“There are no words.”
That is how one of the Artemis II astronauts described looking back at Earth from space. Suspended in darkness, surrounded by nothing, our planet appearing as something both ordinary and extraordinary, finite, fragile, shared.
I heard that comment and it has stayed with me. What it must feel like to see the Earth as a whole, to really see it, and then to look closer and recognise places you know. Australia lit up at night, vast and quiet and unmistakably ours. You would have to ask yourself what we choose to do with something like that.
From where I sit, the answer is not abstract.
At FAME, for more than 30 years, we have worked across the country alongside a community of people who have decided to act. Not because it is easy or guaranteed, but because it matters. Together, we have backed projects that have brought species back from the edge, restored landscapes that had been written off, and taken risks where others have stepped back.
This work is not neat. It is not predictable. There are sleepless nights, difficult decisions, and more than a few moments where the outcome is uncertain, and I, like others, have had my fair share of those nights, and they stay with you.
But there is also progress, real, tangible progress, built piece by piece by people like us who genuinely believe this can be done. We often say we cannot do everything, but we can do something meaningful, and when people stand together and take responsibility for their patch, that something begins to add up in ways that matter.
I love the optimism in this: The future does not yet exist. It is not determined. It is ours to create.
Tomorrow is Earth Day and a chance to step back for a moment and see the bigger picture, and then to come back to ground and keep going. To keep doing the work, to keep backing what works, and to keep believing that this place, in all its scale and detail, is worth our effort.
“There are no words.”
And yet, here we are, doing what we can with the time we have.
This work only happens because of people like you. If you can, please join me this Earth Day in supporting our work.
Thanks for all your ongoing support and belief.
Tracy McNamara
Chief Executive Officer