March ‘25 Chapter Call with “Common Ground” Director Josh Tickell

Monday, March 24, 2025

7pm Via Zoom

Stream the interview below.

Our March chapter call featured a discussion with documentarian Josh Tickell, who has directed several climate-related feature-length documentaries with his partner Rebecca Tickell. Josh joined us to talk about regenerative agriculture, the subject of their most recent projects, "Kiss the Ground" (2020) and "Common Ground" (2023).

In a conversation with LA Climate Reality Chapter Chair Charles Miller, Tickell explained how the water cycle interacts with global warming and how regenerative farming is an underestimated climate solution.

Regenerative agriculture involves reintegration of crops and livestock, eliminating the practice of tilling, and using cover crops instead of fallowing fields. “It’s very simple changes that occur in as little as a year,” Tickell said. “We’ve seen farmers who adopt these practices reduce their pesticides by 50%, increase their profits by 50% in the first year.”

In the meeting, Tickell also addressed how he balances explanations of the enormity of the climate problem with the hope of solutions in his films, and how he creates compelling narratives in his films.

Both "Kiss the Ground" and "Common Ground" will be available to stream on Amazon Prime starting on Earth Day, April 22, 2025. The team is currently working on “Groundswell,” the planned third documentary in the series.

This conversation is part of our Climate Movers & Shakers interview series. Scroll down to watch the recording.