Access to Inspiration is a not-for-profit podcast dedicated to uplifting and motivating listeners through compelling conversations with extraordinary individuals.
The show features guests from more than 30 countries who have pushed boundaries, explored the unknown, and made significant impacts in their respective areas.
Topics range from business and adventure, to the arts and social change.
Each episode delves into the personal journeys, challenges, and triumphs of these inspiring figures, offering valuable insights and actionable advice.
The Access to Inspiration podcast is more than just a series of interviews; it is a catalyst to inspire change within people across the globe.
Through the powerful stories it shares, the podcast encourages listeners to step into the unknown, embrace challenges, and make meaningful contributions to their own lives and the broader world.
All content for Access to Inspiration is the property of Sue Stockdale and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Access to Inspiration is a not-for-profit podcast dedicated to uplifting and motivating listeners through compelling conversations with extraordinary individuals.
The show features guests from more than 30 countries who have pushed boundaries, explored the unknown, and made significant impacts in their respective areas.
Topics range from business and adventure, to the arts and social change.
Each episode delves into the personal journeys, challenges, and triumphs of these inspiring figures, offering valuable insights and actionable advice.
The Access to Inspiration podcast is more than just a series of interviews; it is a catalyst to inspire change within people across the globe.
Through the powerful stories it shares, the podcast encourages listeners to step into the unknown, embrace challenges, and make meaningful contributions to their own lives and the broader world.
150. Kris Tompkins: Conservation, Leadership and Legacy
Access to Inspiration
38 minutes
5 months ago
150. Kris Tompkins: Conservation, Leadership and Legacy
In this landmark 150th episode, Sue Stockdale talks to Kris Tompkins, one of the world's most prolific conservation philanthropists. Kris shares a powerful, personal perspective on what drives her and urges listeners to ditch the myth of individual powerlessness: “The excuse that ‘I’m just one person’ - that’s the weakest, nonsensical excuse there is. One person, it does matter.”
In the conversation, Tompkins reflects on how her business experience helped shape a vision for nature conservation at scale, highlighting themes of risk-taking, leadership, and the power of direct engagement. She reminds us that the gritty, uncomfortable days in nature often leave the strongest impressions: “I like people being miserable in the national parks - those are the days we remember.”
About Kris Tompkins
Kris Tompkins is the president and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation, and former CEO of Patagonia, Inc. For three decades, she has committed to protecting and restoring wild beauty and biodiversity by creating national parks, inspiring activism, and fostering economic vitality as a result of conservation. Kris and her husband, Doug Tompkins have protected over 15 million acres of parklands in Chile and Argentina through Tompkins Conservation and its partners, making them among the most successful national park oriented philanthropists in history.
Kris served as Patron for Protected Areas for the UN Environmental Programme from 2018 to 2022. The recipient of numerous honours, she was the first conservationist to be awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. Her 2020 TED talk "Lets make the earth wild again" has over two million views.
01:57 Developing a passion for nature 04:29 Challenges and Triumphs in Conservation 11:25 Building Teams and Collaborative Efforts 27:34 The Role of Technology in Conservation 31:22 Reflecting on Successes and Lessons Learned 34:24 Inspiration and Call to Action
Key Quotes
I'm actually inspired and motivated probably more by grief and a kind of yearning, than I am by something that's fabulous and positive.
You can't fall in love with something you don't know.
I like people being miserable in the national parks as those are the days we remember- the days you were freezing.
The excuse that “I’m just one person”. That's the weakest, nonsensical excuse there is. One person, it does matter.
People have to decide that they want to participate in something more than what they currently have in their daily life. They see what's going on in the outside world and they want to do something. And that's a decision. And that's probably the most difficult step of all.
There are people working for nature who need what you're good at. It's the wilfulness that people get stuck on.
Access to Inspiration is a not-for-profit podcast dedicated to uplifting and motivating listeners through compelling conversations with extraordinary individuals.
The show features guests from more than 30 countries who have pushed boundaries, explored the unknown, and made significant impacts in their respective areas.
Topics range from business and adventure, to the arts and social change.
Each episode delves into the personal journeys, challenges, and triumphs of these inspiring figures, offering valuable insights and actionable advice.
The Access to Inspiration podcast is more than just a series of interviews; it is a catalyst to inspire change within people across the globe.
Through the powerful stories it shares, the podcast encourages listeners to step into the unknown, embrace challenges, and make meaningful contributions to their own lives and the broader world.
