Elliot Conner

Guest

My life’s goal is to reframe the human relationship with nature, to which end I live a vision-oriented lifestyle. I am the founder and CEO of Human Nature Projects, an international environmental NGO which supports volunteers across 104 countries. Yet my theory of change is holistic in scope, encompassing my roles as TED speaker, author, podcast host and filmmaker, and much else besides.

My mission is to develop a model for mass individualism: empowering future leaders to find their potential, connecting the connectors and generating grassroots impact globally. From Quito, Ecuador to Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa to quiet Sydney suburbs I’m applying my leadership acumen and systems thinking to solve the most pressing issues of our 21st century.

I’ve built a science lab in my basement, trained in historical broadsword technique, filled a bathtub with origami fish and countless other mad projects over the years. However, if not already clear, then it must be said that environmentalism is my enduring passion: I’ve baited bandicoots with peanut butter, been stalked by a leopard in Botswana, given flying lessons to owls and played chicken with vultures… too many wonderful animal experiences to name, so my favourite topic to talk about would certainly have to be nature. More specifically, I focus on conservation optimism, and on repositioning ourselves as the human species within the animal kingdom. “When we look at nature, we see ourselves.”

I’m blessed to have lived a full and fulfilling life to my present age at 17, but the stand-out journey for me has been the creation of my charity Human Nature Projects over the 12 months. From the seed of an idea whilst lodged in a castle in Southern France in bleak midwinter to the present date with over one hundred countries involved, a burgeoning community and multiplying impact- it has been a story of my life transformed, and (I hope) many others alongside it. I’ve had a roller-coaster of a ride from my prior introverted self to speaking out on the global stage, expressing my vision, realizing it and everything that entails.
Podcast
https://anchor.fm/elliot-connor