Tim Janis: Our Natural World - Returning to Earth

(gentle melancholic music) (gentle melancholic music continues) (gentle melancholic music continues) - [Robert] Now is the time for all of us to connect again with our planet.

(bird chirruping) This one and only earth, this creation of beauty, wonders, and fragility.

(gentle melancholic music) Let's take this time to reflect and reconnect with the natural world so that we can find the light again.

(waves crashing) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) - [John] When you bring your body out into the landscape, you're bringing your body home to where it belongs.

(gentle piano music) Because with all due respect, human bodies weren't really made for offices, for streets, and corners, and tight places.

(gentle music) In the Irish psyche, landscape has a unique presence.

One of the wonderful insights of the Celtic imagination was that landscape is alive.

I think that it makes a huge difference in one's life when you leave your house, whether you believe you're walking out into location, which is simply dead space that you're crossing to get to where you need to go, or whether you believe you're actually walking into a living universe.

If you believe the second, then your walk becomes a different thing.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music fades) (water trickling) - [Elizabeth] My name is Elizabeth Gadd.

I'm an artist, photographer, and videographer from the mountains and rainforests of Western Canada.

Almost 20 years ago, when I was a teenager, I discovered photography for my first time.

I always had a deep love for my natural surroundings, for the wildlife, and for the calming feeling I'd find when spending time alone in nature.

Soon the camera became an instrument to help capture that love and connection I felt in these places.

I began to channel my creativity through taking self-portraits.

It was a therapeutic way to express my emotions and to create images that depict the feelings of stillness, awe, and exhilaration that I experience when in the face of these landscapes, whether spending just a few hours or several days at a time in the back country, I always found such a profound sense of freedom in the solitude with just me and my dog Pepper.

Then a few years ago, I ended up meeting my life partner while hiking in these mountains, another photographer sharing a similar love and passion for the wilderness.

And soon I discovered what it means to not only value these moments of solitude, but to also find joy in sharing these wonders with someone special.

When out here, my primary goal is to be present to my surroundings, to first experience these places through my own eyes before a camera lens.

But when the inspiration hits or my imagination soars with ideas for new storytelling images, I set up my camera on a tripod and I use a remote timer or an intervalometer to capture these photos or videos.

Once I'm in this creative flow, everything else simply falls away.

It could be snowing or raining, cold or windy, but when I'm in front of the camera, I tend to forget about everything else.

I'm just present, accepting, and embracing all the elements.

If anything, it makes me feel more alive.

(relaxing music) These days by sharing some of these moments through these images and videos, I hope to bring this sense of nature's peace to others who don't have access to these places.

Or I hope these moments can inspire others to seek a deeper connection, a kinder and gentler relationship both with nature and within themselves.

Mother nature has continually nurtured and healed my own soul, so, I hope maybe I can do the same now in return.

(relaxing music fades) (relaxing music fades) (birds chirruping) - [Emilie] There's a quiet wisdom that lives in nature, something ancient, yet ever changing.

It speaks in shifting skies in soft wings that carry forgotten stories.

(soothing music) (soothing music continues) In the calm between mountains where the world feels still, this is where I feel most alive.

Part of something far greater than myself.

(soothing music) Mother nature doesn't just surround us, she shapes us.

(waves crashing) In the pool of the tides, the warmth of the light, the air that moves through every living thing.

(soothing music) (soothing music continues) And when we start to slow down, we begin to see just how deeply connected we really are.

(soothing music) To witness her beauty is a gift, but also a calling.

(soothing music) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) I'm reminded to protect what has shaped not only our world, but our very being.

(soothing music) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) A love letter written in light across oceans, across skies.

(soothing music) Forever sharing this precious planet as one.

(soothing music) - Hello, I'm Jane Goodall.

I still travel about 300 days a year around the world, everywhere, and I'm meeting more and more people now who've lost hope.

And this mustn't happen because if we lose hope, we become apathetic and then we do nothing.

And if more and more people do nothing, we're doomed.

People are always asking me, "Dr.

Jane, do you really have hope?"

I know that we can slow down climate change, slow down the loss of biodiversity.

We can develop more sustainable lifestyles.

We can alleviate poverty.

We can change our attitude towards those who are different.

But will we?

My main reason for hope, the main one of all, is our young people all around the world.

When young people understand the problems and they're empowered to take action, they are making change.

Our own Jane Goodall Institute Roots & Shoots Program, now in 75 countries, involves young people from kindergarten all the way through university.

And the main message is every single day you live, every one of you listening, you make a difference every single day.

And you can choose what sort of difference you make, what you buy, what you eat, what you wear.

How was it made?

Did it harm the environment?

Was it cruel to animals?

Is it cheap because of unfair wages?

Well, then look for more ethically produced products.

Will it cost a bit more?

Maybe.

But then you'll value it more and waste less.

So, young people everywhere are choosing projects to make the world better.

For Roots & Shoots, it's to make it better for people, for animals, for the environment.

And they're influencing parents, grandparents, teachers, and friends.

It's incredible what they're doing.

And even the small actions like turning off the lights, when millions of people turn off lights, that cumulatively makes a big difference.

And my second reason for hope is nature is amazingly forgiving.

I've seen so many places everywhere where we had totally destroyed the natural world, but give nature time, perhaps a bit of help, and she will once more make those places beautiful again.

And then animals on the very brink of extinction can be given another chance.

Why is that?

It's because people who care passionately show that indomitable human spirit, it may seem an impossible task, but they won't give up.

And so, often they succeed.

And then finally, our amazing intellect.

It hasn't been used wisely.

If we were intelligent, we wouldn't be destroying our only home.

We're not likely to find another planet to support human life in our lifetimes so we better get together and look after the one we have.

And we have been destroying that home of ours ever since the Industrial Revolution.

Now, scientific minds are being bent towards technology that can help us live in greater harmony.

And then in addition to that, individuals are thinking about their own environmental footprint and thinking of ways in which they can make a less heavy impact on our poor, old planet.

It is our only home.

There is still so much beauty left and it is really worth our while getting to together, getting together to make a difference.

So, that is the message, you matter.

You'll have a role to play in this planet.

Don't give up.

Because it's so dark that means we must roll up our sleeves and fight harder and not give in to the powers that are still destroying the planet for the sake of our children and all future generations, and for the sake of Mother Earth.

(soothing music) - [Elizabeth] Where the ocean meets the coastline is a special sort of magic.

One that thrives with movement, unpredictability, and life.

(soothing music) To watch the tide and waves ebb and flow, crashing in and out of the shoreline is to be mesmerized.

(soothing music) Because here whether in the calm or the chaos, the beauty of the sea remains constant.

A reminder that we, too, are like the sea, here and whole, despite always changing.

And as we reflect and find ourselves breathing in time with the crashing of the waves, maybe we become inspired to join the sea in this dance, to become more connected to this ever changing flow of life, this underlying energy that runs through us all.

(soothing music) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music fades) - [Isabel] Hi, I'm Isabel and this is Logan.

We're both artists living in a 200-square foot cabin tucked deep in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

The seasons here are harsh.

The winters are cold and snowy.

The summer's hot, and our home is incredibly small.

We don't a bathroom or even a closet and the nearest town is an hour away.

But I think the trade off is worth it for both of us.

The difficulty of life in these mountains is nothing compared to what we've gained.

Peace, stillness, and a deep connection to nature.

And in my opinion, these things are far more valuable than convenience.

I am a filmmaker and videographer, and Logan is a musician.

We have lived here for five years now, and it's really given us the space to create without the constant noise of the outside world, no deadlines ringing in our ears, no traffic, no pressure to keep up, just silence.

And from that silence, a deeper connection to our thoughts, our work, and to each other.

Living like this, so deep in the middle of nowhere has been one of the hardest things I've ever done, but also one of the greatest gifts of my life.

Nature gives us so much.

When I'm sad, I'll wade into the freezing river fed by glacier melt, or just stand barefoot on the earth and listen to the wind in the trees.

When I'm overwhelmed, I'll go outside and breathe and it makes me feel better every time.

And really, this place has taught me how little we actually need.

How much joy can exist in a life stripped down to its essentials in a world that's constantly chasing more, more comfort, more money, more everything.

What if we just let ourselves appreciate what we already have?

The bird song at sunrise, the smell of rain on soil, the way the leaves return each spring more vivid than we remembered, the warmth of the sun after a long winter.

I believe life can be simple and still be full.

That happiness doesn't come from anything out there.

It comes from within.

I forget that sometimes.

I catch myself dreaming of a bigger house, of an easier life, but nature always brings me back.

Every single time it reminds me, this is enough.

And maybe that's the point.

Maybe life isn't about accumulating more or rushing towards some imagined version of success.

Maybe it's about noticing, really noticing the moments in front of us, the quiet ones, the hard ones, the beautiful ones that catch you off guard.

Maybe it's about being here fully with the people you love, doing the things that matter to you, however small they might seem.

Because when everything else falls away and the noise quiets, and the distractions fade, we're left with what's real.

And in that stillness, we can finally hear the truth we've been too busy to notice, that this life in all its messiness and simplicity is precious.

Living in the quiet of nature has taught me that.

It's in the silence that we remember what matters most.

(Isabel screams and chuckles) The days go by quickly.

The seasons change faster than we expect.

And if we don't slow down, if we don't stop to feel the breeze, to watch the light shift through the trees, we'll miss it, all of it.

So, I try to be as still as I can.

I try to listen because life moves fast, but meaning lives in the moments we pause for.

And out here in the middle of nowhere, I've learned how to pause and it's made me realize how much I don't wanna miss anything.

So this is our life, and it's not glamorous or perfect, but for us it's home, (relaxing guitar music) (gentle music) - [Robert] Earth, our planet.

Let's look at this masterpiece of nature and understand the importance each living being plays as a part in the ecosystem of our environment.

Earth is a creation of wonder and fragility.

Earth is a living being and part of us.

Earth is us, and we are earth.

(tender music) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music continues) (tender music fades) (waves crashing) - Hello all, I'm Dr.

Jacqui Wilkins.

I'm a naturopathic doctor and herbalist.

I work with the plants daily in creating herbal remedies to support our mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.

I also work with people from around the world in teaching them how to work with the plants for healing, as well as how to deepen our relationship and connection with our natural world, including the water, the trees, the plants.

Remembering also that we are part of nature, that we are part of our environment and we aren't separate from nature.

In many indigenous cultures and teachings we believe that the plants are our family, our relatives, or our kin.

As such, we have a responsibility for caring for the earth, for caring for the plants, the trees, the water, who also care for us, who nourish us, who give us life daily.

We have this mutual responsibility to care for one another.

And when we remember these connections, it helps us to want to care for the earth and to take care of our environment.

One of my favorite ways of remembering these relationships and these connections, as well as caring for the earth is through growing our own plants.

And this could be growing herbal remedies or growing flowers or even growing food.

And this can be done in so many different ways, in so many different spaces.

We don't need a large access to land or a big garden space, even a sunny window sill or a balcony will do for many plant medicines.

I find this also helps us remember the impact that we have here.

Sometimes we can feel disheartened or wonder if our actions really matter, whether they make a difference, whether we really have impact here.

And I find when we plant a seed into the earth, when we water them and nourish them and tend to their growth throughout their entire lifecycle, we begin to understand that our actions really do have impact, and that we really can care for the earth in so many different ways.

It also instills a sense of hope.

Watching those first leaves emerge and sprout and tending to them throughout their entire growth cycle.

One of my other favorite ways of remembering these connections is just through presence, through noticing.

So leaving our devices to the side and just being in relationship and noticing the different plants and trees who are growing nearby, who are a part of our community and just being present.

And so, again, this can also look many different ways.

We could be sitting in a medicine garden or an urban park or a forest and just allowing ourselves to take in the environment to be aware of different sensations, of different animals, critters, insects who are coming by.

When we do this, we can also begin to understand our interwoven nature, how interconnected we all are.

We can watch the ants crawling on the plants or the bees going from flower to flower.

Understanding that we each have a role to play here, including us as humans.

We each have an important part and an important role to play in our environment and in our communities.

So these are just a couple of ways that I love connecting with the earth and remembering our responsibilities here.

So if you have time to go outside and just connect or plant a seed and watch them grow, it's a beautiful way to begin this process of caring for our environment and caring for one another.

(soothing music) (soothing music continues) - [Elizabeth] With the dawn of each new day in nature, there comes an unparalleled peace.

As the earth slowly wakes, the rising sun reaches through the fog unveiling the world around us.

A new day, a new season, a new beginning, alive with hope and endless possibilities.

I can hear the earth beckoning from the meadows to the mountains, inviting our presence to the beauty of this world.

(soothing music) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music fades) (no audio) - When we were about 22, we got this overwhelming longing to just live a simple life in nature.

- Yes, although we had absolutely no idea what to do with that longing because we'd only lived in big cities our whole lives and we were just totally clueless.

We knew absolutely nothing about how to live in the wild, but we just couldn't shake this voice in our heads that was luring us out to the mountains and the forests.

We're Laura and Aaron and we've been living in the wild now for almost six years in our self-converted camper van.

(relaxing guitar music) - Let's show you around a bit.

So, here's our tiny cooking stove that pulls out like this.

All of the wood in the van was basically just free pallet wood that we rescued from the trash.

We've got a tiny sink here and that's powered by this little foot pump down here, like so.

We've got loads and loads of storage in the van.

Honestly, we can store loads of clothes, loads of books, and lots of other things.

And all the cabinetry here was secondhand and pretty much everything in this van was upcycled.

So, the reason we started van life was because it was the cheapest way for us to access a life out in the wild.

We wanted to feel connected to nature and we just wanted to have some meaning in our lives because up until that point, our lives had felt so busy, but yet so hollow at the same time.

So, instead we bought a mini bus and spent three months converting it into our little home.

We wanted to feel like a wooden cabin on wheels and nowadays we basically just wild camp parking up in nature.

(relaxing guitar music) - One thing we really noticed when we started camping in nature was how relaxed we felt.

It was as if our nervous systems were finally at ease.

Like cities can be so overstimulating with noise and cars and people rushing about and flashing lights and advertisements everywhere trying to catch your attention.

And it's as if the only way to stay sane with all of those distractions happening around you is to kinda shut down your senses, eyes down, headphones on, and you just kind of go inwards.

We didn't really notice how much the city had been affecting our peace of mind until we left.

Being in nature just softened us and melted those walls that we'd put up.

It was like we just opened up our senses again to all of the natural stimulus happening around us.

We became so much more curious, like what kind of bird is making that gorgeous sound?

I wonder what it looks like.

And what's that insect getting up to on that leaf?

And just noticing everything, noticing the different textures on different bark on different trees.

- Once that curiosity kicks in for the earth around you, you start to become more familiar with the plants and creatures in your area.

You learn more about them and begin to feel close to them as if you know them.

I think that's when you can really develop a genuine passion and care for nature.

That's when we started learning about the environmental impact of everything we buy and consume and started seeking out kinder, less destructive alternatives.

We began altering our lifestyle from a place of deep compassion for the planet.

We were once told that the best way to create change in the world is to channel your cause through your skills.

We're both artists and we like to express our love of the earth through our creativity.

I write songs about reconnecting with nature and Laura makes tapestries like this one, inspired by all the natural medicinal plants that we can use to heal.

(relaxing guitar music) - There's definitely a sense of belonging that we feel living this close to nature.

It's like we're experiencing for the first time what it actually feels like to be a proper human being and earth being a member of this planet.

So, if you do notice a voice within you that longs to feel connected to the earth, to get to know the plants and the creatures and the landscapes around you and feel really alive, maybe that is a voice that you should listen to because really it is just the earth inviting you to come back home.

(relaxing guitar music) - [Jonna] My name is Jonna Jinton and I'm a Swedish artist and filmmaker.

My creative journey started when I left the city life and moved a thousand kilometers north back to my roots, to a small forest village where my family has lived for over 400 years.

(uplifting music) Surrounded by endless forests and quiet lakes, something deep within me came to life.

It was here that everything truly unfolded.

The silence gave space for the voice of my heart.

And the shifting light and the rhythm of the seasons filled me with a longing to create and to capture the beauty that I saw and felt all around me.

What inspires me the most are the contrasts of the seasons.

In summer, the sun never truly sets.

The nights are filled with a soft, magical twilight and the mist that dances across the lakes.

I often stay awake throughout these endless nights to be out in nature and soak up all of the beauty.

(uplifting music) And then the winter comes.

The sun rises only for a brief movement each day and we live in darkness.

But it's a darkness lit by stars and the northern lights that move like spirits across the sky.

(uplifting music) Nature has always been the heart of everything I create and over the years, this inspiration has grown into films, paintings, and music.

And my deepest wish is to make something beautiful enough to move through the noise, through the barriers, and reach the heart of someone else.

(uplifting music) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music fades) (ethereal music) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (Jonna singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (ethereal music) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (Jonna singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (Jonna continues singing in foreign language) (ethereal music) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music continues) (ethereal music fades) (ethereal music fades) - [Robert] My hope.

I hope to see peace and harmony restored around the globe.

I hope to see our beautiful planet earth be freed from suffering and distress.

As the saying goes, "Hope springs eternal in every human breast."

(soothing instrumental music) (soothing instrumental music continues) (soothing instrumental music continues) (soothing instrumental music continues) (soothing instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music continues) (tender instrumental music fades) (soothing music) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (inspirational piano music) (inspirational piano music continues) (inspirational piano music continues) (inspirational piano music continues) (inspirational piano music continues) (inspirational piano music continues) (inspirational piano music continues) (inspirational piano music continues) (inspirational piano music fades) (bright music)