Category Archive

I’ve just met Willie Smits. It’s pretty incredible that so quickly we have entered this world of world-class environmentalists. Willie was at TED 2009 last week and from what I hear from those that heard him speak, he stole the show. Sandwiched between some of the greatest minds in the world, Willie’s vision for conservation inspired those that were in attendance. We had never heard of Willie until this past December when I read about him in an issue of Scientific American. He has worked to replant the rainforest and his first experiment with his idea has been at Samboja Lestari, where we are now. This project has been described as the singe most important reforestation project on the planet. That article and what he is doing are why we are here now. Pretty amazing how life is.

We spent the day working with the often overlooked sunbears. With the eyes of the world on the orangutans, the kind and gentle sun bears do not receive the attention they deserve. Before coming to Samboja, I also did not know very much about the sun bears. Thanks to our new friend, Meike, a 32 year old German who is currently working at Samboja, we now have a new appreciation for this animal. Today was a very important day with the Sun Bears. Two of the bears were transferred out of the smaller quarantine cages and were brought to another location to get ready for entry into the larger outdoor cages. These bears have spent the last 5 years in very small cages and now are two days from their first taste of “freedom” in their lives. It’s quite an incredible story and I’ve decided to document this story with video and see where it takes me. I’m currently sitting here on the top level of the lodge and am watching orangutans on the islands enjoying the cool evening by playing and swinging on the trees and enrichment facilities. A family of wild boar just walked down the road and up the trail near the sun bear facility. Off in the distance, the sun bears are also enjoying the late afternoon. Yesterday a gibbon was desperately trying to get our attention with his amazing call, we hasn’t been back today. Willie Smits the founder of Samboja Lesari was the hit of the 2009 TED conference this past week for this work with Samboja Lestari and what has been called “the greatest reforestation project on the planet.” It is quite amazing. Environmental conservation isn’t always galmorous. Today we scrubbed the sun bear cages with brushes and built hammoks for the bears still in quarantine. It was hard work but worth the effort when you see the bears go back into a clean cage. Tomorrow we are heading to “Kilometer 23” to see a sun bear education center built by a Dutch woment and her husband. I’m very curious to learn more about the plight of this small bear. Next week we will be meeting with the head of BOS International to talk about our NPO and hopefully Wille will be coming here soon. We are also planning a trip to the coal mine near here, a palm oil plantation as well as a day trip to some primary rain forest near here where the first BOS (Borneo Orangutan Survival) orangutans were released. I have a feeling that our month here will go by extremely fast. We are still discussing the feasibility of bringing students here. It has a ton of potential; we just need the green light from the higher ups. This is an amazing planet and being in the middle of nature helps remind me of how incredible and precious our short time on this planet is. Looking down on the orangutan island, I see that most of the orangutans have made their nests and settled down for the evening. I think I’ll do the same.

Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison spent 5 months being caribou as they following the porcupine caribou herd’s annual migration to the birthing grounds in ANWR. The story of the adventure of traveling with the herd is itself worth the read. However, what separates this book from other adventure narratives is the discussion and openness that Karsten shares of how being caribou for 5 months effected both him and Leanne personally. They opened themselves up to learn from the caribou and by doing so were forever changed. We have a deep connection to nature and to every creature we share this planet with. We have depended on each other for millions of years and this connection is what makes makes us human. Having the opportunity to learn from another species besides the human species is a gift that every student should have the opportunity to experience. One cannot walk away from the experience of learning from another species without a profound sense of appreciation and humility for the other creatures we share this planet with. Karsten and Leanne had the incredible gift of spending 5 months with another species and learning from them. being caribou for 5 months helped them learn what it really means being human.

“Mans heart, away from nature, becomes hard; the Lakota knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too.”
- – Luther Standing Bear

I’ve been reading a wonderful book by Richard Louv, “Last Child in the Woods” which has fallen into my hands at a very opportune time. My wife and I are in the process of developing a “school without walls” where we will take students on 8-16 week educational expeditions in Africa and Indosnesia (to begin with). Our main purpose is to awaken global consciouness in students by providing an experience that will help them to live in and interact with the world in a very different way. One which is more sustainable and which leaves a much smaller footprint. The greatest brainstorming for our ideas have come while taking long walks in the snowy woods of Squamish, BC. Breathing the clean air and listening to the stillness is inspiring and has reminded us of the importance of nature in education. Nature inspires, feeds the soul and nutures the creative potential. For thousands of years, our learning happened outside, in nature. We are wired for this. There is a growing body of research which points to the importance of nature on learning and Richard Louv does a great job presenting this evidence in his book. However, go outside and take a walk in the woods, feel the inspiration and sense of calm that nature has on your mind. This is really all the evidence you will need.