Voices of Nature

In this different and exciting episode we take a completely different perspective of nature – one that is found in the metaverse. The metaverse is what many in the computer industry believe is the next iteration of the internet: a single, shared, immersive, persistent, 3D virtual space where humans experience life in ways they could not in the physical world. Our guide to the metaverse is Constantino Roselli – a leader in creating the metaverse and a member of the 50 best known thought leaders in the Metaverse worldwide.

In this episode we speak with M. Sanjayan, the CEO of Conservation International. Born in Sri Lanka, raised in West Africa, educated in the U.K. and the U.S., Sanjayan has seamlessly blended a lifelong passion for nature, an education in science, a powerful gift of storytelling, and a commanding global presence to becoming one of the world's foremost experts on protecting and expanding nature for the future of humanity. In today's episode, we will discuss a variety of topics, ranging from the work of Conservation International to how we can bring more financial capital to efforts that protect nature and - most exciting - Sanjayan's insights about what is over the horizon for nature, each of us, and our communities.

In this episode we speak with Richard Vigne. Richard is the first Executive Director of the School of Wildlife Conservation, located at The African Leadership College (ALC) located in Kigali, Rwanda. The School of Wildlife Conservation has a very unique approach to conservation – what it calls the business of conservation. Which is about creating and maintaining economic incentives for the sustainable utilization of wild resources and removing economic incentives which drive unsustainable use. We cover this thought-provoking topic in more detail during the conversation with Richard. Previously, Richard was the CEO of Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa and one of the most successful enterprises in Africa. He was born and brought up in Kenya and has more than 20 years of experience in conservation.

In this episode we speak with Anastasia Khoo, the Chief of Staff and Chief Marketing Officer for Conservation International, about the importance of using communications and marketing strategies to engage the public to take action on behalf of nature. Founded in 1987, Conservation International is one of the world's largest conservation-focused organizations. Combining fieldwork with innovations in science, policy and finance, Conservation International has helped protect more than 6 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles) of land and sea across more than 70 countries. With offices in more than two dozen countries and a worldwide network of thousands of partners, its reach truly is global. The conversation with Anastasia also takes an interesting detour as we learn more about why mangroves are an often under appreciated - but critically important - resource in protecting ecosystems and communities alike from the ravages of climate change.

In this episode we speak with James Wareing, the finance manager of Tenkile Conservation Alliance – often referred to as TCA. Tenkile Conservation Alliance operates in the Torricelli mountains in the north-west of Papua New Guinea. TCA was founded to protect several species of critically endangered tree kangaroos, the Tenkile, Weimang, and Grizzled. When TCA started, numbers of both the Tenkile and Weimand species were as low as 100. Now, thanks to a hunting moratorium, community engagement, and awareness programs, both species are around 300-400 strong. While the Grizzled remains threatened, it is not in as great of danger as the other two species. Further, TCA's work has expanded to bringing the benefits of conservation to the local communities – another topic we touch on in the conversation with James.

In this episode we speak with Marianna Burelli, an actress and entrepreneur. Born in Venezuela, educated in Africa, Mexico, and England, and now living in Los Angeles, Marianna has experienced nature throughout the world. Her passion for healthy living and protecting nature led her to co-found AMAI, an eco-beauty product line that combines the medicinal powers of plants, flower essences and herbal oils to create 100 percent natural, organic, sustainable and plastic-free products. Her desire to create AMAI and the importance of healthy, sustainable beauty products in protecting nature will be a topic we discuss in this interesting and engaging episode.

In episode 26 we speak with Brett Horley, founding partner of BHS Safaris. Brett is a native of South Africa, where he currently lives. Brett has nearly 20 years of experience in the bush and has guided tours across much of the continent. Brett's belief in education as part of a sustainable solution for the protection of wildlife led him to become involved in the training of guides in South Africa, Botswana, and Tanzania. He ran a highly successful education program in a few rural South African high schools, teaching skills and promoting tourism as a career path for many young students, a number of whom now work in prestigious luxury lodges in the Greater Kruger National Park. In our conversation we discuss one topic not yet covered in Voices of Nature – the intersection of tourism and conservation – and another topic that is aligned with the mission of GCC – educating young people about careers that protect and promote nature.

In this episode we speak with West Taylor, a former businessman and IT communications contractor who decided to let go of all the worldly ideas of who he was. In so doing, West followed his dream and found what was to become his passion and purpose today. Some say he is a horse whisperer. West will say he chooses to listen to the horse and allows them to communicate with him. West has had two near death experiences that shifted who he is and how he chooses to live his life. He spent 15 years drowning in alcohol. He also faced down a grizzly bear intent on killing him in the backcountry of Alaska. Both changed his life forever. Listen in to learn more about West and his adventures with horses.

We speak with Stephanie Benedetto – the passionate, inspiring founder of the Queen of Raw. Queen of Raw is an online marketplace that matches buyers and sellers of unused fabric. Instead of allowing unused fabric to wind up as trash in landfills, Queen of Raw creates a marketplace so the fabrics find a useful life with designers, manufacturers, and consumers around the world. Consider these statistics to put into context the importance of Stephanie's work: *One tee shirt takes an average 700 gallons of water to produce *That same shirt uses another 700 gallons of water to wash it in its lifetime *The textile industry uses 26.4 trillion gallons of water every year *Fashion makes up 10 percent of the world's carbon emissions *Americans throw away up to 11.3 million tons of textile waste each year – more than 2,100 pieces of clothing each second Now consider the impact of Queen of Raw: Queen of Raw has already saved over one billion gallons of water while saving businesses millions of dollars. That's enough clean water for 1.43 million people around the world to drink for three years.

In this episode we explore the circular economy – a first time subject for Voices of Nature – and talk about how a circular innovation mindset creates new regenerative models – such as the work of the Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture - where Lindsey is the co-founder and Board President. As the Sandown Centre explains, “Regenerative Agriculture is perhaps best described as Feeding the Land so the Land can Feed Us.” Lindsey shares with us how responsible farming practices can restore the health of soil and ecosystems so important to growing crops we need to feed ourselves. Lindsey then explains the connection between regenerative agriculture and the economic model of the future - the circular economy.

In this episode we speak with some of the filmmakers and lead characters in the Global Conservation Corps documentary film, RHINO MAN. The movie is about the South African field rangers who risk their lives to protect the rhinos from poachers. John Jurko II and Matt Lindenberg have been working on the film for the last 6 years. The main storylines they follow are those of Sergeant Anton Mzimba of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve as he protects the reserve from threats, and Ruben De Kock as he takes a class of 41 candidates through a ranger selection program at the Southern African Wildlife College. During this conversation we hear some of the trials and tribulations of the filmmaking process, but we mainly focus on Anton and Ruben's stories and why rangers are so important to maintaining biodiversity in these protected areas. Anton also does a great job describing why and how reserves need to engage and work with surrounding communities to make sure they can benefit from the resources within. Rangers are the front line of conservation, but it will take a holistic approach to make real change.

In this episode, ​​we turn our conversation about nature on its head from previous episodes. As always, we will explore what humans can – and must – do for nature. But we also will discuss what nature can do for us as human beings and how a closer relationship with nature makes us better people, better leaders, and better stewards of precious resources for future generations. Our guest Greta Matos lives in the south of Chile and is the Co-Founder and Director of Vision and Impact at CuraKuda.

In this episode we speak with Andrea Heydlauff, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for African Parks Network. African Parks is a non-profit conservation organization that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities across Africa. It manages 19 national parks and protected areas in 11 countries covering over 14.7 million hectares. Andrea has written and co-authored numerous scientific and popular publications on conservation, has spoken widely at conferences and is an award-winning filmmaker. Her interests lie heavily in human dimensions, community engagement, education, media and creative storytelling – topics we explore in detail during this episode of Voices of Nature.

Steve is a Venture Partner at Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, supporting a number of its portfolio organizations as a board member. He is the co-founder of Earth Genome – its work will be part of our conversation today and something we will turn to in a few minutes. Prior to starting Earth Genome Steve served as President of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and led the Foundation through the development of new strategies in a number of programs, including Environmental Conservation. Before leading the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Steve worked at The Nature Conservancy for 32 years, the last 6 as its President and CEO. Steve has served on the boards of the California Academy of Sciences, Sustainable Conservation, U.C. Berkeley College of Natural Resources, and the California Wildlife Officers Foundation. Perhaps most impressive is that Steve has been on the forefront of treating nature as an asset vital to the health and well-being of every one of us. That is a topic that we have touched on in previous episodes of Voices of Nature but today we will explore it much more deeply.

In this episode we speak with Lindsay Gordon, marine conservationist working at the nexus of humans and oceans, and the Head of Global Campaigns of Parley for the Oceans – a global network where creators, thinkers and leaders raise awareness for the beauty and fragility of our oceans and collaborate on projects that can end their destruction. A particular focus of Parley for the Oceans is preventing and significantly reducing the amount of plastic in the world's oceans.

In this episode we talk with Wai-Ming Wong, the director of the Small Cats Program at Panthera. There are 40 recognized species of wild cats in the world. Most people are familiar with the big and medium-sized species - such as lions and tigers - very few can name the 33 smaller cats. Panthera's Small Cats Program is focused on bringing the increasingly threatened small cat species to the world's attention and enact science-based conservation action on their behalf. Ming is a conservation biologist by training and his work has taken him from Zimbabwe to Thailand to Sumatra. His work touches on topics such as the impacts of deforestation on wildlife and ecosystems, conflict between humans and wildlife and how technology increasingly is being used to protect wildlife.

In this episode we speak with Mathieu Crepel, one of the best snowboarders and surfers in the world. Born in the mountains, raised by the water, Mathieu is pushing the boundaries to create a series of unique expeditions that combine his passions for snowboarding and surfing. Woven through all of his amazing journeys, championships, and friendships with people around the world is his love for nature. As Mathieu has said, “Nature is the source of challenge, it drives us to get better.” To capture the magnificence of some of his expeditions, Mathieu and his collaborators have created a series of films to bring all of us unto his experiences with nature. His goal - “I want to share, to learn from my experience and to enrich those of other people.”

In this episode we speak with Mbhoni Mzamani, a producer at Global Conservation Corps. Mbhoni has just launched Careers in Conservation, an exciting new video series hosted by Global Conservation Corps that shows all the different careers that lie within conservation. Its mission is in parallel to that of this podcast. Just as Voices of Nature believes that all of us have a role in protecting nature, Mbhoni created Careers in Conservation with the belief that there are many different careers in conservation, be they park rangers, educators in schools, field guides, veterinarians, or leaders in local communities – just to name a few. In today's episode we will learn more about Mbhoni, what brought him to Global Conservation Corps, his passion for conservation, and the exciting plans he has for Careers in Conservation.

In this episode we talk with Pauline Blanchet and Thea Sun of Aral Sea Productions. Both are accomplished journalists, artists, and advocates who take an inspiring approach to telling stories about people, nature, and many of the really serious challenges we face as a society - all while injecting a fair amount of disruption into the film industry. Pauline Blanchet is a photographer, videographer and producer. After graduating from SOAS, University of London Pauline founded Aral Sea Productions which seeks to widen participation in the creation of documentaries, photography, and audio. Aral Sea projects deal with issues of social and political importance. Her work has been shortlisted for the London Development Photography Competition and has been awarded numerous grants. Thea Sun is a producer and filmmaker. She is most drawn to the combination of film and narrative, seeking subjects within her interest of history and humanities. Her multicultural background spurs a desire to explore stories from different cultures, ethnicities, and ideologies.

In this episode Bob Ludke speaks with Dr. Abishek Harihar, assistant director of Panthera's tiger program. Abishek takes us into the world of tigers, the risks they face, and what can be done to preserve their habitats. Abishek also shares with us insights on the technology behind his work – namely the use of camera traps – cameras equipped with infrared triggers that allow photos of animals to be taken without humans present.

Dr. Telmo Pievani is a full professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Padua, located in northeast Italy. Telmo is a widely acclaimed expert in biodiversity, with an extensive track record of research and publishing on the topic. He also is a frequent guest at international conferences, including speaking at a number of TED Talks. The topic of today's episode is biodiversity – the building block of every creature, every plant, and every substance on this planet. It is the foundation of all existence. While we have touched on the concept of biodiversity in previous episodes of Voices of Nature – such as with Michele Sofisti and Jean Claude Biver – the conversation with Telmo will be an in-depth examination of biodiversity.

Hear from John Jurko – the Creative Director of Global Conservation Corps. In this episode John talks about his inspiration for using film as a way to give a voice to nature and what drives his latest passion project - the upcoming film, “Rhino Man”. John also shares his observations from an unexpectedly long stay in South Africa due to Covid-19 travel restrictions and how he used that time to pursue some amazing creative projects.

Ankita is an award-winning journalist, writer, and poet living in Delhi, India. In this episode Ankita shares her observations about how we can find a balance between protecting nature and allowing for socio-economic development. Listen in as we discuss her reporting on topics ranging from illicit mining in Zimbabwe to a community successfully stopping a planned uranium mine in India to the inspiring efforts of a farmer as he plunges into a career of organic farming.

In this episode we meet Ellen Miles, Founder of Nature is a Human Right – an organization based in London, England with a mission of making access to green space a recognized human right. Our conversation will take us in a lot of different directions, not all of which have been covered in previous episodes of Voices of Nature. For example, we will gain a better appreciation that nature is all around us - no matter where we live - and there is a critically important connection between mental health and nature. Ellen also talks about the steps we can take to be more effective in engaging with policymakers at all levels of government to advocate for nature. Ellen also has some simple, easy to follow ways for all of us to bring nature into our lives - no matter where we live. Check out the Nature is a Human Right website and her much watched TikToks for more information!

In this episode we speak with Aristide Kamla Takoukam, a National Geographic Explorer and founder of the African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization (AMMCO). The National Geographic Society funds an international community of Explorers — like Aristide — who are working to safeguard the world's oceans for generations to come. AMMCO was created to address the severe declines in African manatee, cetacean, turtle and tortoise species that they were witnessing first hand across the African continent. Together with its advisors and partners, AMMCO was formed in order to focus effective and timely research, conservation, and educational outreach efforts. The risks freshwater species face and the efforts underway to address their decline are covered in detail in this conversation. Led by Aristide and his fellow protectors of nature, we learn important lessons that all of us can apply to every part of nature around the world. In particular, the value of taking a highly localized approach to safeguarding nature and engaging - and truly listening to - people of all ages and backgrounds to create solutions that make real improvements in the health of nature and the lives of people.

It has been written, “You never quite know what’s going to happen around Biver.” And that is how we treated this podcast. Prior to recording the episode, Jean Claude asked that he be allowed to speak with emotion, passion, and from the heart. At his request, there are no scripted questions – except for the last two I ask every guest. Jean Claude’s words give the listener hope for a better future - one where nature is treated as an asset to be loved and nurtured - and why he believes the younger generations will reverse so many of the problems society has imposed on nature. Jean Claude explains why he loves nature and he talks about how all of us will be happier and live healthier, more enjoyable lives if we too can find ways to express love for nature.

In today’s episode we speak with Kate Vannelli – a conservationist, artist, and the Future Rangers Program Director for Global Conservation Corps. Kate’s work has taken her from the Himalayas to Brazil to South Africa. Kate’s story is a powerful one as she recounts why she has dedicated her career to giving a voice to the many beautiful animals in some of the world’s most dynamic ecosystems.

GCC Board Member Michele Sofisti has combined a successful career in leading some of the most iconic brands in the world - Ferrari, Gucci, and Swatch to name a few - with a passion for protecting nature. In this episode we discuss the importance of biodiversity - the building block for both nature and humans.

Cara Yar Khan – an international speaker, entrepreneurial humanitarian, film producer and aspiring author. In this episode Cara recounts her 12-day, 200 mile trek into the Grand Canyon by horse and raft. More impressive, Cara did so shortly after receiving a life-altering diagnosis: Hereditary Inclusion Body Myopathy, a rare form of muscular dystrophy that leads to severe disability. Listen to Cara discuss the difference between overcoming fear and meeting fear head on.

Allison Devlin is a postdoctoral research associate with Panthera and its jaguar program. Panthera is the only organization in the world that is devoted exclusively to the conservation of the world’s 40 wild cat species and their ecosystems. In this episode Allison takes us into the Pantanal region of Brazil as she explains why jaguars are a “near threatened” species. Allison and the team at Panthera are working to balance the imperative of protecting jaguar habitats with providing greater socio-economic opportunities for the people living in the Pantanal.

Anton Mzimba is a ranger at the Timbavati Private Game Reserve. Timbavati is located in northeast South Africa, near Kruger National Park. In this episode, Anton takes us into the life of a ranger. He talks about what it is like to stand up to poachers and the enormous cost rangers like him must bear in doing so. We also learn about the communities near Timbavati and how all of us have a role in helping them become more prosperous for their residents.

Matt Lindenberg is the guest on the inaugural Voices of Nature podcast. Matt is the Founder and Executive Director of Global Conservation Corps. Listen to Matt as he shares his vision for GCC and why he is so hopeful for a better future. As an added bonus, Matt paints a vivid picture of what it is like to come face-to-face with a lioness intent on protecting her pride.