‘We are nature, and we have to be reciprocal in our behaviour’: Liz Bonnin shares what the UK can learn from Indigenous wisdom

Now in its third season, WWF’s hit Call of the Wild podcast welcomes celebrated wildlife conservationist Liz Bonnin to the mic this week, to share stories of her life growing up with nature, and why restoring people’s physical connection to nature is key to protecting it.

In the lead up to International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9, host Cel Spellman asks Liz how ancient wisdom can guide global conservation – learning that change starts with us on the ground.

Finding comfort in discomfort

In the exclusive interview with WWF, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, Liz opens up about the mental and emotional toll of working on some ‘hard hitting documentaries’. After learning the true impact humans are having on the planet, she admits she sought therapy to help navigate her anxiety.

“We are just so habituated to pushing anything negative away… that anxiety is a ‘problem’ a lot of the time,” she says.

But Liz explains that the so-called ‘negative’ emotions we experience are vital signals that our environment is out of balance. “It's our body saying: I've got you. I'm telling you that something in your environment isn't right… When we learn to lean in and almost embrace those emotions, they become really useful.”

Whether it’s a hug with a tree or the overwhelming thrill of standing by the sea again, Liz describes the regenerative power of water and forests: “You feel it [the energy] if you take a moment, breathe, put your hand on a tree… And when I finally saw the sea again after months away, I got really emotional. Science now shows being by water affects us on a genetic level. It’s all regenerative and healing.”

Growing up wild

Born into a multi-cultural family, Liz’s earliest memories - growing up in the mountains in Southern France with her sister and snorkelling among coral reefs in the Caribbean - laid the foundation for a lifelong bond with the natural world.

“Me, my sister and our two dogs were always outside in the little wood near to our house. There were snakes and spiders and hedgehogs… but I was obsessed with little birds in particular. I used to stare at them for ages wondering how, in something so tiny, could there be a tiny beating heart?”

It paved the way to a colourful career in wildlife: “I was always running around barefoot… seeing these magical coral reefs… I naturally grew up just in love with nature.”

People and nature should come before profit and pollution

Liz warns that the neglect of UK rivers by privatised water companies have had catastrophic consequences for people and wildlife. “Human sewage and agricultural runoff flow freely... It’s absolutely absurd how we’ve manipulated our riverways,” she says.

There are other ways the UK can improve protection of nature - by improving people’s connection to it: “The minute we started to own nature, everything changed. In a region called the Luberon, in the South of France, you can walk through vineyards and fields without signage - open access is normal. Here in the UK, we can do so much better to afford nature to everyone.”

Wisdom of Indigenous communities, and what we can learn from afar

Speaking of her experience working with Indigenous communities, from Ecuador to California, Liz recognises that those communities treat nature as kin, not as a commodity.

“When you ask them why they care for nature, they look at you like, ‘We are nature… so why would we overharvest or block a salmon run that feeds every living thing?’”

Global conservation relies on reciprocity and respect, and Liz stresses that what happens “over there” always matters here.

“As a wildlife biologist, I know everything is interconnected. What happens in the Amazon or in Ecuador affects us in the UK. We need to become custodians of the planet as a whole and support local, lived experience - whether it’s coastal fishers or Northumberland rewilders.”

Change starts with unity on the ground

For Liz, whilst policy and big strategy are critical, personal stories and face-to-face human connection are the ultimate catalysts for action.

“If a tiny fishing village can restore a river with no money, maybe I can do something in my community... Empathy sparks action,” she says.

“The one thing I want to solve is to make the planet healthy again - to solve biodiversity loss, pollution, climate change, species loss. It’s possible. But it requires a human decision to stop chasing profit above all else, and instead take care of nature, so it can take care of us.”