Peter Simons

Peter Simons is the President and Chief Executive Officer of La Maison Simons. Established in 1840, La Maison Simons, commonly known as Simons, is a family-owned fashion retailer in Canada and is known for its outstanding corporate citizenship. Simons, and his brother Richard, took over the business in 1996, becoming the fifth generation of the Simons family to run the company.

Upon a visit to Paris, he discovered one of the seven existing Fontaine de Tourny pieces in an antique shop. The fountain was once located in the Allées de Tourny in Bordeaux. Simons had the fountain restored on Île d’Orléans and donated it to Quebec City as a gift for its 400th anniversary. It was installed in front of the National Assembly of Quebec in July 2007.

Peter Simons was recognized as a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 2008, was awarded the Order of Canada in 2018, and received an Honorary Doctorate from Concordia University in 2019.


3 words to describe Nature?

Powerful. Wondrous. Inspiring

3 things Nature taught you?

Gratefulness

Resilience

Mindfulness

3 most treasured Nature spots?

Lake Lacon

Rivière aux Feuilles, Ungava Bay  

My little vegetable garden

When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?

The power of nature

When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?

The harmony of life

When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?

The mystery of existence

When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?

Hopeful or melancholic

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?

Like a child again.

When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?

Adventurous

Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?

Forest

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?

9

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

Flyfishing with my grandfather in Northern Quebec


Frank White


Frank White’s best-known book, The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution, is considered by many to be a seminal work in the field of space exploration. 

A film called “Overview,” based largely on his work has had more than 8 million plays on Vimeo. Ron Garan appears in the film and he also participated in a panel at its premiere at Harvard University in 2012.

Frank conducted a series of interviews with astronauts at Johnson Space Center in June of 2019, which have now become the basis for NASA’s series called “Down to Earth,” available on YouTube and other NASA social media platforms.

In his latest book, The Cosma Hypothesis: Implications of the Overview Effect, (Multiverse Publishing 2019) Frank asks the fundamental question, “What is the purpose of human space exploration? Why has the evolutionary process brought humanity to the brink of becoming a spacefaring species?” 

In Cosma, he also shares the idea of “the Human Space Program” as a central project that will engage all of us in the process of becoming “Citizens of the Universe.” The Human Space Program, Inc. is incorporated as a nonprofit in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and work has begun on the project.

Frank teaches at Harvard Extension School, Harvard Summer School, Boston University’s Metropolitan College, and Kepler Space Institute.

Frank and his wife Donna have an extended, blended family of five children and 10 grandchildren.

3 words to describe Nature?

Nurturing. Beautiful. Awe-inspiring

3 things Nature taught you?

Be prepared

Enjoy, respect, and protect the environment

Explore and evolve

3 most treasured Nature spots?

Black Forest, Germany

Cape Cod

Sanibel Island

When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?

Calm, yet happy to be onshore!

When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?

Inspired by the majesty of the trees and the community they create.

When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?

Amazed

When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?

Grateful to live on such a beautiful planet in such an amazing universe.

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?

Strong

When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?

Glad to be inside

Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?

Space!

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?

9

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

Growing up in the South of the United States, nature was always close and available to me. I enjoyed exploring the fields and woods near my home with my dog, fishing in a nearby lake or river, or just enjoying being outdoors. At night, I could clearly see the stars and I was inspired by the immensity of the universe.

 


Herbert Nitsch

photo credit Nazim Ahmed

Herbert Nitsch, nicknamed “the Deepest Man on Earth”, is the current freediving world record holder with a No Limit dive to 253 m (830 ft). Nitsch can hold his breath for more than 9 minutes and has set a total of 33 world records, 32 of these are across all of the eight freediving disciplines – unrivaled achievements in freediving history. He has also set an additional world record in the traditional Greek freediving discipline of “Skandalopetra”. He is the first freediver ever to reach 100 m (328 ft) without fins or sled (in the free immersion discipline, in 2003).

On June 6th, 2012, Herbert during his 253 m (830 ft) No Limit sled-dive, well after having reached the planned depth, Herbert temporarily fell asleep due to nitrogen narcosis and consequently missed the planned one-minute underwater decompression stop on the same breath-hold. At the surface, he was alert and asked for a mask to return underwater to recompress on pure oxygen, which is a standard after-dive safety feature to further off-gas. While decompressing underwater, Herbert felt the onset of decompression sickness. He incurred severe DCS (type 2) which would eventually result in multiple brain-strokes. He arrived comatose at the hyperbaric chamber and his future did not look good. With a prognosis of remaining a wheelchair-bound care-dependent patient, he dismissed himself from long-term facilitated care and took his healing into his own hands. Two years later, against all odds, Herbert is fit, training, and deep-freediving again.

In December of 2013, Herbert proudly joined the Ocean Advocacy Advisory Board of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. He is also a well-sought after lecturer and key-note speaker worldwide for corporate events and for the general public.

His sponsors included Breitling, Hyundai, Landrover, Shell V-Power, Coors Miller Light, SeaBob, Canon, and many others.

3 words to describe Nature?

Life. Water. Power

3 things Nature taught you?

Stillness

Beauty

Happiness

3 most treasured Nature spots?

All of them are below the surface:  

Fakarava’s South Pass, French Polynesia 

Palau, Micronesia

And anywhere with shipwrecks, caves, and abundant marine life

When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?

Part of it

When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?

Insignificant

When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?

Humble

When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?

Like free-diving (since at these times there’s the most action underwater to observe).

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?

Alive

When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?

Like sailing away

Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?

I’m definitely an ocean person, although I enjoy living part of the year in the mountains, surrounded by forests. 

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?

10+

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

The first underwater memory I have is snorkeling as a kid in the Maldives. This was about four decades ago. At the time the waters were abundant with marine life. I treasure this moment since I am aware that I cannot relive this memory, as sadly, such richness underwater does not exist anymore.


Joel Primus

An entrepreneur among other things, Joel Primus is the founder and creative visionary behind Naked Underwear. He helped raise over $17 million, establishing retail distribution at Holt Renfrew, Nordstrom, Hudson’s Bay, and Bloomingdales. Naked completed a merger with Australian-based industry powerhouse, Bendon Lingerie, exiting in 2018. Recently, Joel co-founded Kosan, a travel clothing company that launched one of the most successful Kickstarter apparel products of all time—reaching nearly $1 million in sales in 30 days. He was one of the inaugural BC Business top 30 under 30 Entrepreneurs and is also an author and award-winning documentary filmmaker. 

His new book Getting Naked: The Bare Necessities of Entrepreneurship & Start-ups is due out February 1st. Order here.

Once an elite long-distance runner, he now enjoys daily training, meditation, and time with his family on their farm outside Vancouver. 

3 words to describe Nature?

Harsh. Gentle. Rhythmic

3 things Nature taught you?

Awareness 

My place in the cosmos 

To be still 

3 most treasured Nature spots?

Omineca Mountain Range

The desert

Foothills of the Rockies 

When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?

Infinite

When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?

Connected

When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?

Fragile

When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?

Alive in my human experience

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?

Energized

When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?

Cozy

Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?

All

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?

10

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

Running through the forest trails in my own backyard. With my feet almost gliding over the earth I'd feel like a wild animal...in between worlds.