Wilderness Community Events

To venture into Wilderness together physically is not always possible. But thanks to modern technology, we could still share the experience of Wilderness and get carried away to Wilderness areas around the world. The presentations in this segment are dedicated to the many Wilderness areas around the world and the local communities that experience, protect, and look after them. They offer first-hand impressions in the form of live-streams, virtual tours, and Wilderness documentaries.

International Wildlife Project – Dr. Mahesh Sanzgiri, Parle Tilak Vidhyalaya Marathi Medium Primary and Secondary School principal and school students

Professionally I am Consultant in the field of ISO,Pharma formalities such as cGMP, WHO, USFDA, European Standards etc.,Management especilly in Brand Positioning,Market Survey and Market Research,Materials and Warehouse Management and HRD. I am Scientist in the field of Chemistry and Wildlife. I am M.Sc.,P.hD in Organic Chemistry with post graduation in Marketing and Systems Management . I have business in consultancy of my own firm called “DYNAMIC MANAGMENT SERVICES” and due to love for nature and wildlife, I am also having a business in ” Wildlife Tourism” called “Nilkanth Wildlife Safaris.” I started with “International Wildlife Project” in 2018 for school students from 3rd to 10th grade. I started with my own school “Parle Tilak Vidhyalaya Marathi Medium Primary and Secondary School” and because of now retired Principal Gade Madam’s continuous efforts by convincing parents of students selected by me by taking exam, and personal participation in various activities such as Nature Trails, Visits to Exhibitions, Tree Planting programmes arranged by organizations like Forest Dept., WWF etc., Beach Cleaning, Participation of students in Webinars, Lectures, Slide Illustrated talks by Naturalists , Scientists and Govt. Officers on various subjects related to Nature and Wildlife. In this presentation, school children of all ages share their impressions about participation in the “International Wildlife project”.

Mission Reforestation – Nicholas Scaturro

My name is Nick, the proud Founder of Wooden Journey. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to read about us. I started this company to truly make the world a greener and better place. Wooden Journey is on a mission to plant one trillion trees/native fauna and conserve 1 million acres around the world in order to help curb climate change. Here at Wooden Journey we believe that by uniting people like you, we can reforest the world and we can truly create the sustainable world we all deserve to prosper together free of climate change. I’m on a mission to make that possible. Together. Our community of over 70,000 members strong is the place where people can join and work together in order to make the world a greener place. There’s enough negativity in the world with the issues at hand. Lets make our own results. Saving the environment is ours for the taking. We just need to keep uniting together. In his talk, Nick presents the mission, goals and current progress of the Wooden Journey.

School students participation in Wildlife Education in India – Dr. Mahesh Sanzgiri, Parle Tilak Vidhyalaya Marathi Medium Primary and Secondary School principal and school students

Professionally I am Consultant in the field of ISO,Pharma formalities such as cGMP, WHO, USFDA, European Standards etc.,Management especilly in Brand Positioning,Market Survey and Market Research,Materials and Warehouse Management and HRD. I am Scientist in the field of Chemistry and Wildlife. I am M.Sc.,P.hD in Organic Chemistry with post graduation in Marketing and Systems Management . I have business in consultancy of my own firm called “DYNAMIC MANAGMENT SERVICES” and due to love for nature and wildlife, I am also having a business in ” Wildlife Tourism” called “Nilkanth Wildlife Safaris.” In this interesting workshop, school children of all ages presented different topics. They told us about national parks in India, the animals that can be found there. Also they showed us models of water saving, Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai, Kaziranga National Park and Tiger reserve and Flamingo Bird Sanctuary of Airoli, New Mumbai. All of the presentations were very colourful, cheerful and engaging, it was nice to see children so dedicated to Wilderness!

Carpathian Biosphere Reserve and its Wilderness – Carpathian Biosphere Reserve employees

Carpathian Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve that was established as a nature reserve in 1968 and became part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO in 1992. Since 2007 bigger portion of the reserve along with some territories of the Uzh River National Park was listed with the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe. Located in the eastern parts of the Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine it consists of six separate preservation massifs and two botanic zakazniks (Chorna Hora and Yulivska Hora) with a total area of 57,880 hectares (143,000 acres). The greatest part of the reserve is covered by virgin forests. Carpathian Biosphere Reserve employees present their beautiful protected area and answer participants’ questions.

Discussion with Mindaugas Survila, author of documentary “The Ancient Woods”

Filmed in one of the last remaining patches of old growth forest in Lithuania, “The Ancient Woods” is a place where the boundaries of time melt and everything that exists does not wither or age but “grows into” eternity. A poetic and atypical nature film takes its viewers on the endless journey – from the forest thickets to the wolves’ caves and up to black stork’s nest, and then deep into the water to the underwater forest, returning after to the human beings inhabiting the edge of the woodland. There is no commentary, only rich, almost palpable sounds of the forest and the magical situations captured by the camera. The film gently erases the line separating the human and natural lives, interweaving them into a single poetic story. Its style and narrative brings it close to a fantasy tale. The “Ancient Woods” was shot using original climbing and diving equipment, which enriched the cinematic language with a variety of camera angles and shots. After the movie, the author talked about the movie making process, shared his ideas for future projects and answered questions from the audience.

Discussion with Erik Balaž, author of the documentary “Wolf Mountains”

This is the story of one of the last wildernesses in Europe, where each creature plays its role in the eternal cycle of life and death. This land was known in the past as the „Wolf Mountains“. For three years, Slovak filmmaker of wild nature Erik Baláž, together with his friends Karol Kaliský and Jozef Fiala, trekked the length and breadth of the mountains and forests of Eastern Carpathians, a region that straddles Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine. They were searching for elusive wolves and other extraordinary animals, which share this territory. This film offers a journey back to times, when the European wilderness was truly a wild and living organic entity. It also offers a chance to look into the eyes of the creatures, with which we used to live in our common past. This is the life in the “Wolf Mountains”. In this discussion, the author of the movie tells more about the film making and answers questions from the audience.

Ancient Beech Forests of Germany – Simon Straetker

Simon Straetker together with his colleague Joshi Nichell presents their movie “European Wilderness – Ancient Beech Forests of Germany”. Session consists of introduction and Q&A session.

Discussion with Ben Hamilton, “The meaning of Wild” director

Ben Hamilton is an award-winning conservation film director, cinematographer, and the founder of Wild Agency. For the past decade, he has traveled the globe capturing stories about wild places for clients like National Geographic, BBC, Smithsonian, and a host of non-profits. Ben has made a career translating complex conservation issues to global audiences and works tirelessly to deliver impact for his clients. At Wild Agency, he designs innovative video campaigns that help conservationists break through the noise online while moving audiences to action. Ben is a recent father, an avid adventurer, and a filmmaker ready to follow stories to the edge of the planet while ensuring they deliver impact on screen at home. In this discussion, Ben presents his movie, his upcoming work and answers questions from the audience.

Wilderness in Estonia – Aivar Ruukel

Aivar Ruukel is a founder of nature guided tour company Soomaa.com in Estonia and is also an employee in Soomaa National Park. In his presentation Aivar presents the beautiful and varied nature of Estonia and it’s peculiarity – fifth season.

Excursion into Slovak Wilderness – Vlado Vancura

Vlado Vancura has 30 years of Nature – and Wilderness related experience in many different countries. Among others: US National Park Service, Parks Canada and Manager in Tatra National Park in Slovakia. Now: vice-chairman of the European Wilderness Society, based in Slovakia. As a Wilderness expert, he plays a crucial role in designating Wilderness in Europe. Vlado presents the beautiful Wilderness of Slovakia.

Flagship species in threatened areas – Marc Dragiewicz

I am a biologist and a new father.  I have worked over 20 years as a fishery observer in Alaska’s Bering Sea as well as the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the USA.  I’ve spent over 5 years abroad volunteering with scientific studies and conservation projects primarily in the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon, Ecuadorian Choco, and the peat swamps forests of Borneo.  In 2012 I married my wife Denise and we started Eyes of the World Films, a non-profit organization that produces documentary films on conservation and social justice and produces video material in cooperation with grass-roots organizations involved in conservation. A flagship species is simply the use of a particular charismatic or spectacular species as a symbol to protect an entire ecosystem.  This strategy began with the mountain gorilla, and has now spread and evolved in use to other apes and primates and beyond through the kingdom of life to birds, frogs, insects, and plants.  I invite you on a quick trip around the world to explore different uses of flagship species in conservation in some very special wild places.