The Great Explorer Debate, LIVE at The Royal Geographical Society, May 22 2025
I am immensely proud that Journeys With Purpose was the host for an incredible evening at The Royal Geographical Society in London on 22nd May 2025.
We had a great gathering of kindred spirits to celebrate the launch of Levison Wood’s new book, ‘The Great Tree Story – fantastic and erudite – and engage in lively discussion with friends Sophy Roberts, Lord Zac Goldsmith, Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza, Lucy Shepherd, and Bruce Parry.
Lucy sums up the evening brilliantly:
“What a night to be a part of and one to really remember. A full house, sold out, smash hit event!
In all my years of being at the RGS , I’ve honestly never seen the RGS like it!! The energy, the buzz, the excitement.. was palpable!”
As Lucy says, the evening was completely sold out – 700+ – with people willing to stand throughout to join the party.
What an incredible way to celebrate the profound influence trees have on our natural environment, travel and human history.
Also, my 30 years anniversary as Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society, alongside similar tenures at the Zoological Society of London, the Scientific Exploration Society and the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. It was wonderful to be joined by so many friends from these organisations and others, including YPO, YNG, CEO, NEXUS Global, The Earthshot Prize, The Long Run, The Conscious Travel Foundation, 1% for the Planet and B Corp. I am also delighted to have become a member of The Explorers Club.
I was honoured to make the opening remarks, of which I include a summary here:
At Journeys With Purpose we are dedicated to restoring our relationship with the natural world by creating exceptional travel experiences with world class leaders in conservation and community welfare.
It is clear that those who spend time in nature and wilderness are inspired to protect and restore. We believe in the same.
What a wonderful evening we have ahead of us.
My great thanks to Levison and panellists, Koalaa, Tusk, The Royal Geographical Society, The Scientific Exploration Society and to all the brands who’ve helped spread the word and make tonight possible. And to Evie Modell, Rob Croucher, and my own team at JWP who have made this event happen.
Sophy Roberts is convening our panel with Levison this evening, and will make the proper introductions in due course.
But I wanted to make a few personal comments here:
Bruce, you are best known for your series Tribe with the BBC, but it is your lesser known and I think brilliant documentary Tawai that has most informed me. It begins with you posing the question
“What is our relationship with the natural world, and how has this changed over time?”.
Your work here has been one of the significant guides in what I do now.
Rosa, remarkable achievements in expedition leadership, field work and science. And please know that Peru is one of our all-time favourite countries to visit.
Lucy, what feats of exploration and endurance in Guyana and beyond.
In both your cases it is fantastic – and essential – to see such brilliant female leadership and representation – a key aspect of our own work at JWP both with the causes we support and with our guest profiles. We look forward to hearing your voices and experiences this evening.
And Zac, your leadership on the creation of vast Marine Protected Areas for the UK’s Overseas Territories. Zac and I attended last weeks’ wonderful lecture here at the RGS with Enric Sala of National Geographic’s Pristine Seas initiative, which articulated these successes so well. Including the great kelp forests beneath our waves.
To our evening ahead: The Great Explorer Debate
A few opening remarks:
Levison, your new book begins with a charming autumnal story, well known to our British guests of horse-chestnut trees and conkers, and of planting one of these seeds in your youth to go on and see this sapling become a tree and continue to flourish. This particularly touched me as I did this myself when I was young across a whole range of native tree species, and continue to do so to this day. I’m sure this will resonate with many of us here too.
I’ve so enjoyed learning from your book. It’s a story of how completely interwoven and interconnected humankind is with the ancient lineage of trees – in our history, culture, art, literature, folklore, myths, legends, and our faiths. Trees, and nature, are in our souls.
There is, of course, the not so good news
Our imperilled natural world is under threat from climate change and biodiversity loss. Just yesterday, it was reported that last year the world lost tropical forests to agriculture and fire, at the fastest recorded rate, ever. An area almost the size of the Republic of Ireland.
Levison you describe the history of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island. This made me think further on Earth as a whole – our “Pale Blue Dot” – shown by the image taken from Voyager 1, the space probe, in 1990. A tiny spec in space. We live on an island. With our current course, the outcome for Earth as a whole is there to see in Rapa Nui.
The good news
There is growing clamour to restore our relationship with the natural world. Trees are our vital and of course best terrestrial “technology” – to store carbon, release oxygen, safe harbour biodiversity, cool our climate, and maintain resilience and our life systems.
And, we do have an intrinsic relationship with the natural world. We have been genuinely distressed by the loss of the Sycamore Gap tree, and the Toby Carvery oak. Trees embody the characteristics that all humans hold dear – strength, fortitude, resilience, patience, shelter, connection, home, love – and sentience.
How do we restore and nourish this further?
It is incumbent upon us all to turn knowledge and hope into direct action.
As Edward Abbey, the environmental author and activist said – “Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul”.
My call for us all is to act upon what we learn this evening. Let’s achieve the “30 by 30” goal, a global effort to protect and restore 30% of the Earth’s land and sea by 2030.
As Sir David Attenborough says, “We must rewild the world”.
To sum up, Levison, your book dedication is – “For all my Tree Teachers”. Now, with your friends here, please teach us more.
Thank you,
Duncan Grossart
The recording of this and the whole evening is on JWP’s YouTube channel here.
