Cory Trepanier
Cory Trépanier is a Canadian landscape painter and filmmaker best known for his detailed oil paintings of the Canadian wilderness. He is also the creator of five films documenting his extensive painting journeys: "A Painter’s Odyssey", "Into the Arctic", "Into the Arctic II”, "TrueWild: Kluane” and "Into the Arctic: Awakening"
Canadian Geographic named Trépanier one of Canada’s Top 100 Living Explorers. He is a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, a National Champion of the Great Trail, and a member of The Explorers Club, where he received the Canadian Chapters highest award, the Stefansson Medal.
In 2019, Cory partnered with the Canadian Geographic Education to create the INTO THE ARCTIC Film Trilogy K-12 teachers guide where his films are being made available to educators and students nationwide and beyond for free. Seven modules educate and engage about geography, environmental and social sciences, humanities, Indigenous culture, history, survival, and the arts.
In the Fall of 2020, Trépanier is set to launch a coffee table book entitled "INTO THE ARCTIC: Paintings of Canada’s Changing North" with Rocky Mountain Books. The coffee table book will feature his Arctic paintings, sketches and stories and feature a foreward by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Trépanier has been featured in media around the globe, and his documentaries broadcast internationally, sharing his passion for the wild places that he explores and paints.
3 words to describe Nature?
Beautiful. Irreplaceable. Freedom
3 things Nature taught you?
Patience
Wonder
Humility
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The forest behind my home and studio in Caledon, Ontario
Lake Superior’s Canadian coastline
The Canadian Arctic. Can that 1.5 million square kilometres of archipelago be consider a “spot”?
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Very small, but free, and curious about what lies beyond
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Alive, surrounded by an endless living biodiversity, a nursery to so many forms of life
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
In awe at the power of nature, and wanting to reach of for my easel some day to try and paint this stunning display from life “en plein air”
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
At peace, and grateful for a new to come, another day lived, and a new world about to unfold in the night sky
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Excited for the show that is about to begin. And like a kid, reaching for a bar of soap and running outside into a rain storm for a quick shower, feeling the rain drops pelting down and stinging my skin as it washes me clean
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Awakened, as fresh air rushes into my lungs with each breath I get a sense of adventure tingling inside. I want to face into it with my eyes closed and feel it rush by.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Being an Ontario native, I grew up more of a Forest person. My painting expeditions however — to the Arctic and other places — have deepened my appreciation for Mountains and Oceans in the last couple of decades. And even the Desert, as in the Polar Desert. I long to bring my easel to a hot desert some day, to try and capture the stunning beauty of its sandy curves and desert sun. Maybe then I will become more of a desert person too :)
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
Ten. With so much negativity and challenges in the world — especially now in these unprecedented times of a pandemic and environmental degradation — time in nature, or even just contemplating nature, reminds me that there is so much to celebrate in this world. It feeds my sense of wonder and appreciation for each breath I take, and inspires me to share this experience with others, in hopes that they too may have their lives enriched by this gift that is available for free to all.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I was maybe 10 or 11, and my family had moved to a farm near North Bay, Ontario: 200 hundred acres that backed onto 2,000 acres of Crown land. There was a creek behind our place, and my older brother Carl I had a small leaky dingy that we barely fit in. We got up early, dragged it through the field, and began meandering down the creek into the unexplored frontiers of our “backyard”. Chasing frogs, seeing waterfowl of all kinds, we were drawn onward by the lure of the unknown that lay beyond each bend. We carried on our quest until the sun lowered in the sky, eventually making our way back home. It was 30 years later, when my brother joined me in the Arctic for a month-long expedition to Ellesmere Island, that I realized how deeply that day from our youth, and many others like, embedded a desire for me to be in nature. A desire that would grow into a life long pursuit.
Courtney Boyd Myers
Courtney Boyd Myers is a community builder, writer, and entrepreneur. She is the cofounder of AKUA, a sustainable food company that created the world’s first Kelp Jerky, a vegan snack made from regeneratively ocean-farmed kelp that was recognized by Fast Company as a World Changing Idea and by Time Magazine as an Invention of the Year.
For six years, Courtney known as “CBM” has helped build the Summit Community, a global network of founders, creatives, and innovators. And most recently, she has helped start a private home-sharing network called MyPlace. Previously, she helped market companies such as Four Sigmatic, Raya, General Assembly, SecondHome, and Transferwise. She began her career as a journalist at Forbes Magazine, The Next Web, and The Huffington Post. Courtney has also been recognized as one of Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business, and one of Business Insider’s 30 Most Important Women Under 30 in Technology.
3 words to describe Nature?
Heavenly. Powerful. Vulnerable.
3 things Nature taught you?
Everything we need is all around us.
Stay present and have faith that it's all going to be okay.
We need to be kind to our fellow Earthlings.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Big Bay, a kite spot just outside of Cape Town, South Africa
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, where you can spend your days warm water surfing and your nights sleeping in the jungle.
Lake George, NY where I am currently quarantined!
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
At home
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Child-like
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Strong
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Grateful
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Romantic
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Excited
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
The Little Mermaid came out when I was 5 years old and my life forever changed. I remember the feeling of being 5, 6, 7, 8 years old and every summer just staring at my legs in the swimming pool, and wishing I could grow fins. All these years later, and I am still trying to figure out how to be a mermaid.
Nancy Hala
Nancy Hala is a brand builder, author and plant-powered cook. She’s the co-creator of The Pillar Life, a life-guidance system designed to ignite the eight pillars of a happy life, and co-host of The Sheri + Nancy Show podcast, where she and her lifelong friend, Sheri Salata, have conversations with experts, teachers and uplifters about making all the rest of their dreams come true.
Nancy is also the creator of BrandStory, her signature approach to brand strategy, storytelling and audience building that helps small business owners and entrepreneurs articulate who they are, what they do, and why it matters.
3 words to describe Nature?
Centering. Lush. Romantic.
3 things Nature taught you?
It is so joyful to be part of something bigger and grander and more permanent than myself.
We are meant to be restored and replenished by the natural world, and it is available to us for that purpose, at all times.
True beauty is often jagged (like a mountain range seen from a distance) or falling down (like a forest crisscrossed with old trees on their journey back to the earth), or full of blank spaces (like the sky on a particularly clear day).
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The forest behind my house, which is full of tall pines and moss-covered branches and (in my imagination) goes on for miles and miles.
The wide, sparkly lake at the center of the town where I live, which makes me feel Queenly whenever I drive around it…the majesty rubs off on me.
The ocean shore at Manzanita beach, especially when the fog rolls in and the dogs are chasing tennis balls into the foamy surf.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Completely awakened, and the Chi of it runs through me like a current of energy.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like I wish I could fly, so that I could land on each of the branches of the tallest trees.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Brave, to be standing in front of a volcano.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Like every single moment in life – every blink, every breath, every quiet space – is more precious than we can ever comprehend.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Like laughing
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like burrowing into blankets, or better yet UNDER blankets, with a flashlight and a book.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am each one. If I think of my body: The Ocean is my head, because it makes me dream wider and further than anything else. The mountain is my limbs, because I feel rooted and carried by the very fact that a mountain exists. The desert is my belly, because every time I see a desert I think it looks like the center of the world. And the forest is my lungs, because it’s my favorite thing to breathe in.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
Well beyond 10. Ten times 10.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I climbed trees as a child, almost every day. I named all the trees in my backyard and I loved them, very much. There was an oak tree named Charlie and I often took a book, a pillow, and apples or peaches or plums to the sturdiest branch I could reach, and read all afternoon. One day I climbed a soaringly tall pine tree (named Bruce) on the side of my house. I ended up at the absolute top of it, so high I could see all the streets and houses of my neighborhood. I was scared for a few minutes, because it was too high and precarious for me at that age (even I knew that) and for years later I marveled that I was able to scale so high and get down safely. And no one ever knew I climbed that tree, not my mother or father or any adult in charge, and the secrecy of my daring act still feels delicious, all these years later.
Merlin Sheldrake
Merlin Sheldrake is a biologist and a writer with a background in plant sciences, microbiology, ecology, and the history and philosophy of science. He received a Ph.D. in tropical ecology from Cambridge University for his work on underground fungal networks in tropical forests in Panama, where he was a predoctoral research fellow of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Merlin’s research ranges from fungal biology, to the history of Amazonian ethnobotany, to the relationship between sound and form in resonant systems. A keen brewer and fermenter, he is fascinated by the relationships that arise between humans and more-than-human organisms. His book, Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures is available in North America starting May 12.
3 words to describe Nature?
All. Inseparable. Entangled.
3 things Nature taught you?
Wonder
That there's no such thing as things, only processes
To forget where I start and stop
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Hampstead Heath, in London
The arbutus-covered coastal bluffs in British Columbia, Canada
The ancient oak woodlands in Devon, UK
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Small
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Relieved
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Curious
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Open
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excited
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Exhilarated
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Forest and ocean
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
In the autumn I used to make piles of fallen leaves and lie inside them, absorbed in the smells and the damp. These experiences ignited my interest in the astonishing organisms that oversee decomposition - and which too easily escape our notice.
Vanessa von Bismarck
Vanessa von Bismarck is a co-founding partner of BPCM, a strategic consulting and communications agency, and one of the most established and respected voices in public relations. In the two decades since founding BPCM, Vanessa has been instrumental in building legacy brands and launching brands that today are household names. With a keen understanding and vision for each individual client Vanessa has become known as one of the most strategic thinkers in the industry.
3 words to describe Nature?
Powerful. Awe-inspiring. Nurturing
3 things Nature taught you?
Respect
Connection
Humbleness
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Costa Rica (santa Teresa)
Sachsenwald (forest in Germany)
Hiking in Jomsom ( Nepal)
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Calm and small, yet worried about the human hand in its destruction
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Oxygenated and Curious. I love the smells of the forest, the pure air and the feeling of life.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Anticipation and trepidation.The feeling reminds me of when I wake up in the middle of the night sure I forgot to do something.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Warm and hopeful for new beginnings. Love.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
In awe for the power of nature.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Excited but also a little scared
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Riding through the forest in the summer and going swimming with my horses