Tag Archives: nature

New Natural Change Project Report Published!

I’m very excited to announce that the WWF ‘Natural Change: Catalysing leadership for sustainability’ report was published by WWF Scotland today. The report was launched at an event at the Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, where project participants talked about their … Continue reading

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No Words

First published by Proboscus as part of there Topographies and Tales project, 2006. ‘On Banks Island, in the Canadian Arctic, environmental shifts are happening so fast that the Inuvialut inhabitants do not have the words to describe what they now … Continue reading

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Beware the Pseudo-Environmentalists!

First published in The Great Outdoors Magazine. One of the first things I do when I run an eco-education course is introduce the “Environmental Spectrum”. One end of the spectrum is ‘grey’, the other ‘deep green’. Points in between get … Continue reading

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Education for the Real World

It is time for you to learn how to drive a car. The driving instructor takes you into a room full of tables and chairs, the walls covered in shelves lined with books, at one end of the room is … Continue reading

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Go with the Flow

I am poised leaning backwards out over a 60-foot drop into a roaring abyss. My harness tightens around me, the rope taught between my abseil device and the deeply rooted tree around which it has been wrapped. I take a … Continue reading

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Field of Dreams

First published in The Great Outdoors Magazine, Jan. 2004. I am floating on the surface of a warm tropical sea. The burning sun beating down on the skin of my back and shoulders, my face submerged in the tepid rolling … Continue reading

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Diversity in Unity

Different does not mean inferior. Non-human does not mean further from the divine. The unity of wild nature will always, ultimately, prevail. Continue reading

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Flight of Fancy

First published in The Great Outdoors Magazine, Jun. 2002. In the 17th Century, women were publicly weighed to assess if they were lighter than they looked. Those who failed this diabolic weight-watching test were, obviously, witches. Recommend on Facebook Share … Continue reading

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Less is More

First published in The Great Outdoors Magazine, Jan. 2003. Back in the 1980’s there was a trend to blame the ecological issues facing the world on one simple cause – overpopulation. The story went like this… Current environmental problems are … Continue reading

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Zen and the Art of Minimum Impact

There’s something beautiful about the simplicity of a wild camp. Fetching water from a stream, lighting the stove, making a bed and preparing food. The well-planned wild journey will include plenty of time for such camp craft – for the … Continue reading

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The Philosophy & Psychology of Wild Places

First published in The Great Outdoors Magazine, May 2003. Since this date the conference mentioned was successfully convened and a report about it can be read here. Arne Naess, whose 90th Birthday was honoured through this conference, died on 12th … Continue reading

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What’s it Worth?

First published in The Great Outdoors Magazine, Oct. 2002. Last week I found myself 200 miles off the coast of Lands Ends in a small boat. A curious situation to be in and certainly one that was new to me. … Continue reading

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