Reconnection
California, September 2025 – “While growing up in the Pyrenees, I learned that to love (and protect) something, you first have to know it – and to know it, you must connect with it. Back then, my connection was with the mountains around me: the trails I ran, the rivers I crossed, and the forests that felt like home. I grew up with the will to protect them.”
Now, traveling through places I had never been before, I’ve realized that you can create connections anywhere. I’ve seen new landscapes, met new people, and understood challenges different from my own. That has built a new sense of connection, and with it, the will to act and protect not only my home, but all the places I come to know.
This is a question Nopal Reyes often asks in his talks. Nopal is an environmental educator with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. He leads hikes, youth programs, and community activities that show how healthy ecosystems and strong communities go hand in hand. Through these experiences, people leave not just informed, but also more connected to the land and each other.
Nopal explained to us that human life depends on our relationship with the natural world, but today that relationship is disconnected. The climate and environmental crises are proof of that. To repair it, we need to rebuild a deeper connection with nature. During this trip, from high snowy peaks to desert landscapes, we have learned that by connecting with a place, you become part of it – and with that connection comes the will to protect it.
If we take biodiversity loss as an example, the scale of the crisis is clear. Species are disappearing at alarming rates, driven by habitat destruction, climate change, overexploitation, and pollution. But under these drivers lies something more fundamental: our disconnection from nature. When people no longer see themselves as part of the natural world, it becomes easier to exploit it unsustainably. The recent IPBES Transformative Change Assessment highlights this truth but also reminds us that change is possible. One of the most powerful ways forward is to rebuild a respectful and balanced relationship between people and nature – one that strengthens ecosystems and communities at the same time.
At the center of this vision are Indigenous Peoples and local communities, who have long practiced values of care, balance, and interdependence. They look after about 40% of the world’s remaining intact ecosystems and offer examples of how to manage land in ways that combine biodiversity, culture, and spirituality.
In the State of Washington, we arrived at the North Cascades, home to more than 300 glaciers: more than any other area in the U.S. outside Alaska. Here, we met Emma Mary Murray, an environmental artist and teacher. In August 2024, as an artist-in-residence with North Cascade Glacier Project, she visited six glaciers and documented their retreat through textile art flags and installation wall hangings.
The project, led by science director Mauri Pelto and art director Jill Pelto, combines data collection and scientific research with visual art. By translating data into a visually engaging format, Emma and Jill – combining art and science – create a bridge between people and nature. Not only do we see the effects of climate change but we also feel them. Art creates understanding and emotional connection to the landscapes at risk.
In the Pacific Northwest, we also met Roy Nicol, known by his ancestral name De’sh’he’um, an artist from the Nooksack Nation with family ties to the Lummi and Upper Skagit Nations. Roy writes, produces music, and creates Coast Salish visual art. For him, art is a form of self-expression and an inherent cultural right. Together with the Kilian Jornet Foundation, Roy has collaborated to share good practices in the Mount Baker/Kulshan area and connect with the local community. In this spirit, he joined forces with C.J. Carter, Phil Straub, Alyssa Young, and Jayvee Mariano to bring this comic to life, crafted to engage and inspire.
For Roy, art is also a way to keep cultural traditions alive and pass them on to the next generation. Through his art, he helps people feel at home and connected to the land, sharing his culture in ways that encourage respect and inclusion. He also brings Indigenous traditions into outdoor events, creating long-lasting connections.
Around the world, artists are using their work to create a deeper connection with nature and raise awareness of environmental change. Ximena Aguilar Vega, a Mexican polar researcher and artist at the University of Stirling in Scotland, accompanies glaciers in their unfolding language through her Glacier & Ocean Vinyl Series. She translates the movements of ice and water into sound, and she creates an immersive experience that invites people to listen, reflect, and connect emotionally with the planet’s changing landscapes.
Listen to the sound of glaciers
