From Los Angeles to New York to Kolkata to Singapore, "Cities" highlights inspiring stories of people reshaping urban life and sharing space with wildlife. In Los Angeles, a mountain lion unites a community and becomes the unofficial mascot of the city, while in Kolkata, locals clean the urban wetlands, creating an incredible wildlife habitat and supporting thousands of jobs. In New York City, the Billion Oyster Project is restoring reefs to New York Harbor, helping protect the city from dangerous hurricanes. And in futuristic Singapore, urban reforestation efforts have transformed the city, enhancing citizens' lives and attracting wildlife such as hornbills.
Filmed on four continents, "Open Spaces" shines a light on remarkable stories of people reshaping how we live and work in the planet's grasslands, deserts, and savannahs. Maasai Lion Ambassadors in Africa show the value of living alongside lions, while in Mexico, flower-loving bats revive the tequila and mezcal industries. In Brazil's Cerrado, farmers benefit from coexisting with wildlife like giant anteaters, and South African flowers provide water for millions in Cape Town.
From Borneo to Guatemala, people are reshaping how we live and work in forests while still coexisting with wildlife. In Borneo, efforts are underway to plant native trees within palm oil plantations, creating wildlife corridors for orangutan families to travel in the treetops. In Guatemala, a community forestry organization sustainably harvests trees, protecting habitats like those of the highly endangered scarlet macaws. In Spain, a landowner restores his farm, overrun with invasive, flammable pines, to support wildlife like the rare Iberian lynx and secure his family's future. In Madagascar, the local community makes a living from vanilla production and works with a researcher to protect rare lemurs and other wildlife. And in Japan - the first country to provide scientific evidence of the health benefits of forests - 100 "forest bathing" areas are being created, benefitting the mental and physical health of humans who visit them as well as the wildlife that live there.
"Waters" highlights inspiring stories from Idaho to Indonesia, focusing on hope in the world's oceans and freshwaters. In Alaska's Bristol Bay, salmon are flourishing thanks to efforts to balance harvesting with protection, creating sustainable livelihoods for people and feeding hungry bears and seals every year. In Raja Ampat, dynamite fishing once threatened marine life, but it is now a Marine Protected Area with unmatched biodiversity and more jobs for local people. In Idaho, a cattle rancher collaborates with an unlikely ally - beavers - to hold water on his drought-stricken land. In Brazil's Pantanal wetlands, ecotourism helps jaguars thrive alongside major cattle ranching operations. And in the Amazon, communities work together to conserve one of the world's largest freshwater fish - the pirarucu - which feeds hundreds of villages.