Ian McAllister
Ian McAllister is a co-founder of the wildlife conservation organization Pacific Wild. He is an award-winning photographer, film director and author of nine books, his images have appeared in publications around the world. He is a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers and a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society; a recipient of the North America Nature Photography Association’s Vision Award and the Rainforest Action Network’s Rainforest Hero award and Time Magazine’s “Leaders of the 21st Century” award for efforts to protect British Columbia’s endangered rainforest. He recently directed the Great Bear Rainforest IMAX film, the film is narrated by Ryan Reynolds and produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films.
3 words to describe Nature?
Life-support. Metamorphosis. Fragility
3 things Nature taught you?
Love of earth
Curiosity
That working in defense of nature is the most fulfilling life pursuit that I can think of.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Where the Pacific ocean meets the temperate rainforest
Anywhere underwater
Staring into the eyes of a wild wolf
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Humble, at home, empowered by the beauty and strength of it but also sadness for how our actions are impacting life below the surface.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like I am surrounded by a collective of ancient and wise souls.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Glad I don't own real estate under it
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Sunrise. A sense of awakening, anticipation.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Energized and wide eyed.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
comfort, if I am in a safe harbor, exhilarating if I am offshore.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I live at the interface between ocean and the rainforest and feel a deep and strong affinity for each environment.
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 nine years old I opened our front door to find my mothers favorite goat giving its last breath as a large cougar had just crushed its throat. My dad wasn’t sure who was more dangerous at that point, my mom or the cougar. He quickly ran outside and yanked the cougars tail so hard it literally flew across the driveway and quickly climbed a tree. I have never been so close to a cougar since.
Brooke Garnett
BROOKE GARNETT is the founder of MAYAMAYA, which specializes in tailoring seamless, premium journeys around the world. MAYAMAYA is a small boutique company and they work intimately with a select group of loyal and discerning clients. With expansive destination knowledge covering over 50 countries and some of the most remote parts of the globe, Brooke has been recognized as a world leader in the travel industry and recently celebrated her fifth consecutive year on Travel + Leisure’s A-List. While Brooke’s travel adventures would take pages to relate, some of her more recent memorable experiences include learning to fish with an Aboriginal community in the Kimberley, a private weeklong helicopter tour of the Scottish Highlands, trekking with the Gorillas in Rwanda, and exploring the secret treasures of Jordan and Egypt. Brooke loves to cook, paint, and any sort of outdoor adventure. She has worked as a divemaster in Thailand and Honduras and is an accomplished photographer. Many of you have likely seen her GoPro video of an orphaned pelican flying over Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania which has gone viral with almost 6 million views on YouTube.
3 words to describe Nature?
Powerful, fragile, harmony
3 things Nature taught you?
Resilience, respect, true beauty
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Great Bear Rainforest, Canada
Hartmann’s Valley, Namib Desert, Namibia
Tasmanian Coast, Australia
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Tiny
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Clean
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Nervous
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Calm
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excited
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Alive
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
30% desert, 25% Mountain, 25% Ocean, 20% Forest
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
8
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
My grandfather had a large piece of land in the middle of nowhere in Western Pennsylvania. As a child, I went here for every school holiday and it was the best – playing outside all day catching frogs with no structures in sight. There were some buffalo on the property and one day we found a baby buffalo that was left in a ditch. We rescued the buffalo and bottle fed it back to health.