Eric Pallant
Eric Pallant is the author of Sourdough Culture: The History of Bread Making from Ancient to Modern Bakers. He is a serious amateur baker, a two-time Fulbright Scholar, double, award-winning professor, and the Christine Scott Nelson Endowed Professor of Environmental Science and Sustainability at Allegheny College. He is acknowledged for his skill in weaving research narratives into compelling stories for the Gresham Lecture Series, London, bread symposia, podcasts, and articles for magazines such as Gastronomica, Sierra, and Science.
3 words to describe Nature?
Surprising. Restorative. Necessary
3 things Nature taught you?
Nature is better than engineers at managing ecosystem functions.
Nature is everywhere and needs to be available to everyone, not restricted to wilderness jaunts reserved for privileged, white, and wealthy people.
Appreciating Nature, like appreciating most things in life, takes time. It cannot be rushed.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Wellfleet Harbor, Cape Cod, MA.
My compost pile
My sourdough starters
When you look at the OCEAN, it makes you feel...?
Relaxed
When you see a FOREST, it makes you feel...?
Tiny
When you see a VOLCANO, it makes you feel...?
Heart thumpingly excited. I’ve actually walked up to the lava in a couple of active volcanoes.
When you see a SUNRISE or SUNSET, it makes you feel...?
Patient
When you hear THUNDER, it makes you feel...?
Happy
When you hear the WIND HOWLING, it makes you feel...?
Also happy. I love wind!
Are you an OCEAN, MOUNTAIN, FOREST, or DESERT person?
Ocean. No question!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
8
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I spent countless childhood hours digging holes with my hands under the porch in my suburban backyard. I was searching for arrowheads and fossils. I found many, probably none of which were real. But I have remained fascinated by soil ever since. I now understand that beyond the tiny invertebrates I encountered, soil contains more living things than anyplace on earth and represents the profound junction of earth’s biosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere.
Kelly Alvarez Doran
Kelly Alvarez Doran is an architect and climate activist. A native of Winnipeg - Kelly has learned and worked across the world over the past two decades and currently calls London, UK home. Professionally Kelly has worked with MASS Design Group (Kigali), SvN (Toronto), and WilliamsonWilliamson (Toronto), and Severson Monteyne (Winnipeg). His focus on climate-positive design architecture and the disproportionate impact the built environment has on climate change has shaped his design approach. He has led the design of award-winning projects - notably Munini District Hospital and Rwanda Ministry of Health’s Typical Hospital Plans; the headquarters for both One Acre Fund and Andela in Kenya; and the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture. Kelly is a graduate of the University of Manitoba, the University of Toronto, a recipient of the Canada Council’s Prix de Rome for Emerging Practitioners. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto and has previously held teaching positions at The Bartlett, Harvard University, and the University of Waterloo.
3 words to describe Nature?
Replenishing. Complex. Intrinsic
3 things Nature taught you?
We are all intrinsically connected - socially, biologically, and ecologically.
Nature's nature is to constantly adapt - it will outlast humanity.
We are a part of nature and thrive when working within the natural systems we emerged within.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Manitoba's Prairie grassland
An Algonquin Park campsite
An Essex estuary
When you look at the OCEAN, it makes you feel...?
Connected to the power of nature.
When you see a FOREST, it makes you feel...?
Closer to the endless cycles of growth and decay.
When you see a VOLCANO, it makes you feel...?
Like an inconsequential collection of biological material.
When you see a SUNRISE or SUNSET, it makes you feel...?
Connected to the cosmos.
When you hear THUNDER, it makes you feel...?
Nostalgic for a prairie thunderstorm
When you hear the WIND HOWLING, it makes you feel...?
Nostalgic for a prairie winter's night
Are you an OCEAN, MOUNTAIN, FOREST, or DESERT person?
Prairie
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
8
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Endless hours spent traveling across the prairie to the small farming community where my grandparent's lived - looking out the car window at the long, flat, prairie horizon and the ocean of different colors across the fields, meadows, ditches, and forests along the way has created a deep appreciation for how much we've transformed the landscape to our own ends, and how we must now break out of the mindset of dominion and return to one deeply connected to the natural rhythms and cycles of the landscapes we inhabit.
James Wallman
James Wallman is an international bestselling author, entrepreneur, futurist, and experience strategist/designer. He runs the strategy, innovation, and futures consultancy The Future is Here. Clients include KPMG, HSBC, KFC, IDEO, and Facebook. He has written two best-selling books: Time And How To Spend It (Penguin, April 2019) and Stuffocation (self-published 2013; Penguin, 2015; now in 7 languages). Wallman has advised companies from Absolut to Zurich Financial and has given talks from Amsterdam to Las Vegas; at venues including the Googleplex and 10 Downing Street. He advises the British government and is a 'Sector Specialist, Experience Economy' for the Department for International Trade. His opinions have appeared in the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Economist, and Wired and has appeared on TV and radio from Australia to Brazil and the US. James lives in London with his wife and two children.
3 words to describe Nature?
Green. Furry. Nice
3 things Nature taught you?
Just the one: nature is us and everything in us and around us. It's what we call the crazy random experiment our planet is in the middle of. Everyone and everything here is reaching up for energy from the sun, rising from seed to flower, then falling back again. It's a funny, beautiful journey.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Only 3?? I can’t
First, anywhere with my kids.
Then the view from any mountain in the Alps; the Mediterranean sea; Big Sur; Rhossili Bay; the jungle around the Tambopata River and Platja Mitjorn.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Like I want to jump in and float on, surf on, sails on, get thrown about on the waves.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like I want to walk through it, climb its trees, hear its silence, its sounds, and just listen.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Like I wish it would explode, but without killing me. Stromboli is good for this :-)
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Grateful that I had that day or that I'm about to have a day. Aware that time is passing.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Yay! The gods are laughing.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Alive
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean, Mountain & Forest. (But Deserts can be fun too)
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
Ha! Trick question. It's essential for all our wellbeing. So much science proves it. Hence 3rd rule of the STORIES checklist - the simple way to remember what you should do to be happy & successful - is Outside & Offline.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
In the late 70s, it used to snow, and way more than it does now. My brother and I got dragged around the garden by our dad on a sled. And then at some nearby hill. Sledding is way too much fun. I miss it.
Also, I remember swimming off Corfu with my mum and my brother in the early 80s. No one was around so we were all swam naked... we were all confident swimmers so we went for a long swim, way out of our depth... the water was so pure and clear, glistening in the sun on the surface but you could see 20-30 feet to the sandy bottom. I get to the Mediterranean most summers... and every time I swim I feel refreshed, young, silly, alive.
Johanna Basford
Johanna Basford is an illustrator and ink evangelist who prefers pens and pencils to pixels. She grew up on a fish farm in rural Aberdeenshire, Scotland where with her little sister, she had a very ‘free range’ childhood. In 2005, after graduating from Textile Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, she interned for a while before making the move to set-up her own studio. Initially she made hand printed wallpaper and small collections of home accessories, but the recession hit. Business was tricky and it forced her to realise her heart wasn’t in manufacturing and selling, it was in drawing. She shut the studio, sold all her equipment and set-up as a freelance Illustrator from a little desk in the corner of a 1 bedroom flat. She worked 2 part time jobs to pay the bills and drew the rest of the time. She took the overnight bus to London on her days off to trawl round the offices of Art Directors and Commissioning Editors with her portfolio. She called these her ‘Commission Missions’. She ignored advice to ‘diversify’ her portfolio. Her signature style of hand drawn, black and white artwork paid off and earned her a list of freelance clients ranging from Nike to Absolut Vodka and Smart Car to Chipotle. In late 2011 she was approached by a publisher to make a colouring book for children. She loved the colouring book idea, but wanted to do something a bit different. Her pitch for a sophisticated, grown up colouring book seemed a little odd at that time, but she drew up the first 5 pages, sent them over and got the thumbs up. In spring 2013 Secret Garden was launched. 4 years later, she has sold over 21 million books worldwide in over 40 countries. These days she spends her time in the studio flitting between creating artwork for her books, dreaming up ideas for new products to be emblazoned with her black and white artwork and of course, organising all those pens and pencils!
3 words to describe Nature?
Beautiful. Inspiring. Soothing
3 things Nature taught you?
Weeds are just wildflowers in unexpected places.
Seasons and weather come and go, you just have to dress appropriately!
Delight in imperfections!
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The Forest at the foot of Goatfell on Isle of Arran
Bennachie – our highest peak in Aberdeenshire, surrounded by beautiful woodlands
The Bluebell Woods near my childhood home – their exact location is secret (!) but in the spring time the carpet of blue blooms and the heavenly scent they create is a treasure!
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Overwhelmed. It’s so vast! My husband was a North Atlantic Fisherman when we met 13 years ago and would spend weeks out at sea. When I saw big waves, I knew to be anxious!
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Curious! I grew up puddling about in the woods near our home and found them to be fertile ground for a child with a wild imagination! As a mother, I now take my own kids to the woods to play – we search for treasures, make dens, look out for fairies and build dams in the small burns that run through the trees. A forest is a glorious playground for the imagination!
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Scared! I’m a bit of a wimp and massively risk adverse. I wouldn’t be able to see a volcano without having flashbacks to school lessons about Pompeii! I can’t imagine ever being inclined to see an active one in person…!
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
So, so calm. I love that hour at the start and end of the day when the air is still and quiet. It feels so magical. We live in the countryside and at certain times of the year we get huge groups of starlings swarming over the fields around our house at dusk. It’s truly spectacular.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excited! I’ve always loved thunder and lightning, even as a child! I lie in bed counting the seconds between the rumbles and flashes. My Gran told me this tells you how far away the storm is… I’m not sure it’s entirely accurate, but I still do it!
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Fresh! I’m a big fan of the ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing’ line of thought. If I’m outside in a howling gale you can bet I’m well wrapped up, cosy and waterproof! But I love the feeling of being buffeted along by the wind and having it blasting in your face - it makes me feel alive in the very best kind of way.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Forest. Without a doubt.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
11. It’s my reset button. When life is chaotic, pausing to be in the garden, walk in the woods, stare up at the moon – these are the ways I recalibrate and recharge. Living in cities has never appealed to me. A country girl through and through, I find my wellbeing and mental health suffers when I spend long periods of time away from green, wild places with natural beautiful and fresh air.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I grew up on a fish farm in rural Aberdeenshire and had a very ‘free range’ childhood. My sister and I would spend long summer evenings playing in the woods that surrounded our home whilst our parents worked on the farm.
Those hazy nights, when the air was thick with the coconut scent of gorse flowers were magical. We’d ride our bikes through the trails, then spend hours building imaginary farms, houses and gardens amongst the broom. We didn’t need toys, we built props from the things we found – stones, leaves, twigs, pinecones. I distinctly remember building a chicken shed for my imaginary flock of hens.
That kind of untethered, imaginative play is something I dearly hope my own children are lucky enough to experience as I know it’s the place where so much joy and curiosity in my own life is rooted.