“That's one of the things I like - telling stories of different walks of life and how people found their role in conservation. It's the issue of our age; how we're going to deal with climate change and how we're going to address the rapid loss of species. These stories talk about those challenges, but then also talk about how rewarding it is.”

“Those bears never looked at me. They were just enjoying my demise, you know, bleeding, blue and naked, like some species of sparrow, on top of the little tiny tree.”

“We’re part of nature. We're not above it. We're not separate from it. We are part of it. “

(NICHOLAS SCAPILLATI, HOST, GRIZZCAST) From the Grizzly Bear Foundation, this is GrizzCast. 

[music]

I’m Nicholas Scapillati, the Executive Director of the Grizzly Bear Foundation. 

[sound of footsteps]

Every month in our new podcast, I explore how the fates of humans, grizzly bears, and the natural world are all connected. 

(PHIL TIMPANY, GUEST) I was responsible for a lot of grizzly bear deaths. I feel that I owe them. I'm really trying hard to pay that debt back and also in respect to the animal being so intelligent and so able to understand what coexistence is with me.  

(NICHOLAS) That's one of the things I like - telling stories of different walks of life and how people found their role in conservation. It's the issue of our age--how we're going to deal with climate change, how we're going to address the rapid loss of species. These stories talk about those challenges, but then also talk about how rewarding it is. 

(KEN MACQUISTEN, GUEST) Bears have an incredible sense of humour. They are extraordinarily fun-loving.

(NICHOLAS) We are in one of the longest battles in history to save an iconic symbol of the North American wilderness - the grizzly bear. 

(GILLIAN SANDERS, GUEST) I strongly feel that collaboration is absolutely necessary. Often human/wildlife conflict is not conflict between humans and wildlife. It's a conflict between humans about wildlife.

(NICHOLAS) The stories we tell about the natural world often start with an adventure… Featured in our first episode, we’ll hear from Doug Peacock, a legend when it comes to grizzly bear conservation. …but even legends can have humble beginnings: 

[sound of heavy breathing]

(DOUG PEACOCK, GUEST) When I got to the top of the tree I discovered it wasn't much bigger than a Christmas tree and I’m up on the top naked... and it's cold! The wind is blowing - it’s October. Those bears never looked at me, they were just enjoying my demise, you know, bleeding, blue and naked, like some species of sparrow, on top of the little tiny tree.

(NICHOLAS) The environment shapes our identity - where we’ve come from, who we are and who we will become.

(DAVID QUAMMEN, GUEST) We’re part of nature. We're not above it. We're not separate from it. We are part of it. Sometimes we are the alpha top dog. And sometimes we're just another link on the food chain. 

(NICHOLAS) Join me on a journey to re-envision what it means to be a conservationist, stirring our imagination for how we can all make space for the wild in our lives. 

The Grizzly Bear Foundation is a charitable organization solely dedicated to the welfare of the grizzly bear. 

Listen in, Summer 2020 on Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Spotify. Learn more at grizzcast.grizzlybearfoundation.com.