On the 22nd November I attended Simon Reeve’s tour and spent the evening with the documentarian who travels the globe reporting on otherwise unseen environments and the people who inhabit them.
I have avidly watched his television programs and was excited to have the opportunity to listen and understand more about our changing planet, and the impact humans have on the natural world.
Reeve played to a packed King’s Lynn Corn Exchange and started off the talk by speaking about “Wilderness”, the BBC series where he travels to extreme environments that range from tundras to deserts.
In his show, Simon describes his experiences reporting for the BBC with a mixture of video montage and conversation.
He enthusiastically shared useful items of equipment he relies on in his ventures to jungles or sub-zero climates, and proudly introduced the spell bound audience to his famous scarf.
He vicariously takes the audience to the four corners of the Earth, the Congolese rainforest, the Kalahari Desert, the Siberian Tundra and the Arctic wastes.
Reeve gives a first-hand description of the noticeable impact of climate change on ecosystems he has encountered.
Simon shared cautionary stories of starved Finnish reindeers who cannot reach food through thawed and re frozen snow covering their ground lichen, and the disbelief shared by an Amazon tribe leader at deforestation, sharing that if we harm trees, we are harming ourselves.
The show then shifted to Simon’s thoughts on climate change and how we should encourage “green pensions” by ensuring that pension funds do not invest in polluting industries nor hydrocarbons.
Simon encourages each of us to explore our world even in small ways- by taking a walk or riding a bike.
He repeated his mantra, “Less screen time, more green time!” to an appreciative audience captivated by Simon’s natural warmth, enthusiasm and honesty.
His show never lost energy, watching it was a thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking experience.
