Bruce Langereis
Bruce is the President of Delta Land Development, which seeks to redefine and transform the building and construction industry by putting wellness and environmental stewardship at the center of all its projects. Striving to find new ways of building net-positive developments, Bruce and his team move forward following a strict set of goals that include: promoting biodiversity, reducing the need for cars, reducing waste, storing carbon, capturing rain, producing energy, and contributing positively to the livability, health, and welfare of the inhabitants. Their recent project, SoLo, a zero-emissions, mass timber, net carbon negative, entirely off the grid and self-sustainable house in the Soo Valley near Whistler, designed by Perkins and Will, models the future of environmental building and sets the stage for Delta’s Bellevue and 22nd project in West Vancouver and Canada’s Earth Tower development in Vancouver. SoLo was recently featured in many architectural magazines, including Azure, Dwell, and many others.
Bruce grew up in East Vancouver. He started as a heavy-duty mechanic then shifted to being a commercial realtor. Almost 35 years ago he joined Macauley Nicolls Maitland (now Colliers International) which led him to successfully selling the historic Georgia Hotel in 1988 for a record 38M. Delta Land Development recently completed the 450M redevelopment of the Rosewood Georgia Hotel.
Bruce is a floatplane and commercial helicopter pilot, martial artist, avid rock climber, golfer, fisherman, and bow hunter. He once spent a full month in total wilderness isolation and heads out to nature every chance he can.
3 words to describe Nature?
Rhythmic. Engaging. Soulful
3 things Nature taught you?
Fear
Respect
Rhythm
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The next 3 places I visit!!!! I love it all
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Makes me feel Like exploring it
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Peaceful, tranquil, small
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Respectful of the power of Nature
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Reflective of life
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Glad I’m not flying my floatplane
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like Facing into it and feeling refreshed
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I love them all
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
To my well being and that of Humanity – Priceless and Essential
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Where do I begin - Exploring creeks and ditches catching frogs and other aquatic creatures.
Elliot Connor
Elliot Connor is the founder of Human Nature Projects, a charity aiming to reconnect people to the planet, creating a conservation community which is both accessible and empowering to those involved. He is one of the 2019 Youth Ambassadors to CoalitionWILD, Regional Ambassador for Tunza Eco-Generation, the GARN Youth Circle and HundrED, Assistant Country Director for Global Peace Chain, Australian Country Mobiliser for the Youth for Our Planet movement, Ambassador to the Laurence Anthony Earth Organization and a recent addition to the Jane Goodall Institute Australia’s National Youth Leadership Council.
Following a philosophy of taking every opportunity available, Elliot has spent countless hours volunteering on conservation initiatives in his local community and worldwide. Those organizations he has assisted include WWF, The Nature Conservation Council, The Wilderness Society, Birdlife International, Taronga Conservation Society, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Greater Sydney Landcare, Zoological Lighting Institute, In Focus Conservation, Project Drawdown and Save the Frogs amongst others. He also established and continues to run the only field naturalists group in the Sydney area.
Throughout all of his work, Elliot seeks to act as a voice for biodiversity, for the environment- all of those downtrodden, unrepresented lifeforms which suffer at the hands of mankind’s advancement. He believes passionately that society as a whole must soon recognize its ties with the natural world and act on these if we are ever to achieve the prosperous future we all aspire towards.
3 words to describe Nature?
Vital. Dynamic. Ubiquitous
3 things Nature taught you?
There’s no such thing as a free lunch
Everything is connected
Big things come in small packages
3 most treasured Nature spots?
My own back garden (practically a jungle)
Kruger NP, South Africa (a classic)
The infernal Aussie bush (it’s a love-hate relationship)
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?,
A chill of mixed fear and anticipation. I’m mostly a land-lubber myself.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Alive, awake, alert to the many small pleasures of life
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Angry. They really are very misunderstood.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Restless. Like I should be out there at these times when nature is most active.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Small. A few people could do with that more often!
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Sprightly. There’s little enough in terms of real weather Down Under that anything new is welcome.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Definitely a forest person. Believe it or not, Australia is not all desert!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
11. Perhaps it sounds slightly clichéd, but nature’s never followed any rules.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Well, I’m still a child in many ways, but I do have a good story or two. 5 or 6 years ago, my family was camped in a remote national park in the North of Botswana. I was making the long trek back from the toilet block when for whatever reason I turned around. There, bare metres behind me, was a leopard crouched low to the ground. Spooked by the torch beam, it moved off, but kept on circling our little clearing for hours afterwards. Parents weren’t too keen on these creatures after that, I’m still a leopard fan.