conscious discussion

exploring natural world issues

Firstly… we don’t profess to be the experts! That falls to the people we chat to (no pressure!)! Secondly, we are not going to take ourselves too seriously on this platform…yes some of the issues we are discussing are matters of ‘concern’ for the current world and the format it takes, but we hope to be able to go about this in a light-hearted manner, a manner that informs and shapes rather than orders and dictates.

The Naked Eye Studios was born out of a frustration of being compartmentalised. Compartmentalised in the world of travel from where we came. We wanted to do more, to explore more, to learn more, to discuss more, and yet we were cornered. Admittedly cornered in a very privileged world of pulling together some truly mind-blowing trips around the globe, but cornered all the same.

It was through what we have seen, who we have met, places we have been and things we have done, that we felt we had to take things further. We want to chat, to learn, to put people in the same room. All too often, great minds may think alike, they are just on the opposite sides of the world. We want to bring those minds together, those voices to be heard, those faces to be seen. From one corner of the world to the next we fight for the same things, the same values, the same hope, yet we seldom realise it. Imagine if we can just move that one step closer, those leading lights joining forces, those frontline efforts given a voice…even if we manage to do that just once, surely it is worth it.

The longer I have done this, the more I realise, the privileges lie not in the corners of the world that we have walked, but in the people we have met, the voices we have heard, and the faces we have glimpsed. Yes, I may be late to the party, but at least I am here now. It only all works with people, without that, is it not an impossible task? People make it all possible, conservation, a future, sustainability, health, development, whichever way you look, it lies at our feet. It is our responsibility, not the past, not the future, but right now. It falls to us in the present day, to make that difference, to make a change, to look on our world with that naked eye and to see ourselves in the true light of today.

So, if we here, on this little platform, can just shift that needle one tiny bit in the right direction, make one introduction that makes a difference, have one conversation that influences, one photo that sparks an imagination, then, as far as I am concerned, we have done our bit…and personally, that for me means I am all in.

If not now, when…

Some simple facts to get you started…

  • We live in a world where a Kilo of rhino horn (approx. USD$65k) is now worth more than a kilo of gold (approx. USD$60k)
  • We live in a world where a tree is worth more dead than alive
  • We live in a world where we are not prepared to protect our own planet, we look to inhabit others
  • We live in a world where our population has doubled since 1970
  • In the US alone, 30% of all food produced (worth USD$48.3 billion) is thrown away each year. Food is the single largest component taking up space inside US landfills.
  • It is estimated that there are around 28% more captive tigers in the US (approximately 5,000), more than remaining in the wild (approximately 3,900).
  • If the timeline of Earth was a calendar year, humans have existed for 37 minutes and have used 33% of the planet’s entire natural resources in the last 0.2 seconds.
  • The Arctic has lost nearly 95% of its oldest ice since 1984. At the current rate, the Arctic circle may be free of sea ice entirely by the year 2030 as it is declining at a rate of 13.3% per decade.

If we are to have an impact on the current status of our planet and its future path, then the time to act is now. Are we to be part of the 6th mass extinction? We have the knowledge and technology to avert disaster, but will we…