For the past five years, our magazines have featured exclusive interviews with some truly inspirational characters. Here’s a selection of the messages they’ve shared with us.
Chris Packham
Presenter and naturalist
“To stimulate interest in the natural environment you’ve got to meet it, touch it and feel it. Direct contact with wildlife stays with you and shapes and fuels your future interest. It’s so important that young people have that opportunity. You don’t have to go to the Serengeti or Antarctica. You can sit and watch a caterpillar turn into a butterfly and that’s going to make the difference.”
Sarah Outen
Athlete and adventurer
“What keeps me going in the hardest moments? When things are really tough, or scary, you know they’re not going to last forever, so if you can keep holding on for the better times, that’s really powerful. You have to celebrate small successes and the fact that you’re still going.”
Simon Reeve
Author and presenter
“The whole ethos of YHA is very much to be there in nature, with your brothers and sisters on this planet, experiencing the best Earth has to offer. That’s a bloody wonderful thing! We live in a country where there are staggering sights to be seen and experienced.”
Read our interview with Simon Reeve
Cerys Matthews
DJ and musician
“For children, the biggest brains on the planet are making games and programmes that are addictive, so it’s our responsibility to shoehorn them out to where the real miracles of life are, which is in nature.”
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill
Olympic champion
“Always love what you do. If you enjoy and are passionate about what you do, you’ll have success – and you’ll also take a lot from it.”
Levison Wood
Explorer and author
“I’d encourage anyone who wants to go and explore, to do it. You don’t need to be a full-time adventurer – anyone can undertake mini-expeditions or go on their own journey.” (image credit: Simon Buxton)
Stuart Maconie
DJ and author
“Being outdoors encourages us to abandon the self-absorption and entitlement that technological culture has created. You’re not really that bothered about a Twitter spat when you’re on Sharp Edge or getting a face full of spray on Lizard Point.”
Ellie Simmonds
Paralympic champion
“If you’re experiencing something new, take it all in and try your best to have fun while doing it. If you wake up and don’t enjoy what you do, then what’s the point in doing it? Do something which makes you excited to wake up in the morning.”
Dwayne Fields
Presenter and explorer
“If you can look at someone from a different world to you, someone who looks different, and think ‘actually, we can have a shared experience’, it’s a great leveller. I’m always saying that nature doesn’t care who you are, what you look like or where you come from. The moment you’re out there, it rains on you just as much as it rains on the next person, and if it’s cold for you it’s damn sure cold for the next person as well.”
Julia Bradbury
Presenter
“In this digital age, it’s vital to connect with the real world. All those beautiful pictures on Instagram of amazing nature and wildlife – they’re real, and they need to be seen and experienced to be appreciated. Nature and the outdoors can help put your own problems in perspective.”
