150. Kris Tompkins: Conservation, Leadership and Legacy

In this landmark 150th episode, Sue Stockdale talks to Kris Tompkins, one of the world's most prolific conservation philanthropists.  Kris shares a powerful, personal perspective on what drives her and urges listeners to ditch the myth of individual powerlessness: “The excuse that ‘I’m just one person’ - that’s the weakest, nonsensical excuse there is. One person, it does matter.” In the conversation, Tompkins reflects on how her business experience helped shape a vision for nature conservation at scale, highlighting themes of risk-taking, leadership, and the power of direct engagement. She reminds us that the gritty, uncomfortable days in nature often leave the strongest impressions: “I like people being miserable in the national parks - those are the days we remember.” About Kris Tompkins Kris Tompkins is the president and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation, and former CEO of Patagonia, Inc. For three decades, she has committed to protecting and restoring wild beauty and biodiversity by creating national parks, inspiring activism, and fostering economic vitality as a result of conservation. Kris and her husband, Doug Tompkins have protected over 15 million acres of parklands in Chile and Argentina through Tompkins Conservation and its partners, making them among the most successful national park oriented philanthropists in history. Kris served as Patron for Protected Areas for the UN Environmental Programme from 2018 to 2022. The recipient of numerous honours, she was the first conservationist to be awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. Her 2020 TED talk "Lets make the earth wild again" has over two million views.   Find out more about Kris Tompkins and the work of Tompkins Conservation : Rewilding Argentina : Rewilding Chile :Trailer for National Geographic documentary - Wild Life  Time Stamps 01:57 Developing a passion for nature  04:29 Challenges and Triumphs in Conservation 11:25 Building Teams and Collaborative Efforts 27:34 The Role of Technology in Conservation 31:22 Reflecting on Successes and Lessons Learned 34:24 Inspiration and Call to Action Key Quotes  I'm actually inspired and motivated probably more by grief and a kind of yearning, than I am by something that's fabulous and positive. You can't fall in love with something you don't know. I like people being miserable in the national parks as those are the days we remember- the days you were freezing.The excuse that “I’m just one person”. That's the weakest, nonsensical excuse there is. One person, it does matter.People have to decide that they want to participate in something more than what they currently have in their daily life. They see what's going on in the outside world and they want to do something. And that's a decision. And that's probably the most difficult step of all. There are people working for nature who need what you're good at. It's the wilfulness that people get stuck on.  Connect with Access to Inspiration: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Read our Impact Report and if you would like to support us then Buy Me A Coffee Producer: Sue Stockdale   Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/access-to-inspiration--4156820/support.