Aromatic Heritage & Earth Day - Waterville Connections

A new documentary, Ireland and Its Aromatic Heritage, will premiere globally on Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, with a special screening in Waterville, Co. Kerry—the very landscape where the story was filmed and where the people who shaped it still live and work.

Kerry's Voices at its heart

More than a film, Ireland and Its Aromatic Heritage is a tribute to Kerry’s living connection to Ireland’s natural and cultural legacy. At its heart are the voices of local farmers, herbalists, historians, and land stewards, whose deep knowledge of native plants—such as bog myrtle, elderflower, meadowsweet, and gorse—reveals a sensory tradition passed down through generations. Through their stories, the film explores how scent serves as a keeper of memory, identity, and place—and what it means to lose those sensory anchors in the face of environmental change.

“This film belongs to the people of Kerry... They’ve shared not only their knowledge but their lived experience. Their voices are the soul of this story—keeping tradition alive even as the world around it shifts.” - Film Director Dr. Gayil Nalls.

World Sensorium/Conservancy

Dr. Gayil Nalls, the film's director, is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary artist and award-winning filmmaker, and founder of World Sensorium/Conservancy and editor of its journal Plantings. Her pioneering work explores the role of scent in shaping cultural memory, identity, and environmental awareness. Through decades of research and artistic practice, she has elevated the importance and understanding of aromatic heritage—the collective cultural, ecological, and sensory knowledge associated with the scents of plants, landscapes, and environments that are powerful and meaningful cultural markers.

Collaboration & Storytelling

Dr. Nalls is joined by collaborators John Steele, an Emmy-winning journalist, and Elle Rinaldi, a cinematographer and sound designer known for resonant visual storytelling. The documentary raises timely and resonant questions: What happens when the scent that once defined Irish life—burning peat—fades even from memory? Can new aromatic traditions emerge from native flora and sustainable practices? And how do we honour the past while embracing a future grounded in climate care?

Earth Day

It is fitting, as the filming location for the documentary, that the world premiere should take place in Waterville at Tech Amergin, on Earth Day itself, Tuesday 22nd April. Earthday.org's mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day in 1970, Earthday.org is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 150,000 partners in over 192 countries to drive positive action for our planet. Check out the global list of events and initiatives over on earthday.org.