WHAT IS YOUR FIRST MEMORY IN NATURE?

My first memory of nature was a family holiday to Scotland, each year we would go to a beautiful place near Aviemore in the highlands. I remember being taught how to fish, i must have been about 4 years old. That memory is so clear in my mind, i remember standing in the loch with my father in my red wellington boots being shown how to cast a fly.

IF YOU COULD TAKE 3 THINGS TO A DESERT ISLAND WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

My favourite book Winnie the Pooh, a bow and arrow and a knife

YOUR FAVOURITE FILM?

Withnail and I

YOUR FAVOURITE TALE/STORY/BOOK?

Winnie the Pooh

YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION?

A pair of gold cufflinks given to me by my mother shortly before her death. Although i don’t wear a suit very often, i love to wear them on special occasions.

WHAT IS THE PLACE YOU DREAM OF EXPLORING?

I dream of visiting Mongolia. My wife are i planning to do the Trans Mongolian express and stop along the way. I have always dreamt of riding horses on the steppes and hunting with Eagles.

WHICH PERSON DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?

Sir David Attenborough, he has achieved so much in his life time and brought so much pleasure to people and taught them about nature and how fragile our ecosystem is.. We need more people like him.

WHAT DO YOU VALUE MOST IN YOUR FRIENDS?

Loyalty and kindness

WHICH MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO HAVE?

I would love to be able to become invisible, that way i wouldn’t always get into trouble for being places i shouldn’t be!

WHAT DO YOU FEAR AND HOW DO YOU FIGHT THAT FEAR?

I have a fear of heights, i love skiing and find myself in some terrifying places, one has to stay calm and breath, once you have steadied yourself you can make it down almost anything and then realize that most of it was in your head.

WHERE IS YOUR FAVOURITE WATER ... OCEAN PLACE IN THE WORLD?

I have just got back from Lamu, a friend invited 30 of us out there to his house, we were on a deserted island, there was no one about, we swam with dolphins and watched phosphorescence under the full moon.

WHERE IS YOUR FAVOURITE TREE?

It has to be the tree that i got married under in North Devon, we had our hand fasting ceremony under a thousand year old oak tree officiated by a druid, surrounded by all our friends and family.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED MEMORY?

My wife saying yes to me when I asked her to marry in the Shiva temple in kaurajauho, i hadn’t planned to ask her to marry me, i didn’t even a have ring at the time. It just happened.

WHERE IS HOME?

We currently live in the French Alps, in a small Village called les Laix in the Tarentaise Valley with my wife and 2 rescue lurchers.

FIRST ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

Horse riding in Iceland

THE SONG THAT MAKES YOU SMILE?

Like the Moon - Future Island

THE SONG THAT MAKES YOU DANCE?

Poison Lips - Vitalic

WHAT IS YOUR ANIMAL?

My spirit animal is a wolf, I have a strong pack of friends but also have a need to be on my own.

YOUR DRINK?

Cup of tea (sometimes with mushrooms in ;-) )

YOUR GAME?

Backgammon

WHERE DOES GROWTH AND ECONOMY HOLD HANDS WITH NATURE?

It has to hold hands in a sustainable fashion, we have seen that ruthless capitalism doesn’t work, we need to change old ways and create better economic models for our future.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

We can become more conscious about the decisions we make and what we buy, economies are driven by the consumer, we can change how things are manufactured by deciding not buy them, this our choice. We need to wake people up and show them that we can, all make difference.

WHAT IS A GOOD LIFE?

Being healthy and having a great group of friends. Spending a lot of time outside preferably by fires and watching lots of sunrises.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE FOR?

For a consciousness shift in humanity, to protect the environment before its too late.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOU FAVOURITE ADVENTURE?

I had the privilege of crossing the Namibian desert on horses for 10 days,the route we did hadn’t been crossed since 1921. we didn’t see anyone for days, at night we would hear the sound of jackels and during the day we saw sand dunes that went on forever.

IF YOU COULD BE ANY PLACE IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW?

I am quite happy where I am..

WHAT WAS THE MOST NOBLE ACT OR NOBLE HUMAN YOU HAVE CROSSED PATHS WITH?

I have been lucky enough to have met Satish Kumar an Indian activist and editor. He has been a Jain monk, nuclear disarmament advocate, pacifist, and is the current editor of Resurgence & Ecologist magazine. Salish Kumar is founder and Director of Programmes of the Schumacher College international centre for ecological studies, and of The Small School. An incredible man, he adventured on a peace walk with a companion to the four capitals of nuclear-armed countries – Washington, London, Paris and Moscow, a trip of over 8,000 miles. He believes that reverence for nature should be at the heart of every political and social debate. What a Dude!

THE ONE TRAIT ONE MUST HAVE TO BE A PART OF YOUR TRIBE?

Passionate about what they do..

WHAT PART OF THE NATURAL WORLD MEANS THE MOST TO YOU?

I love being in the mountains, there is such a sense of calm but also you realise just how small you really are..

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE WORD?

Nemophilist - A haunter of the woods; one who loves the forest and its beauty and solitude.

WHAT LEGACY WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEAVE BEHIND?

Footprints and Photographs.

MEET PHILIP VOLKERS

Renegade photographer Philip Volkers travels far and wide with his camera, notably recording and immersing in modern and ancient festivals. His passion is the documentation of spiritual, hedonistic gatherings, and exploring the meaning behind these with his work.  

Philip seeks to capture moments of heightened consciousness and unity within these environments. In doing so, he hopes to encourage the viewer's inquisitiveness. 
His aim is to produce imagery that is stand-alone in its impact.

He has recently been made a "Visionary photographer" for Olympus cameras which allows him to travel even further. 

His work includes reportage, portraits, nature and extreme sports.

FAVOURITE POEM

I met a traveller from an antique land, 
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, 
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, 
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, 
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, 
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; 
And on the pedestal, these words appear: 
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; 
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! 
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Percy Bysshe Shelley