is a passion for Matthew Trumm.

It all starts with rotting plants

and early morning phone calls.

- John! - Matthew.

It's Egypt calling.

Narrator: He is part of a growing worldwide network

evangelizing the powers of healing soil

by replanting native species, sculpting land

to store water, and composting.

Their work could be critical,

as a third of the world's soil is degraded

and getting worse due to climate change.

It's a global movement,

from California to just outside Cairo,

at this ecosystem restoration camp

that John Liu is visiting.

Liu is a mentor in the movement to build

dozens of these camps around the world.

In some ways, it started with a film.

- The project certainly changed my life.

- John is an amazing storyteller

who filmed the Loess Plateau project in China,

which was the largest land restoration project

in human history at the time.

Narrator: After watching, Matt reached out to John

on social media, just in time.

The worst wildfires in California history

burned through the area where Matt lives

just days after the pair first connected on social media.

- A thousand acres have been burned,

50,000-plus people have been displaced.

- He called me and he said, "John, you must come back

to California immediately because Paradise is lost."

- It was really the worst-case scenario.

- This is a tragedy but also an opportunity.

Narrator: John flew out right away

to help set up the first ecosystem restoration camp

in the United States.

- It was literally the first demonstration

of what this could look like in the US.

And we had over 100 people show up.

Hey, this is Matthew Trumm with Treetop -

- And John Liu. - Yeah!

And we're in Los Altos and we're excited.

Narrator: In just a few days,

John and Matt taught hundreds of volunteers their method.

- It brings volunteers, experts, and resources together

like a flash mob.

Narrator: This system for restoring soil

and repairing ecosystems has spread from three camps

in 2018 to 23 camps in 16 countries today.

The challenge at every camp is the same.

Dry dirt, where nothing can grow.

Recently in Egypt, John was checking in

on one of the oldest projects in the network.

- When we started this was desert, pure sand

and stone desert since thousands of years.

Narrator: Some of the techniques they used

to restore soil are centuries old.

Others are based on the latest restoration methods.

They break up the soil, control the flow of water

and erosion, and plant fast-growing crops

that get tilled back into the land.

And most importantly, campers use technology

to teach and inspire each other, from all over the world.

- We got the work crew, the prep crew here.

- It's part of a restoration project,

which we undertook with a group of 10 volunteers.

- This has made it a lot more environmentally friendly.

Watering has become a lot more convenient.

Narrator: Their goal is to open 30 new locations

per year through the end of this decade.

And grow to 1 million volunteers.

- This is a really powerful solution

to reverse climate change

and to make our future abundant

and thriving and beautiful.

- We are doing what we need to do

to ensure that our children

and future generations have a life.

That's the purpose of this.