135. Your Backyard at Night: What the Critters Can Teach Us with Topher White

This chat with conservation innovator Topher White will give you a feeling of celebration and wonder. In 2013, he created the ingenious Rainforest Connection, a nonprofit which is helping to preserve biodiversity in 34 countries and counting. And now, he is launching another pioneering technology! But this time, it’s one we can all bring to our own backyards, neighborhoods, and even on vacation. All of that, in the service of making a personal connection with the natural world around us, in fascinating and delightful ways.   00:00 Preview 00:54 Intro & Welcome 02:02Topher’s Bio Topher is a conservation technologist & founder of Rainforest Connection (RFCx). His new project launched in 2022, Squibbon, is a product that allows us to connect with our environment by listening. His accolades include: National Geographic Explorer Rolex Laureate World Economic Forum Young Global Leader 04:42 Topher as an innovator “The day before something is truly a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea” -  Peter H. Diamandis Many of the best ideas in the best space sound bad at first. Getting to the point that something actually works or is executed is a long journey. Best ideas are in high competition spaces. 05:49 High Rainforest Connection The idea originated from listening in rainforests. There’s a lot of sounds originating in the rainforests outside of just animals. The lives and expressions of animals and the way they interact with each other provides rich data. New tools and approached were adopted to use bio acoustics to understand entire ecosystems. Tune into Episode 124 with Rainforest Connection (RFCx) CEO Bourhan Yassin for more on the work being done to connect rainforests in the world. You can listen to the vibrant and amazing sounds of the rainforests via the Rainforest Connection App, available for download in the app stores. Listening to the sounds of nature may be the best but least utilized tool to protect the environment. 07:07 The Squibbon Journey Squibbon is designed to bring the sounds of nature to the consumer market and make what was previously only available for conservationists available to any household. People typically think of the sounds of nature as serenity and relaxation but there’s much more insights available that can matter to the average person’s everyday life. Humans usually interact with nature primarily visually, but now Squibbon offers the opportunity to interact audibly and add much more interaction as hidden creatures & tiny creatures that we may not be able to see can become part of the experience with nature. Human listening is also limited and Squibbon will unlock more sounds that will give much more insights into nature e.g. Prey vs Predator How animals feel Animal movement How animals interact with each other 11:58 Nature isn’t some place we have to go to It’s great for us to enjoy when nature overlaps with us. Wildlife is already part of our day to day lives and we may not notice them while they notice us. The only real conservation is local conservation. Top down approaches to conservation are still dependent on people who are on the ground committed to preservation. Conservation of the environment in your backyard may be more powerful than conservation efforts at the Government, State or Corporate level. Lives can also be enriched by deeper interaction with and conservation of local environments and neighbourhoods. 14:50 Break ...