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.
