Natural World Speakers

We work with a number of speakers who centre their talks around nature and the natural world and what we can learn from nature in relation to storytelling, wellbeing and sustainability.

From working with and studying animals or lessons learned from expeditions, these are some examples of speakers we work with if you looking for a speaker on nature.

PHILIPPA FORRESTER

Philippa Forrester is a trained coach, presenter and accomplished public speaker, author, and television presenter with many years experience of broadcasting live to millions and presenting to large audiences.

Philippa is best known for her work as a science broadcaster on BBC 1 especially for Tomorrows World and on Radio 4 for World on the Move. Her many TV presenter credits also include Robot Wars, The Queen’s Jubilee, Crufts, and of course CBBC. She has also produced award-winning natural history programmes for the BBC including Halcyon River Diaries, The Lost Gardens of Heligan, and many more.

Her speeches include –

• Women and Nature – This speech looks at the Empowerment from the natural world and the scientific links between nature and wellbeing. Philippa can also cover the empowerment of women when they work within the natural world using examples of science and research
• The Power of Animals – A personal look at all the animals through Philippa’s life including wolves, otters and rescue animals and the lessons she learned from them.
• What can Wolves tell us about ourselves? (based on the book) – This is a talk about the Wolves of Wyoming and Philippa’s own experiences and the science and research about wolves since the reintroduction, and the importance of predators on the landscape. The speech broadens out to the stories we tell about wolves and the stories we tell ourselves.

ADAM WEYMOUTH

Adam Weymouth is a writer and journalist and speaker. His work has been published widely, including in Granta, The Atlantic, The Observer and the BBC. His features have covered subjects as diverse as illegal cedar logging in Malawi; the politics of oil and climate change in Alaska; migration in Greece; flooding in Wales and the depopulation on the Outer Hebrides – always focusing on the interplay of people, animals and the natural world. He has been named by the National Writing Centre as one of ten writers shaping the UK’s future.

His speeches include –

• Taking time: A Life in Journeys – What I learnt from walking to Istanbul, paddling the Yukon and following the footsteps of a wolf across the Alps.
• How Stories Create Lasting Change – drawing on my experiences of activism, travelling, reporting and writing to explore how stories are the most powerful way to inspire people to see the world differently.`
• What the disappearance of the salmon and the return of the wolf teach us about sustainability and our future.

LUCY HOULISTON

Lucy Houliston is a Zoologist, digital content producer, and National Geographic Young Explorer and speaker with a passion for weird wildlife and conservation.An experienced speaker, Lucy Houliston has delivered school talks internationally; presented at numerous conferences and festivals; and moderated and hosted live and digital events for the likes of Reserva: The Youth Land Trust, the British Ecological Society, and National Geographic.

Lucy loves using her digital and storytelling skills as tools to generate support for conservation efforts, this aspect of her work having taken everywhere from rugged Scottish islands to a Panamanian sloth sanctuary and one of the remotest corners of the Ecuadorian cloud forest. In addition to producing written content for nature-focused magazines and blogs, Lucy has directed and co-produced fundraising event with the RSPB and Rainforest Trust; advocated for sloth conservation and welfare in her role as digital content producer for the Sloth Appreciation Society; and worked as live producer and editor for Skomer LIVE, a digital natural history series created in partnership with the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales.

Her speaking topics include –

• Creative conservation: Using stories and media to save weird wildlife
• Wildlife-focused talks: Everything you ever wanted to know about Sloths!
• The Youth Protecting Our Planet: Insights from a young conservationist and environmentalist
• From Studios to Sloth Sanctuaries: Media and conservation careers advice

BENJAMIN MEE

Benjamin Mee is an inspiring, and Motivational Speaker and author of “We Bought a Zoo,” which was turned into a Hollywood film starring Matt Damon. When Benjamin and his family found out that Dartmoor Zoo would need to close if a buyer could not found, they went against everyone else’s advice and bought it.

It was an uphill struggle, not only managing a zoo with all the different needs of the animals but also facing up to the fact that his wife was terminally ill and he needed to care for his two children.

However, through courage, desire, and hard work, Benjamin reopened the zoo to the general public and remains open to this day. By creating partnerships and collaborations and encouraging sustainability Benjamins’ story is truly unique. It is the story of taking a leap of faith and succeeding against all the odds. Previously a contributing editor to Men’s Health and a Guardian columnist, Benjamin Mee had lived in France before and wrote a book on the ‘Evolution of Humour in Man and Animals.’

He has recently been awarded an honorary doctorate in science from Plymouth University and has had a lifelong interest in the field of animal intelligence and the benefits of nature on health and wellbeing.

if you looking for a speaker around nature or the natural world and we can help further please do drop us a line on enquiries@scampspeakers.co.uk