Loretta Whitesides
Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides is a Founder Astronaut at Virgin Galactic, mother of two, wife to George T. Whitesides, and author of The New Right Stuff: Using Space to Bring out the Best in You. Loretta studied astrobiology at Stanford and Caltech, did research on plant life in the Canadian Arctic with NASA, dove to the bottom of the ocean with Titanic Director James Cameron, and has floated weightless hundreds of times as a Flight Director for Zero Gravity Corporation. She and her husband are the Co-Creators of Yuri's Night, the annual Worldwide Space Party celebrating the dual Russian and U.S. space anniversaries on April 12. She currently teaches leadership and personal development for the space community through her SpaceKind Training Program which evolved from the New Right Stuff training program she led at Virgin Galactic for five years.
3 words to describe Nature?
Elegant. Closed-loop. Soul-filling
3 things Nature taught you?
Trees are incredibly generous
You don't need to "waste" anything
We need natural systems to thrive
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Redwood forests
On a rock next to a mountain stream
On a mountain looking down on a fog bank
When you look at the OCEAN, it makes you feel...?
Fragile, insignificant, held (I believe the ocean holds are memories)
When you see a FOREST, it makes you feel...?
Calm, grounded, loved
When you see a VOLCANO, it makes you feel...?
Primal, powerful, grateful
When you see a SUNRISE or SUNSET, it makes you feel...?
Blessed, full-hearted, quiet
When you hear THUNDER, it makes you feel...? *
Excited, powerful, expansive
When you hear the WIND HOWLING, it makes you feel…?
Connected to my friend Andrew Hopping who loves the wind, hunkered down, humbled
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountains and forests
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was about 14, our girl's group at my summer camp was challenged to do a 24 solo- as though we were lost during a hike- just shorts and a t-shirt in Northern California. It was pretty demanding, alone, cold, hungry, but I survived and was SO PROUD of myself! I always push others to let kids do things that are hard and scary so they can have that experience that they can do more than they think.
Jim McNeill
Jim McNeill is a British polar explorer with over 35 years of expeditions in the polar regions. His extensive safety skills and experience in extreme environments have made him a sought after consultant. His clients include BBC (Frozen Planet, Human Planet, Last Explorers, Natural World Series), Paramount Pictures (Captain America), mining companies, and companies building helicopters and airliners. He founded the Ice Warrior project in 2001 and has since trained over 380 people and conducted 7 major expeditions. His expeditions across the Arctic have given him the opportunity to monitor polar bear populations for the Norwegian Polar Institute, as well as putting together a yearly scientific program for scientists to monitor the effects of climate change. He is an ambassador for Hauser Bears, a charitable organization committed to the conservation of bears worldwide and is the Vice president for the Arctic Expeditions for Sea Research Society.
3 words to describe Nature?
Humbling. Universal. Indomitable
3 things Nature taught you?
About myself
About my frailties and how insignificant we really are individually and collectively
About my capabilities
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Ellesmere Island, Canada
Dartmoor, Devon, England
Outer Hebrides, Scotland
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Vulnerable yet fascinated
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Fresh, inquisitive
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Amazed and reminded that life is fragile
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Energised and pensive - in that order
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Euphoric
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Thrilled, alive
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain person in a polar or desert environment
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I was brought up in a humble house on a council estate in North London at the back of which there were wildflower meadows surrounding a babbling brook. I spent hours, days, nights exploring the area in huge detail. From tadpoles to field mice, from groundsel to Timothy grass and beetles to butterflies, I had my own sanctuary. Nature is all around us.
Snorre Stinessen
Snorre Stinessen is one of Norway’s leading architects. His company has become the go-to firm for contemporary cabins in the Arctic. His recent project, the Efjord Cabin was featured in DWELL magazine and became an Instagram sensation. Over the years, Snore has received multiple awards including the Wallpaper Design Award, the A+ Award, the Opplyst Award, the Iconic Award, the German Design Award, the American Architecture Prize, the American Architecture Prize, the International Design Award, the WAN Award and many more. His work has been featured on CNN, the Wallpaper magazine, Dezeen, D2, Financial Times, The Guardian, Architectural Digest, IW magazine, Interior Design magazines and many more.
3 words to describe Nature?
Calm. Quiet. Presence.
3 things Nature taught you?
That we are just a small part of this world.
To appreciate the difference in the different seasons.
Where to find myself.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Difficult to choose 3, perhaps the following:
Cross country skiing in the sun across an empty snow-covered landscape,
Running along a grassy hill,
Laying on a smooth rock by the sea.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Depends on the state of the sea..
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Calm
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Small
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Happy
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Worried
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Alive
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Not sure, perhaps mountain, but I am not interested in the highest peaks.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
A summer trek to a snowy ice-capped mountain top where we started out in the sun and walked into the fog around the top – for the decent we decided to slate on each our plastic bag. I picked up speed fast and got quite a bit ahead, but suddenly decided to stop because of the low visibility and the others stopped just behind me, seconds later the fog opened up and I found myself standing on the very edge of a deep, deep massive pothole in the icecap – we were lucky that day, or perhaps destiny was on our side...
Learn more about the Efjord cabin here, in DWELL magazine.
Cecilia Vanman
Cecilia Vanman worked as a footwear designer in the fashion business, when she took up scuba diving and freediving as hobbies. These interests and her love for the sea grew into such major fascination, that she decided to study marine biology, eventually graduating with a MSc Distinction in Marine Mammal Science in 2005.
Today as an Expedition Leader and Marine Mammal Biologist, Cecilia Vanman has planned, led and participated in expeditions and scientific projects in the Arctic and Antarctic, the Indian Ocean, the Black Sea, Scandinavian waters, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. She has circumnavigated the British Isles, Spitzbergen and Iceland and has led three expeditions through the Northwest Passage.
Cecilia has also created the logistical frame work for film productions as an expedition leader for the likes of Disney Nature, Leonardo di Caprio and National Geographic Society. One of her greatest passions is science communication and bringing stories home from her expeditions in remote places to wider audiences through public talks. Cecilia is also a freelance photojournalist and her coverage includes reportage work with the Danish Navy Seals, the Danish Helicopter Rescue Service, the Danish elite unit Sirius Sledge Patrol in NE Greenland as well as articles on sustainable living, freediving, scuba-diving and natural history filmmaking.
Cecilia was invited to join Women Adventurers Club, Denmark in 2011 and 2015, she became the first Danish woman to be appointed Fellow of The Explorers Club
3 words to describe Nature?
Powerful. Healing. In trouble
3 things Nature taught you?
Curiousness
Patience
Interconnection
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Island of Langeland in Denmark
Disko Island in Greenland
South Georgia in the Southern Ocean
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Free and humble
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Calm
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
If a busy volcano: like I should enjoy its’ beauty, but have a plan for a quick exit
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Grateful
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Electrified and alive. But depending on the situation in the field, perhaps quite vulnerable.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Thrilled in the beginning and I love the power of it all. After days of howling winds during field work, however, I can become almost overcome with a sense of restlessness. It can also add to cabin fever, which is good for no one in a remote camp. At sea, howling winds mean stormy conditions, which are never desirable.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am an ‘Ocean-person’ through and through and while I enjoy being there and traveling through them, I could never live in a landlocked country. The Ocean represents freedom and independence to me. More than any nature scape it puts me in my place as a human.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10 and beyond.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Taking the family rowing boat, piling it high with cushions, blankets, my favorite book at the time and an anchor to go to a spot to read; there to be gently rocked by the sea and watching the soaring birds above in between. This escape to nature meant the world to me at a time when things could be difficult at school. Looking back it also set me on a path…