Kristin Davis Interview. Gardeners of Eden at Mill Valley Film Festival.

“Every 15 minutes an elephant is gunned down for its ivory.”

If we don’t do something about it, says actress Kristin Davis (Sex And The City), the elephant could become extinct in ten to fifteen years.

It’s eye opening, and heart wrenching, stuff. Kristin’s new documentary, Gardeners of Eden, which she produced, gives viewers and up-close and personal experience on the ground in Kenya where the elephant population has fallen from over 10 million in 1900 to an all-time low of 300,000 today. The film premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival where I caught up with the busy actress and shot an interview (see below) to learn more about the crisis.

Austin Peck and Anneliese Vandenberg - Gardeners of Eden
Austin Peck and Anneliese Vandenberg on location in Kenya for the filming of the documentary ‘Gardeners of Eden’.

You should never buy ivory. You should tell all your friends to never buy ivory.

“Nature’s great masterpiece, an elephant; the only harmless great thing.” – English poet John Donne.

Kristin tells me she fell in love with the animals as a young girl. At four years old she was gifted a toy elephant that at the time, “seemed bigger than myself.”

In 2009, when visiting friends in Kenya, she came across an orphaned elephant. She knew she just had to get the word out, and it became her life’s mission. Fortunately she was able to team up with filmmakers Austin Peck and Anneliese Vandenberg who spin a sad and tragic, but equally beautiful and hopeful 60-minute account of those on-the-ground heroes (from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust) who dedicate themselves to stopping poachers (“It may result out of an ambush” or “identifying footprints” from poachers too careless to conceal their tracks).

Actress Kristin Davis (Sex And The City) at Mill Valley Film Festival
Actress Kristin Davis (Sex And The City) made it her life’s mission to do something about elephant poaching after visiting friends in Kenya in 2009. There she rescued an orphan elephant, and learned that the species could become extinct in only ten years.

And how to solve the poaching problem?

One solution, says Kristin, is to cut off demand. “You should never buy ivory. You should tell all your friends to never buy ivory.”

ENDING THE CRISIS – A GLOBAL EFFORT

Chelsea-Clinton-Elephant-PoachingOther high profile celebrities and political figures have used their influence and power to help end the elephant poaching crisis.

Recently, Chelsea Clinton visited Tanzania in Africa and wrote about the experience and her thoughts as part of the Clinton Foundation:

“According to a recent Washington Post article, Savannah elephant tusks sell for up to $1,000 per pound, with forest elephant ivory often fetching an even higher price given its prized pinkish hue.”

“To help end this crisis, we need a complete systems change and we need to recognize that elephant poaching exists within its own market system – we need to stop the killing, stop the trafficking, and stop the demand by educating end consumers.”

It may be easier said than done, sadly. It’s her dream though that everyone that hears the news will want to help out — even following her lead, and adopting an orphaned elephant.

Learn more about the crisis in this interview with Kristin Davis which includes clips from her new documentary Gardeners of Eden.

Gardeners of Eden documentary interview at Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF)
Gardeners of Eden: The adolescent orphans, exploring the wild at the Ithumba stockade, Tsavo National Park.

WATCH: Kristin Davis on Elephant Crisis – Mill Valley Film Festival

To learn more how to help visit The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

With Clinton Stark in Mill Valley, California.

Loni Stark
Loni Stark is an artist at Atelier Stark, psychology researcher, and technologist whose work explores the intersection of identity, creativity, and technology. A self-professed foodie and adventure travel enthusiast, she collaborates on visual storytelling projects with Clinton Stark for Stark Insider. Her insights are shaped by her role at Adobe, influencing her explorations into the human-tech relationship. It's been said her laugh can still be heard from San Jose up to the Golden Gate Bridge—unless sushi, her culinary Kryptonite, has momentarily silenced her.