Wild For Change

What if your calling was to protect endangered species from poachers?

Imagine spending weeks away from your home and family, knowing that each day on the front lines could put your own life at risk all to protect species like the mighty rhino.

On a new episode of the Wild For Change podcast, we welcome back John Jurko II, Advisor to Global Conservation Corps and lead producer and director of the award-winning documentary RHINO MAN.

RHINO MAN takes us into the lives of game rangers on the front lines of South Africa’s rhino poaching crisis, revealing their courage, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to protecting wildlife.

At the heart of the film is Anton Mzimba, who dedicated 25 years to protecting wildlife at the Timbavati Nature Reserve and became one of Africa’s most respected conservation leaders. In July 2022, as RHINO MAN was nearing completion, Anton was assassinated at his home after receiving death threats connected to his stand against rhino poaching.

Today, John is helping carry Anton’s legacy forward through the Justice for Anton Mzimba campaign, while Anton’s son, Jafet, is continuing his father’s connection to conservation by pursuing a path of his own.

Choosing to spend weeks away from family and risk your own safety to protect endangered wildlife comes from understanding that something much larger is at stake.

Protecting the rhino is not simply about saving one species. Rhinos are part of an interconnected living system, and when a species disappears, we lose more than the species itself we lose the relationships it shares with the larger web of life.

Their future is connected to ours.

We do not live apart from nature; we are part of nature. When we protect the living world, we are also protecting the systems that sustain us and the generations who will come after us.

Perhaps Anton Mzimba expressed that connection best in RHINO MAN:

“Saving the rhino, for me, it's like saving myself, my life, and the life of my children's children.”

Anton Mzimba

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What do you feel when you hear the word “gentle”?

For me, the word brings a sense of ease. I feel myself soften, relax, and let my guard down.

That same feeling of gentleness comes through in Ellie Laks’ newest children’s book, Gentle, which tells the true story of John Lewis Thunderheart, a calf Ellie rescued when he was just one week old. Through gentle care, patience, and love, John Lewis was given a second chance at life.  Six years later, John Lewis Thunderheart is thriving at The Gentle Barn.

In this episode of the Wild For Change podcast, we welcome back Ellie Laks, founder of The Gentle Barn, to talk about Gentleness and the remarkable story of John Lewis Thunderheart, which reminds us that gentleness is not weakness. It invites us to see other beings, and perhaps ourselves, a little differently.  

Sometimes gentleness looks like slowing down. Sometimes it means listening, being patient, offering someone safety, or recognizing that another life matters simply because it exists.

And perhaps the invitation of Gentle extends far beyond the pages of a children’s book: to re-imagine what our relationships with ourselves, each other, with other beings, and with the Earth might look like if we chose to move through the world a little more gently.

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What do you feel when you sit beside a creek and listen to the rushing water?

What do you notice as you watch the ocean tide roll in, witness a sunrise, or listen to birds sing?

What comes alive inside you as a butterfly flies by or hearing the rhythmic chorus of crickets fills the evening air?

Perhaps the deeper question is this: What do you notice about yourself when you are in connection with the rest of nature?

In this episode of the Wild For Change podcast, we're joined by Julie Brams—Earth-centered psychotherapist, Certified Forest Therapy Guide, meditation teacher, and author of The Nature Embedded Mind. Julie suggests that who we experience ourselves to be in relationship with the rest of nature is our natural consciousness—our nature-embedded mind, the mind we were born with.

Together, we explore how our most authentic selves have always been part of the living world and what it means to return to that awareness. As Julie writes, we are all born from Earth, and we all have the capacity to live in connection with it.

When we begin to see ourselves not as separate from nature but as participants in a living, interconnected world, we open ourselves to a different way of being—one rooted in relationship, reciprocity, and care.

Perhaps the invitation is simply to begin noticing: the songs of birds, the movement of water, the changing of the seasons, and the life unfolding around us. As we deepen our awareness of the more-than-human world, we may also begin to recognize that nature is not simply a place we visit—it is part of who we are.

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What if I told you that eating plants could be delicious, satisfying, and joyful—and also help protect animals, preserve natural spaces, and reduce our impact on the climate?

Just outside Chicago is a restaurant that brings all of this together. It’s called Spirit Elephant.  A 100% plant-based restaurant where every dish is thoughtfully prepared without compromising flavor, creativity, or comfort.

The moment you walk in, the atmosphere feels uplifting. The space is alive with plants, warm energy, and one of my favorite features—a giant photo of an elephant herd stretching across the wall. Whether I’m dining with someone who is plant-based or not, everyone always leaves impressed by the food, the service, and the experience.

On today’s podcast, we’re sitting down with Founder and CEO of Spirit Elephant, CD Young, and Assistant General Manager, Jordan Pedone, to explore not only plant-based food, but the deeper connection between what we eat, our health, animals, community, and the planet.

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Life on Earth unfolds through complex, living relationships.  Forests, oceans, animals and microorganisms sustain the cycles that make life possible, circulating oxygen, regenerating soils, and shaping climates.  

Humans are part of these systems, not separate from them.  Our lives depend on the integrity of these relationships, even as they exist far beyond us.  

Yet the natural world is often treated as a resource, something to extract from, convert, and monetize rather than as a community of living beings with their own inherent rights.  We have yet to learn how to live in true reciprocity within the Earth’s systems.  

On this Wild For Change podcast, Natalia Greene, Director of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) joins us.  GARN is an organization helping to reawaken a deeper truth: that nature is not something we own, but a living world we belong to, with rights of its own.

The Rights of Nature challenges us to rethink one of our most fundamental assumptions—that nature exists for us. Instead, it asks: what if we are part of a larger living system with its own rights? And what responsibility comes with that understanding? This is not just a legal shift—it’s a shift in perspective, in values, and in how we choose to live in reciprocity with nature.

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Step outside your front door for a moment… what do you notice?
 Concrete, cars—maybe a few scattered trees.

Now imagine that same street alive with birdsong, pollinators, and wild nature woven into everyday life.
 What if that transformation wasn’t just possible—but already within reach?

Today, we’re exploring how we can begin to rewild our urban spaces—starting right outside our own front doors.

Joining us is Sian Moxon, founder of Rewild My Street. She’s an Associate Professor of Sustainable Architecture and a researcher in urban biodiversity at London Metropolitan University’s School of Art, Architecture and Design. She’s also an architect, a climate change expert with the UK Universities Climate Network, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and the author of Sustainability in Interior Design.

Rewild My Street is a design-led toolkit helping Londoners transform their gardens and streets to support biodiversity and bring nature back into the places we live. By creating more green and blue spaces across the city, the initiative works to reverse the trend of urban environments becoming increasingly grey—fostering ecosystems that build climate resilience, restore nature, and support human well-being.

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On today’s Wild For Change podcast, we’re speaking with Laurent Lebreton, whose work focuses on ocean plastic research at The Ocean Cleanup.  

In 2013, at just 18 years old, Dutch inventor Boyan Slat founded The Ocean Cleanup with an ambitious idea to remove plastic from the world’s oceans.

Today, The Ocean Cleanup is a nonprofit organization developing advanced technologies to rid our oceans and rivers of plastic — with a bold and refreshing mission: to put itself out of business.

Because what begins as litter on a street corner doesn’t stay there. It can travel through storm drains, into rivers, and eventually thousands of miles into the open ocean — where it’s ingested by marine life, entangles marine life, and disrupts ocean ecosystems.

Our oceans are downstream from all of us.

In this episode, we explore the scale of the plastic crisis, the science behind its impact, and the innovative solutions working to turn the tide.

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On today’s Wild For Change podcast, we explore forest bathing with our guest, Jackie Kuang, Business Director at the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. I was recently introduced to forest bathing by a friend, and I found it to be a deeply impactful and authentic way to connect with nature and myself. Given how fast-paced our society is, we have forgotten how to slow down and reconnect with ourselves and with nature. When we slow down and reconnect with nature, we begin to remember who we are: a vital piece of nature. Through this remembering, we also realize that we are connected to all of nature and develop not only a sense of care for ourselves but also for all the other beings we share this planet with. It’s like a recalibration that gives us a deeper understanding of life.  

I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I did.  

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This past summer, I finally marked off a destination from my bucket list: the California Redwoods State and National Parks.  Entering the parks was one of the most magical experiences I have ever had.  I felt like I was going back to prehistoric times.  Some of the Redwoods have been on Earth for thousands of years and knowing this while hiking among these giants felt inconceivable, yet at the same time, I felt so honored to be in their presence.  

While visiting Jedidiah Redwood State and National Park, I met a volunteer at the Grove of the Titans who stands outside rain or shine to greet visitors.  Once a month, he will undertake a 4-5 hour commute to volunteer for an entire week in Redwoods State and National Park.  There is something to be said about this level of commitment to a forest.  The Redwoods have a rich ecological history and have stood witness to man’s evolution.  This is a very special place, which is why my guest today is Deborah Zierten, Senior Manager of Education and Interpretation of Save the Redwoods League.

In this podcast, we will learn how Save the Redwoods League supports the Redwood forest and explore the unique history of the Redwoods, their complex ecosystem, and how they help protect us from climate change. We will also discuss the current threats the Redwoods face and how we can help ensure their future.  

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On a new Wild For Change podcast, we will learn about the importance of outdoor nature-based learning with our guest, Teresa Weed, who is the Policy and Advocacy Coordinator from Illinois Early Childhood Outdoors.

We can learn so much from spending time in nature.

Being in nature encourages exploration and inspiration, sparks a sense of wonder and connection, and provides a space for reflection and a broader perspective on life.  As we grow into adults, however, it seems that sense of wonder and exploration slips away from our lives. But, imagine being a child. Exploration, wonder and curiosity are already part of a child’s makeup.  Letting a child be themselves in nature and learning outdoors can provide endless lessons and tools they can use throughout their lifetime.   

Links to learn more:

Join the movement!

To access the national movement for outdoor preschool licensing, or to find collaborators in your region, check out Natural Start Alliance.

To get connected in Illinois, reach out to Illinois Early Childhood Outdoors IECO, or the Northern Illinois Nature Play Association NINPA.

Professional Development, etc.
 For consultation to support outdoor early learning programs in Illinois contact Teresa Weed directly at [email protected]. 

Research Libraries:

Green Schoolyards America is a free online resource library and virtual community of practice designed to help schools and districts move their classes and programs outside across the country and around the world

Children and Nature Network curates the world’s largest collection of peer-reviewed literature about nature’s benefits for children.

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