The Histories and Stories of Nature
Nature. It boasts as a knowledge hub, as well as a space of serenity. It gives room to reconnect with the earth, and this, almost deliberately, makes us want to protect and nurture it. If you don’t believe so, just ask Giulia Gasparrini, a storyteller from Monaco, who understands all too well the deep connection we have with the earth.
Giulia may well be a conduit through which people around the world can connect with nature both near and far from them. Through her podcast, Terra Stories, she has opened up a vibrant repository of histories and stories of nature. In an authentic way, she’s our definition of what we mean when we say “SHE Changes Climate”.
Giulia spoke with our Head of Communications, Natalie Sifuma, about this unique yet vibrant way of bringing people from around the world onto a platform where they can share the stories and histories tied to nature.
Giulia Gasparrini
Natalie: There is so much power in names, and a few years ago I came to understand that the names we've given, and even those we give (to things we own, to pets, to projects) hold a lot of significance. Terra loosely translates to land - or earth. What inspired you to start a podcast and name it Terra Stories?
Giulia: I think that one of our roles on Earth is to tell stories and be the voice of living things we can't hear, see or talk to. Our earliest ancestors told each other stories to pass on their culture and important knowledge; many Indigenous Communities still do this magnificently. Stories are a simple and exciting way for the soul to learn, evolve, grow, and make sense of life and living or non-living things, once again. They have a great power that can make hope blossom and inspire positive action just as they can foster fear. Adding it to « Terra » was a way of encompassing the stories of the world that speak of her. « Terra » is the Latin and Italian for « Earth », « Planet Earth » is « Pianeta Terra » in Italian; « Terra Matter » in Latin: « Mother Earth ». I haven't traced my ancestry back that far, but I assume they spoke Latin at some point in our history - and of course, Italian - Italy, where my family comes from. It's a long story, but my great-grandparents immigrated to the South of France because there wasn't much work in Italy and, as a little anecdote, my mother met my father when she went to visit cousins in Siena. So it's a way for me to talk to my roots, which I love so much. What is also interesting here is that « Terra » also means « the ground », « the land », it's the nourishing Earth, from it, everything takes shape, vegetation grows, it supports life and our first ancestors set foot on it millions of years ago.”
Natalie: So in essence our ancestors were great communicators because they used a relatable medium to pass on knowledge but also to bring people together... and that's what Terra Stories is doing: connecting people from different parts of the world.
How are you able to identify and engage with your features? (do you refer to them as features or guests or?)
Giulia: I believe that we are all connected to a vision of the world that is unique to us, that we have inherited from our ancestors, from the people around us and that can come from our very essence. Deep down, I also know that these visions, in their authenticity and uniqueness, brought together, can change the world. Because the people in my environment and I can't take the necessary step back that people who have grown up on the other side of the world with a totally different way of life can. And it reminds me of a discussion I had with Asmita, who comes from Nepal. We were talking about forests and she was describing hers to me, talking about the monkeys that live there. I told her that there were no monkeys in the forests where I live. She replied: "And what are your forests like, then? and this ingenuity in discovering others and their story allows you to travel with your soul, be inspired, and create beautiful things. In my search for guests, I'd like to say that there's a bit of chance, perhaps synchronicity. I can meet people, on social media or by doing a bit of research, whom I feel have a certain connection with nature through the culture in which they grew up, their profession, or their hobby. And when there's that connection, and that's what I want to show through Terra Stories, there are stories to be told.
Natalie: This is wonderful to know.... and given the aspect of connection, what is your Terra story?
PS: I know that as storytellers and story harvesters, we aren't often used to being the ones asked the same questions we ask the people we are speaking to, but I'm curious to know what aspect of the earth spoke to you at a time in your life, or speaks to you today.
Giulia: I was lucky enough to grow up close to nature: for the first time in my life, I opened my eyes just a few minutes from the Mediterranean Sea. The beauty of French is that "mère" means "mother" and "mer" means "sea", so they are pronounced the same. For me, these words are as close in sound as they are in meaning. I spent my summers in the mountains in my grandparents' chalet in the French Alps, and I remember the smell of sap sticking to my hair after spending too many hours building huts under the fir trees, and the lavender I picked for my grandmother to make bouquets of. On my father's side, my grandparents had a house in Tuscany where they grew their olive trees to make their own olive oil and their vegetable garden, and I remember the smell of tomatoes on my hands; I didn't like this smell, it was strange. So, I've always had this connection with nature, but let's just say that my education didn't allow me to see it as anything other than a setting that I liked and enjoyed. The spiritual link I now have with nature, which I think is the one that motivated me to act for it, began in my third year of higher education. I came across a course entitled "Environmental Economics" and, thanks to my readings and a fascinating professor, I became aware of our impact on the environment, I started to see our anthropocentric worldview, and I had the trigger that would make me commit my personal and professional life to environmental and social justice. I then started working for nature protection organizations and, accompanied by these people who live nature to the very depths of their being, I began to understand how essential nature is, how much it is our medicine when we're not feeling well, and how much it is our temple. When you think that we’ve spent millions of years in the wilderness and very few in the middle of cities, you understand that there's an instinct in us that will always push us towards it. I started multiplying my experiences in nature and swimming in the sea throughout the year. I realized underwater that no other place, person, or situation does me as much good, that it's a world where time stands still, where I forget who I am, and where my ego falls silent. It was there that I remembered that she has given me so much, that she is always there by my side, that she is part of me and I'm part of her, and that my mission is to protect her.
Natalie: Indeed mother earth gives so much to us, even more than we actually acknowledge. But I also see how your childhood experiences and the natural 'resources' accessible to you allowed you to inadvertently be understanding or at least aware of nature.
I attended an aromatherapy workshop not too long ago and it gave me a greater understanding of green life on land. Some time back I was doing research on traditional herbs that were used by Kenyan communities years back and one finding was how some pharmaceutical industries have disregarded these traditional remedies, which in my view are more beneficial to our bodies than the everyday over the counter medications we buy.
But I digress… When you think about the future of our planet, what comes to mind -- especially in the context of hope?
Giulia: I love it. My mother studied phytotherapy and aromatherapy; thanks to her, I've been treating myself almost exclusively with plants for several years now. It shows us that we can find everything we need in nature, it allows us to reconnect with it, and with our ancestors who healed themselves in this way. I call my mother a "witch", even if today the term has a pejorative connotation, especially because of what happened in history during what we called "heresies". A witch, in my opinion, is a person who has ancestral knowledge of plants, who heals, who understands the body, and the spirit, and who associates it with the properties of nature. And to tie in with your question, I see this in our future: a world full of witches! Metaphorically speaking, by this I mean people who are connected to their body, mind, and nature, who are becoming increasingly autonomous, who heal themselves with plants, who cultivate their garden, and who look after their community. I recently read a book by a French author, Pierre Rabhi, that I loved, entitled The Power Of Restraint. It sums up exactly what I see and what our world needs: minimalism, sobriety, and finding happiness in the little things of everyday life, the things we don’t see but are so valuable. Because I believe that individual happiness is what can save the world. The happiness of growing your own plants and seeing your first tomatoes grow, watching a sunset, walking in the forest, reading, creating, sharing a moment with a loved one, listening to birdsong,… Far from the happiness that our consumer society promises us, a fictitious happiness that makes us fade. I see fewer and fewer big cities, but small villages where nature has reclaimed its rights. I see a society where femininity has as much value as masculinity, and where the two energies are in perfect balance. I see a lot of sharing, altruism, and benevolence. I definitely don't imagine the catastrophic scenarios that the film industry has been showing us since we were children, with robots taking over the world or our life on Mars! The robots of the future that I imagine are just a distant memory of a sick society. Perhaps I'm living in the hope of a utopia? But that's what keeps me going, imagining a future for humanity. There will be a return to our roots, I'm sure of it, and if people don't believe in that, I can believe in it for them.
Natalie: Thanks Giulia. I've learned A LOT from you, and for that I am eternally grateful.
