Living in Two Worlds - A talk for our times
Thu Nov 2, 18:00 - Thu Nov 2, 20:00
Beacon Island Resort, Lagoon Room
ABOUT
Humans have become the most influential species on the planet, and the impacts of our activities and behaviour are becoming increasingly visible. Whether talking about deadly wildfires, rising carbon and temperature levels, ongoing habitat loss, increasing income disparity or social disorder for example, the current global crises are concerning for each one of us and our communities.
Join Eden to Addo on 2nd November 2023 in discussion with Ian Michler and Ian McCallum on their new best-selling book ‘Living in Two Worlds – Addressing Humanity’s Greatest Challenge’. Both Ian’s are well-known in African conservation, ecotourism and environmental spheres as they have been working in these sectors for a number of decades. The authors explore these issues using multiple vignettes and their shared concern for the fate and welfare of wild animals and habitats of the world. In these explorations, fact – backed by solid research – meets philosophy to form a compelling and undeniable call to action. The book also addresses the urgency of the need for self-examination, for a willingness to be disturbed and with it, a renewed perspective of human co-existence with all living things. These answers will determine the fate of our existence on the only home we know – our planet Earth.
Ian Michler will start the evening with a short presentation laying out the world’s current state, and this will be followed by Rhian Berning, CEO of Eden to Addo, conducting a panel discussion with the authors. There will be plenty of Q&A time at the end. For anyone interested or concerned about humanity’s future, this is an event not to be missed!
Books will be on sale and the authors will be available for book signing. All proceeds from ticket sales will go towards Eden to Addo’s conservation work in protecting and restoring biodiversity from Robberg Nature Reserve through the Robberg Coastal Corridor to the Garden of Eden and all the way to Addo Elephant Park. A percentage of book sales will also go to Eden to Addo’s work.
Tickets are R200 and include a welcome drink. There will be a cash bar. Optional a la carte dinner at the Beacon Island following the talk.
Comments on ‘Living in Two Worlds’:
“This is about your future written by two of the sanest, most lyrical writers on nature and our impact on it.”
– Don Pinnock
“Delivered by two masterful and multi-disciplined writers and storytellers, it is a book for our time.” – Vance Martin, WILD Foundation
Ian Michler is a graduate of the Sustainability Institute at Stellenbosch University and has spent over 32 years working across Africa as a tourism operator, environmental photojournalist, and ecotourism consultant. He has published several natural history and travel books on Africa and his conservation and travel writing has appeared in publications around the world. He is well-known for his conservation work, including the award-winning feature documentary Blood Lions, and co-founding Invent Africa Safaris.
Ian McCallum is a medical doctor, psychiatrist, and analyst. He is the author of two anthologies of wilderness poetry – Wild Gifts (1999) and Untamed (2012). His book Ecological Intelligence – Rediscovering Ourselves in Nature won the Wild Literary Award in 2009. In collaboration with renowned sculptor, Dylan Lewis, he was the writer/poet for the Mail & Guardian award-winning ‘UNTAMED’ exhibition at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens (2010–2012). He is a former rugby Springbok and co-founder with Ian Michler of Invent Africa, a safari and travel organisation.
Rhian Berning is an environmental activist and visionary, passionate about the interconnection of all life and the solutions and innovations leading us to a regenerative and socially just culture. She is presently focussing on the importance of connectivity, biodiversity and resilience in her role as CEO of the Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative. She is also the founder of Eco Atlas, an online platform which empowers active citizens with the information needed to vote with their daily choices for a better world. In 2019 she was awarded the Eco-Angel Award in the Eco-Logic Awards presided over by the Minister of Environmental Affairs, in recognition of her life’s work in the fields of environmental education, awareness and activism.