Spend more of your day experiencing green time and much less of our precious moments engaging in screen time. This was one of the messages that broadcaster Simon Reeve is emphasising on his current tour of the UK. Digital Journal attended the show at the Swan Theatre in High Wycombe.
Reeve, who makes spectacular documentaries for the BBC, is promoting his latest book (Journeys to Impossible Places) as well as his current television series Wilderness.
As well as recounting tales of visiting remote and sometimes dangerous places on our planet, Reeve was keen to discuss the importance of preserving the environment and the importance of protecting and preserving local cultures.
Tales from his Wilderness series included Reeve’s experiences of filming in the Congo and the challenges of navigating Africa’s great rainforest and scaling the glaciers of Patagonia.
For such documentaries, Reeve has received a One World Broadcasting Trust Award for “an outstanding contribution to greater world understanding”.
Reeve also looked back at his adventures in the coral triangle and the incredible diversity of marine life and the opposite extreme of the dry, harsh environment of the Kalahari desert and his close encounters with lions and wildebeest.
Describing tales of being in areas where shots were fired and having experiences where he sustained injuries, Reeve also discusses picking up a rare tropical disease. He also caught malaria on a journey around the Equator. Following this experience, Reeve became an ambassador for the World Health Organisation’s Malaria Awareness Campaign.
In terms of direct action, Reeve encouraged the audience to invest in green and environmentally favourable technologies. He said the single most powerful thing most people could do was to divert their pension funds away from polluting companies or arms manufacturers and towards funds that are more ethical, and which seek to improve the environment or the lives of global citizens.
Reeve also addressed the topic of mental health, recounting his own struggles with depression (which is also a feature of his autobiography called Step by Step: The Life in My Journeys). The solution, for Reeve and which he encouraged others to try, is to broaden one’s horizon. This either takes the form of trying something new, a challenge that takes us beyond our comfort zone.
Alternatively, Reeve suggested, visiting different places and expanding our worldview. While not everyone can afford to travel or they may have mobility issues, there is a lot to explore locally, especially reconnecting with nature.
Walking instead of driving or turning left instead of the usual turn to the right can lead us to see new things and enrich our experiences.
The evening with Simon Reeve was entertaining, informative and inspiring. He is worth catching on his current tour.
