Episode Details

What does it mean to practice hope in a changing world?

In the final episode based on A State of Change: California’s Forgotten Landscapes, newly revised and expanded by Heyday Books, Ayana Young and artist-naturalist Laura Cunningham explore how we might stay present to what can still be protected, restored, and cared for.

Laura reflects on the role of art and imagination in reconstructing California’s ecological past, describing her paintings as “visual hypotheses” shaped by science, historical records, observation, and a willingness to revise what we think we know. Together, Ayana and Laura consider the difference between optimism and what they call “honest hope,” a grounded commitment to protecting the particular places within our reach.

Their conversation moves through ideas of cyclical time, grassroots action, and the enduring possibility of ecological change. Laura shares her vision for a future Central Valley shaped by native grasslands, vernal pools, wildlife, and places where people can encounter the beauty of ecosystems that have often been overlooked. They reflect on the power of local communities to care for creeks, shorelines, parks, and small pieces of wild nature, and on the importance of tending to ourselves as we continue the work.

As this three-part series comes to a close, the episode leaves us with one of Laura’s formative field experiences: a flash flood that transformed a canyon in the Mojave Desert overnight, revealing the immense forces of geological time in a single moment. The experience became a lasting reminder that landscapes are always changing, sometimes slowly and sometimes all at once. We are left to deeply consider: what might it look like to meet an uncertain future with attention, imagination, and grounded care, allowing our relationship with place to become a lifelong practice?

Credits
Thank you to our series partner, Heyday Books.

🎵 The music featured in this episode is “Junglessa (w/ Dylan Golden Ayock)” by Lake Mary and “Sequoia” by Abby Litman.

Artwork © 2026 Laura Cunningham.

Audio and Visual Media Production and Publishing by For The Wild: Ayana Young, Erica Ekrem, and Caitlin Breh

Get the newly revised book →
A State of Change: California’s Forgotten Landscapes (Heyday Books, 2026)

Our Series Partner
Heyday Books is an independent, nonprofit publisher founded in 1974 in Berkeley, California. We are a diverse community of writers and readers, activists and thinkers. Heyday promotes civic engagement and social justice, celebrates nature’s beauty, supports California Indian cultural renewal, and explores the state’s rich history, culture, and influence. Heyday works to realize the California dream of equity and enfranchisement.

Guest Biography
Laura Cunningham is an artist-naturalist who studied paleontology and biology at the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked field biology jobs for the California Department of Fish and Game, the United States Geological Survey, and various universities, gaining experience with such species as Owens Valley