Ian Shive
Ian Shive is an Ansel award-winning American photographer and filmmaker whose work documents some of the world’s most pristine environments and brings to the public important conservation stories from around the globe. In 2020, Ian launched a new series on Discovery Channel titled Nature in Focus, where he explores our planet as host and executive producer. In 2019, Ian led several expeditions to some of the world’s most remote coral atolls for the giant-screen film, Hidden Pacific, which he directed and produced. Hidden Pacific brings to life in IMAX 3D the vibrant marine national monuments at the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean — thriving ecosystems filled with colorful coral reefs, large colonies of birds, and threatened species that depend on these habitats for survival. He is the author of several, best-selling books including the award-winning The National Parks: An American Legacy, and is proud to announce the release of his next, hardcover book Refuge: America’s Wildest Places, which celebrates the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Based in Los Angeles, Ian is also the founder and CEO of Tandem Stills + Motion, a leading outdoor media company. Check him on Instagram.
3 words to describe Nature?
Peace. Indiscriminate. Foundational
3 things Nature taught you?
That beauty exists all around us, even in the smallest details.
To be at peace with all around me, and treat others with the same peace.
That we are all connected, not just as people, but as a part of nature.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Channel Islands National Park, California
Shoshone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, New Jersey
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Small. Curious to explore. Sad that something so big could suffer so much by our hands
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Tranquility. A part of it, as though I could blend in and not be seen
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
That I am witness to something still in progress.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
I sense time most acutely. I feel joy at both.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excitement!
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Cozy. Time to light a fire.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain, Desert, Forest, Ocean - in that order.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Where I lived in New Jersey, we didn't have access to the big nature of national parks, but we had small parks. Ducks, fish in a pond, turtles in a creek. It was the small things, little trips daily to the water's edge that I think really impacted me the most, and where I began an appreciation of all of nature, large and small. I remember my parents always being patient, taking me to those places where my young imagination could be so lit up by the natural world.
Suzanne Gluck
Suzanne Gluck is a partner at WME in the book division. Over her thirty-year career in the industry, Suzanne has represented over 100 New York Times bestselling books across a wide variety of genres. Her books have changed the way we think about the world and have become a part of our popular culture, from groundbreaking literary fiction to works of nonfiction about history, science, and contemporary life.
She's married to author Tom Dyja. In this unusual year, she has been working from her garden on Long Island's North Fork, with a number of fearless bunnies, inquisitive squirrels and rather territorial birds as her new colleagues.
3 words to describe Nature?
Majestic. Infinite. Unfortunately, Besieged
3 things Nature taught you?
The possibilities of renewal
The power of resilience
The wide availability of extraordinary beauty
3 most treasured Nature spots?
My backyard garden
The rocky beach nearby
Riverside Park
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Connected
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Awe
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Terror
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Hypnotized
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Respect
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like curling up in a chair and reading
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?
Well beyond 10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Learning how to duck ocean waves with my father and older sister.
James Wallman
James Wallman is an international bestselling author, entrepreneur, futurist, and experience strategist/designer. He runs the strategy, innovation, and futures consultancy The Future is Here. Clients include KPMG, HSBC, KFC, IDEO, and Facebook. He has written two best-selling books: Time And How To Spend It (Penguin, April 2019) and Stuffocation (self-published 2013; Penguin, 2015; now in 7 languages). Wallman has advised companies from Absolut to Zurich Financial and has given talks from Amsterdam to Las Vegas; at venues including the Googleplex and 10 Downing Street. He advises the British government and is a 'Sector Specialist, Experience Economy' for the Department for International Trade. His opinions have appeared in the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Economist, and Wired and has appeared on TV and radio from Australia to Brazil and the US. James lives in London with his wife and two children.
3 words to describe Nature?
Green. Furry. Nice
3 things Nature taught you?
Just the one: nature is us and everything in us and around us. It's what we call the crazy random experiment our planet is in the middle of. Everyone and everything here is reaching up for energy from the sun, rising from seed to flower, then falling back again. It's a funny, beautiful journey.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Only 3?? I can’t
First, anywhere with my kids.
Then the view from any mountain in the Alps; the Mediterranean sea; Big Sur; Rhossili Bay; the jungle around the Tambopata River and Platja Mitjorn.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Like I want to jump in and float on, surf on, sails on, get thrown about on the waves.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like I want to walk through it, climb its trees, hear its silence, its sounds, and just listen.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Like I wish it would explode, but without killing me. Stromboli is good for this :-)
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Grateful that I had that day or that I'm about to have a day. Aware that time is passing.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Yay! The gods are laughing.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Alive
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean, Mountain & Forest. (But Deserts can be fun too)
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
Ha! Trick question. It's essential for all our wellbeing. So much science proves it. Hence 3rd rule of the STORIES checklist - the simple way to remember what you should do to be happy & successful - is Outside & Offline.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
In the late 70s, it used to snow, and way more than it does now. My brother and I got dragged around the garden by our dad on a sled. And then at some nearby hill. Sledding is way too much fun. I miss it.
Also, I remember swimming off Corfu with my mum and my brother in the early 80s. No one was around so we were all swam naked... we were all confident swimmers so we went for a long swim, way out of our depth... the water was so pure and clear, glistening in the sun on the surface but you could see 20-30 feet to the sandy bottom. I get to the Mediterranean most summers... and every time I swim I feel refreshed, young, silly, alive.
Jeff Cichocki
Jeff Cichocki is one of Bonterra’s founding winemaker. Introduced in 1993 as one of the first organically farmed wines in the US, Bonterra's acclaimed varietal wines are exclusively made from 100% certified organic California vineyards. In 2016, the vineyard was named American Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast, the first-ever awarded to a vintner dedicated to organic farming.
Jeff’s passion has always been toward small family wineries that craft fine wines with an eye towards being good stewards to the environment. He began his winemaking career in the cellar of Mill Creek Winery in Healdsburg, moving quickly to Cellar Master at Matanzas Creek Winery in Bennett Valley. He moved on to Cakebread Cellars in Napa and B.R. Cohn in Sonoma Valley before taking on winemaking duties at Mendocino’s Jeriko Estate Winery in Hopland, a winery, not far from Bonterra’s McNab Ranch, that produces a variety of certified organic wines.
3 words to describe Nature?
Balance. Timeless. Dynamic
3 things Nature taught you?
Patience
Humility
Beauty
3 most treasured Nature spots?
My “home” Zinfandel vineyard behind my house, next to the Russian River in Mendocino County.
The Northern California coast
The desert, including the incredible Joshua Tree National Park, where I headed on a recent trip.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Tiny – relative to the vastness of the ocean
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Peaceful
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
In awe. It’s so primordial – I was lucky enough to fly over Hawaii’s active volcano.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Opportunity, with sunrise. Sunset brings closure to the day. They’re bookends, offering us a sense of timeliness or organization somehow – our universal clock.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excited, I love thunder. As a kid growing up in Ohio, we had lots of summertime thunderstorms - they make me feel nostalgic.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
It makes me wonder if my tree limbs are going to stay put! As a winemaker, I’m a natural weather follower. Wind means change is coming.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
An avid skier, I love the desert and grew up sailing in Southern California. I’m equally drawn to the desert, mountains, and ocean – all three.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10. It’s my livelihood, it’s my passion. Every day I’m reminded that the health of our planet and farming are key. Really, I think anyone involved in the wine industry has a tremendous connection to nature and farming. As a winemaker and viticulturist, one of the main attractions of this industry is its intrinsic connection to the natural world.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Growing up in Anaheim in Southern California, there was a lack of natural phenomena, apart from incredible family trips to remote mountain areas in the winter. I aspired to be a part of something natural, in a far greater capacity, later in life. This drive led me to Northern California, where I’m much closer to the natural environment. Living in wine country, we are inherently tied to nature and keenly aware of our interdependence day in and day out, and from season to season.