Bioneer, What persuades us to take action in a world that desperately needs citizen involvement to solve some of its most pressing challenges? Facts and statistics are available to us in abundance: Wildlife populations have decreased by 69% in the past 50 years. The wealth gap between America’s richest and poorer families more than doubled from 1989 to 2016. In 2021, women made up 47.4% of the workforce, but only 31.7% of top executive roles. These data points are compelling, but research in many fields has long since concluded that humans are hard-wired for stories, regardless of the facts on the ground. As the author Margaret Atwood describes it, storytelling is, “built into the human plan. We come with it.” Storytelling has the ability to succeed where facts often fail, creating an emotional connection to a cause or issue. There are real people and real lives connected to each of the data points above — the empathy created by their stories can spell the difference between action and indifference. In this newsletter, we'll dive into the transformative potential of storytelling and explore the ways in which stories can be used as tools for social and environmental justice. From personal narratives that inspire us to take action, to community-based storytelling initiatives that empower people to share their stories, we'll examine the many ways in which storytelling can be a catalyst for change. | 
