The short film Bright Spots by animator Jilli Rose features Nick Holmes, Director of Science for Island Conservation, and shares a story of hope for current and future conservationists.

Island Conservation first met Jilli a few years ago when her film Sticky was making the rounds on the festival circuit earning honors and acclaims. In a roundabout way, Jilli Rose and Island Conservation already knew each other because Sticky is all about island restoration—what might have been and what could be.

Jilli’s craft is storytelling, which she does with a remarkable sense of style, color, and optimism. Jilli’s mission is to help make science and careers in science more accessible to kids. Islands, the plants and animals found on islands, and the impacts invasive species have on them, are a great medium to explore that goal—why do invasive species lead to extinction on islands? How can we change that?

In November 2014, I was lucky enough to attend the World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia. Jilli and I met up one sunny afternoon and sat under a tree with a tape recorder. Jilli prompted me to tell a few stories about my own experiences and journeys, and about islands and conservation, drawing me along a story arc she already had in mind. After that meeting, she took those words, and crafted the story with incredible moving pictures—drawings, animations, and editing—to produce Bright Spots. No small task!

The final product is amazing, so much so that it was selected for inclusion in the San Francisco Green Film Festival, a real tribute. I’m excited by Bright Spots because of the goal—to expose kids to the larger world of conservation science and island restoration, and to consider that there is reason to be optimistic about the future of our world.