Terraforming: Historical Vision, Stakes, and Limits

TerraForma IR 2023, 62 min, Kevin Brennan, Laurence Durkin

TerraForma tells the remarkable story of Ascension Island, a remote volcanic outcrop in the South Atlantic Ocean that emerged from the sea just over a million years ago a geological infant in Earth's 4.6-billion-year history. Located approximately 1,600 kilometers from the nearest landmass, this barren island sat largely lifeless for millennia a stark landscape of volcanic rock and ash with minimal vegetation, earning it the nickname "cinder island" from early mariners. Its youth meant that life had barely begun to establish itself when humans arrived.

Discovered by the Portuguese on Ascension Day in 1503, the island remained uninhabited until the British established a naval garrison there in 1815, following Napoleon's exile to nearby Saint Helena. What followed was one of history's most ambitious ecological experiments. When Charles Darwin visited in 1836 aboard HMS Beagle, he was struck by the island's barren desolation and suggested it should be made into a "productive spot." Seven years later, in 1843, botanist Joseph Hooker visited and, encouraged by Darwin's vision, developed an ambitious plan to transform Ascension's barren peak, Green Mountain, into a lush garden. Beginning in 1847, Hooker who would later direct the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, arranged for ships to bring plants, trees, and seeds from across the Empire eucalyptus from Australia, bamboo from Asia, Norfolk pines from the Pacific creating an entirely artificial ecosystem on the island's summit.

This Victorian-era 'terraforming' project reshaped the island's ecology to fit the political and economic demands of the British Empire establishing a verdant supply station for ships and a symbol of imperial power over nature but only at the expense of what existed before it. The new environment, seemingly a paradise, was in fact a mirage: a mirror image of Victorian ambition, empire, and understanding of the natural world. And as such, it was doomed to fail in unexpected ways. Many believe that future plans to geo-engineer our planet, or terraform others, would simply follow the same pattern.

With the help of experts in the fields of geo-engineering, ecology, politics, and design, the documentary TerraForma explores the lessons we could learn from Ascension Island's unique history. What does its story mean for our planet in a future where terraformed landscapes and human-engineered environments may come to warp our understanding of 'nature' itself?

The screening will be followed by an Art Talk with the film directors, Kevin Brennan and Laurence Durkin

Free entry, registration required