Voices of Nature

In this episode we speak with some of the filmmakers and lead characters in the Global Conservation Corps documentary film, RHINO MAN. The movie is about the South African field rangers who risk their lives to protect the rhinos from poachers. John Jurko II and Matt Lindenberg have been working on the film for the last 6 years. The main storylines they follow are those of Sergeant Anton Mzimba of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve as he protects the reserve from threats, and Ruben De Kock as he takes a class of 41 candidates through a ranger selection program at the Southern African Wildlife College.

During this conversation we hear some of the trials and tribulations of the filmmaking process, but we mainly focus on Anton and Ruben’s stories and why rangers are so important to maintaining biodiversity in these protected areas. Anton also does a great job describing why and how reserves need to engage and work with surrounding communities to make sure they can benefit from the resources within. Rangers are the front line of conservation, but it will take a holistic approach to make real change.

In this episode, ​​we turn our conversation about nature on its head from previous episodes. As always, we will explore what humans can – and must – do for nature. But we also will discuss what nature can do for us as human beings and how a closer relationship with nature makes us better people, better leaders, and better stewards of precious resources for future generations. Our guest Greta Matos lives in the south of Chile and is the Co-Founder and Director of Vision and Impact at CuraKuda.

In this episode we speak with Andrea Heydlauff, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for African Parks Network.

African Parks is a non-profit conservation organization that takes on the complete responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities across Africa. It manages 19 national parks and protected areas in 11 countries covering over 14.7 million hectares.

Andrea has written and co-authored numerous scientific and popular publications on conservation, has spoken widely at conferences and is an award-winning filmmaker.

Her interests lie heavily in human dimensions, community engagement, education, media and creative storytelling – topics we explore in detail during this episode of Voices of Nature.

Steve is a Venture Partner at Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, supporting a number of its portfolio organizations as a board member.

He is the co-founder of Earth Genome – its work will be part of our conversation today and something we will turn to in a few minutes. Prior to starting Earth Genome Steve served as President of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and led the Foundation through the development of new strategies in a number of programs, including Environmental Conservation.

Before leading the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Steve worked at The Nature Conservancy for 32 years, the last 6 as its President and CEO. Steve has served on the boards of the California Academy of Sciences, Sustainable Conservation, U.C. Berkeley College of Natural Resources, and the California Wildlife Officers Foundation. Perhaps most impressive is that Steve has been on the forefront of treating nature as an asset vital to the health and well-being of every one of us. That is a topic that we have touched on in previous episodes of Voices of Nature but today we will explore it much more deeply.

In this episode we speak with Lindsay Gordon, marine conservationist working at the nexus of humans and oceans, and the Head of Global Campaigns of Parley for the Oceans – a global network where creators, thinkers and leaders raise awareness for the beauty and fragility of our oceans and collaborate on projects that can end their destruction. A particular focus of Parley for the Oceans is preventing and significantly reducing the amount of plastic in the world’s oceans.

In this episode we talk with Wai-Ming Wong, the director of the Small Cats Program at Panthera.

There are 40 recognized species of wild cats in the world. Most people are familiar with the big and medium-sized species - such as lions and tigers - very few can name the 33 smaller cats. Panthera’s Small Cats Program is focused on bringing the increasingly threatened small cat species to the world’s attention and enact science-based conservation action on their behalf.

Ming is a conservation biologist by training and his work has taken him from Zimbabwe to Thailand to Sumatra. His work touches on topics such as the impacts of deforestation on wildlife and ecosystems, conflict between humans and wildlife and how technology increasingly is being used to protect wildlife.

In this episode we speak with Mathieu Crepel, one of the best snowboarders and surfers in the world. Born in the mountains, raised by the water, Mathieu is pushing the boundaries to create a series of unique expeditions that combine his passions for snowboarding and surfing. Woven through all of his amazing journeys, championships, and friendships with people around the world is his love for nature. As Mathieu has said, “Nature is the source of challenge, it drives us to get better.”

To capture the magnificence of some of his expeditions, Mathieu and his collaborators have created a series of films to bring all of us unto his experiences with nature. His goal - “I want to share, to learn from my experience and to enrich those of other people.”

In this episode we speak with Mbhoni Mzamani, a producer at Global Conservation Corps. Mbhoni has just launched Careers in Conservation, an exciting new video series hosted by Global Conservation Corps that shows all the different careers that lie within conservation.

Its mission is in parallel to that of this podcast. Just as Voices of Nature believes that all of us have a role in protecting nature, Mbhoni created Careers in Conservation with the belief that there are many different careers in conservation, be they park rangers, educators in schools, field guides, veterinarians, or leaders in local communities – just to name a few.

In today’s episode we will learn more about Mbhoni, what brought him to Global Conservation Corps, his passion for conservation, and the exciting plans he has for Careers in Conservation.

In this episode we talk with Pauline Blanchet and Thea Sun of Aral Sea Productions. Both are accomplished journalists, artists, and advocates who take an inspiring approach to telling stories about people, nature, and many of the really serious challenges we face as a society - all while injecting a fair amount of disruption into the film industry.

Pauline Blanchet is a photographer, videographer and producer. After graduating from SOAS, University of London Pauline founded Aral Sea Productions which seeks to widen participation in the creation of documentaries, photography, and audio. Aral Sea projects deal with issues of social and political importance. Her work has been shortlisted for the London Development Photography Competition and has been awarded numerous grants.

Thea Sun is a producer and filmmaker. She is most drawn to the combination of film and narrative, seeking subjects within her interest of history and humanities. Her multicultural background spurs a desire to explore stories from different cultures, ethnicities, and ideologies.

In this episode Bob Ludke speaks with Dr. Abishek Harihar, assistant director of Panthera’s tiger program. Abishek takes us into the world of tigers, the risks they face, and what can be done to preserve their habitats. Abishek also shares with us insights on the technology behind his work – namely the use of camera traps – cameras equipped with infrared triggers that allow photos of animals to be taken without humans present.