The Stories

Anyone can "plant" a story on Guardians of Earth - either to the "Whole Earth" or to a specific Nature Realm.

"Planting" nature stories helps us connect with the world around us, contribute to the biocultural health of our planet, and engage with others who care about our ecosystems. Most cultural knowledge on the Internet sits in a kind of digital warehouse: public and searchable, yet disconnected from Country, community, and meaning. By planting stories on Guardians of Earth, you are re-locating them back on Earth — to a specific place, ecosystem, and cultural lineage. You can plant original stories ("upload") to Guardians of Earth, or you can plant links to stories published elsewhere on the Internet. Stories can be videos, essays, podcasts, scientific papers, images, lectures, unique observations or insights, just about any digital content about anything that's connected to land or sea. Stories that belong to a Nature Realm and receive songs from the community will add BioScore to the Realm, and provide shareholding in the Realm to the people involved in the stories. LOCAL, INDIGENOUS, CUSTODIAL KNOWLEDGE Local or custodial stories - told by people with a deeper connection to the location — will increase the BioScore of a Realm more than stories from people who have less of a connection to the place. When a story is shared from another source that's already in the public domain, Guardians of Earth is not copying or taking it away from that source. The story always remains where it was first published (for example, on YouTube). But in “planting” the story into its Realm, you are locating it back into Country, returning it to Earth, so it is connected with its place and people. In this way, "planting" digital stories from other sources (Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, etc) is about returning them to the Earth, not re-broadcasting them.

As part of sharing the stories of local or indigenous knowledge holders that are already in the public domain, it's a good idea to seek their blessings when returning ("planting") their story back to the Earth, or to the place from where it sprung. This creates a ritual of respect — one that honours custodianship and gives the story even more value and meaning, while also sharing GoE's greater mission. ROLES Each story on Guardians of Earth can have these roles: 1. Creator All stories have a Creator. The Creator is the person or group of people who have either created an original story or recalled a story that risks being lost in time. Of course, it can be said that all stories are manifestations of the stories that proceed them. But a creator puts in effort to present something unique to their to time or place. 2. Planter The Planter is the person who shares a story link with Guardians of Earth. They can plant to the "Whole Earth" or to a specific Nature Realm. Note: To plant a story in a specific realm, the planter must have a shareholding in the Realm. 3. Propagator The Propagator is the person who brings a story from one Realm into another Realm. Propagators must have a shareholding in the Realm in which they wish to propagate the story. Read about how Songs work