decade of Restoration

When: June 4; 8 am EST New York

Where: Watch live on YouTube here or on the Earth Institute site here

The event will then take place in Spanish, with panellists from Spain and Latin America.

When: June 4; 1 pm EST

Where: Watch live on YouTube here

Get all the event details here

Keep up-to-date with official events ahead of World Environment Day on June 5 here. Learn more about the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration here. Check out UNEP’s Ecosystem Restoration Playbook to find out what needs to be done and follow #GenerationRestoration here.

Rising out of the sea near Fredrikstad in Norway, the Hope Cathedral is a captivating reminder that faith communities can play a major role in protecting vulnerable ecosystems. This sustainable art project at the mouth of the Glomma river symbolises the creation of hope through cooperation, reminding us that we are able to transform evil into good.

Commissioned by the Church of Norway and other partners, the Hope Cathedral rises on a 120 m2 barge made of timber and roots and built-in traditional fashion. The roof is made of plastic taken from the ocean while more than 1,000 fish boxes have been washed, granulated and turned into 4,000 roof tiles in more than 50 different colours. Browse pictures of its construction here.

“Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, and others, we are working together, we are acting together in Hope Cathedral,” said Einar Tjelle, deputy international director, Church of Norway and chair for Norwegian Interfaith Climate Network.

“A point of departure is actually the ocean, which is borderless, binds us together, nations, continents, people regardless of different faiths. The ocean binds us together and is our common inheritance.”

Watch this video to learn more about the Cathedral’s creation.

Now, the Cathedral is ready to be inaugurated. The ceremony will take place on World Environment Day on June 5 and the world is invited to be a part of this event.

When: June 5; 1400 CET

Where: Follow the event live on Facebook.

The Hope Cathedral Facebook page is here.

Ahead of World Environment Day, check out the official events schedule here, join in and register your own event here and find out more about the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration here.