Damon Gameau at Ginninderry for conversations of environmental hope

Posted on 13 April, 2023

You might have seen him on the screen, acting in series’ such as Love My Way or Underbelly, or in the feature film Balibo.

But Damon Gameau has turned his back on acting in favour of activism, appearing in purpose-driven documentaries including That Sugar Film, where he saturated himself in fructose to show the dangers of the modern diet, and more recently creating a roadmap for positive environmental action in the film 2040.

Damon’ sole focus these days is campaigning against climate change, telling stories of environmental hope, and creating a better world for his kids—and yours.

Damon will be in Canberra on Saturday where he will be talking all things sustainable living at Ginninderry’s INSPIRE Festival as part of a stellar line-up including River Cottage Australia’s Paul West, Fat Pig Farm owner and author Matthew Evans, The Climate Factory’s Edwina Robinson, gardening guru Angus Stewart, and children’s entertainer Dirtgirl.

Damon says has no regrets leaving acting for activism, saying he experienced a “head-cracked-open” epiphany while visiting the Amazon in 2010 about the value of nature and need to turn around a system which has taken us to the environmental brink.

Ginninderry’s Inspire Festival showcases a region where sustainable living comes first.

And yet Damon is keen to focus on the positive.

“I get excited putting environmental action in a good light. We have to be so careful about how we talk to children—we can’t be Pollyanna, and our lack of action to date means where will be changes and extreme weather events which we will have to navigate through, but never before more is there more awareness and thirst for change, innovation and ingenuity. I personally think humans will turn it around. And once people realise how serious the crisis is we can change dramatically and build new systems in a short amount of time.”

Damon said he was looking forward to speaking at the festival about grassroots community action and simple steps ordinary people can take to make a difference. But he was also keen to share some truly inspired new ideas he has discovered as part of his latest campaign, Regenerate Australia 2030, which will shortly announce 40 recipients of grants for great ideas to make positive environmental change.

His next project will be creating a documentary of sharing an electric bus with a group of 11-15 year-olds as they drive across Europe looking at the best examples of regeneration and re-greening.

“We show how quickly nature can bounce back… Rather than telling stories of sacrifice and depravity and things we need to give up, I think humans are far more motivated by seeing benefits to own wellbeing, to their communities and to their children, and I have got plenty of good stories to share.”