Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Picture this.
We're driving over a mountain pass along the Southern highway on our last day in Patagonia.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Snow beginning to fall as we head towards the airport.
What started as gentle flakes has turned.
[00:00:14] Speaker A: Into a full storm, blanketing the road and surrounding mountains in a fresh layer of white.
[00:00:21] Speaker B: There, grazing calmly beside the highway, are.
[00:00:25] Speaker A: Two of the most endangered danger deer in South America. The Wamul.
I never heard of them before this trip. They look almost mythical standing in the.
[00:00:34] Speaker B: Swirling snow, stocky and sure footed, perfectly adapted to these harsh mountain environments.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: That moment crystallized something I've been feeling.
[00:00:48] Speaker B: Throughout our entire journey through Chile's Rudolph parks of Patagonia.
Here we were witnessing one of the.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Rarest wildlife encounters in South America. And it happened by pure chance on a roadside during a snowstorm.
Every landscape we explored, from the puma.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: Territories of Torres del Paine to the.
[00:01:08] Speaker A: Ancient alerce cathedrals of Pumalin, told the same profound story.
We are living through one of the.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: Most extraordinary moments in Earth's history.
Welcome back to Rebotology.
[00:01:24] Speaker A: I'm Brooke Mitchell and today we're concluding our journey through Chile's remarkable route of parks of Patagonia.
[00:01:31] Speaker B: But not in the way you might expect.
Instead of summarizing what we've learned, I want to take you back to the moments that changed how I see the world.
Because that's what this journey has really been about.
Not only documenting a conservation success story, but discovering how profoundly these landscapes can transform anyone willing to truly see them.
It started with Repestre that afternoon in.
[00:02:03] Speaker A: Torres del Paine when we rounded a.
[00:02:05] Speaker B: Bend and there she was, one of South America's most powerful predators, completely at ease with our presence.
[00:02:13] Speaker A: Nicolas Lagos had told me that pumas.
[00:02:15] Speaker B: And Torres del Paine behave differently than.
[00:02:17] Speaker A: Anywhere else in the world. They're visible, relaxed, curious about humans rather than fearful.
But experiencing it yourself, locking eyes with a wild puma who chooses to stay.
[00:02:29] Speaker B: Rather than flee, that changes you at a cellular.
[00:02:38] Speaker A: What struck me in that moment was.
[00:02:40] Speaker B: How profound this particular dynamic felt.
[00:02:42] Speaker C: They are interacting more than we thought. Actually. We have seen here groups of 10 or 12 Pumas, different Pumas, females with calves, independent cubs from other litters, adults, males, all of them interacting in a kind of peaceful way. This opens also another book for the pumas, because you realize that they have a cognition. They are able to recognize other individuals and make decisions based on their previous experiences.
[00:03:17] Speaker A: I've been to other places where big.
[00:03:19] Speaker B: Cats are comfortable around humans in protected areas, but rupestries seem to embody something deeper.
We often Think of protected areas as.
[00:03:28] Speaker A: Places where we graciously allow wildlife to exist.
But she was actively choosing to allow.
[00:03:34] Speaker B: Us to enter her world, demonstrating a level of confidence and agency that speaks.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: To just how successful conservation in Torres del Paine has become.
This revelation deepened during our time with.
[00:03:52] Speaker B: Darwin's rhea breeding program.
[00:03:55] Speaker A: Watching Alejandro work with those gangly, impossibly.
[00:03:58] Speaker B: Vulnerable chicks, I kept thinking about scale and time.
[00:04:03] Speaker A: Here was someone dedicating years of her.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: Life to a species most people have never heard of, in a landscape that.
[00:04:10] Speaker A: Was written off as degraded and worthless just decades ago.
[00:04:15] Speaker B: But those rhea chicks aren't just cute.
[00:04:17] Speaker A: Birds learning to survive in the wild.
[00:04:19] Speaker B: They're ecosystem engineers.
Their grazing patterns, their seed dispersal, their role as prey, all of it helps maintain the grassland community that supports everything from tiny insects to pumas.
[00:04:32] Speaker D: We have liberated 130 animals now, and we have been seen only monitoring that we've been able to make a change. We've been seeing a lot of reproduction, more males trying to follow the babies and more dispersion through along the territory.
[00:04:53] Speaker E: So.
[00:04:53] Speaker D: So we can see that something is happening, that we're doing something right. But we need to confirm it.
[00:04:59] Speaker A: Alejandra wasn't just saving a species.
She was rebuilding the intricate web of relationships that make a landscape truly alive.
[00:05:09] Speaker B: Then came the glaciers flying over the southern Patagonian ice field. Seeing the vast expanse of ancient ice stretching to the horizon, witnessing gray glacier.
[00:05:21] Speaker A: That's when the timeline of everything we've.
[00:05:23] Speaker B: Been discussing suddenly became real.
What Ines helped me understand transformed how I see these retreating glaciers.
Yes, they're melting at unprecedented rates, but.
[00:05:35] Speaker A: They'Re simultaneously revealing landscapes that haven't seen sunlight for thousands of years.
[00:05:41] Speaker B: Pioneer species colonize these raw spaces.
New ecosystems begin to emerge.
The story of these glaciers hold both.
[00:05:50] Speaker A: Loss and renewal in the same frame.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: Destruction.
[00:05:53] Speaker A: Creating space for unexpected possibilities.
[00:05:56] Speaker F: Let's put ourselves in the worst scenario. We lose all the ice, or most of the ice in Patagonia. It will have consequences. Like every change has consequences. But if we see the good side, these ice will disappear and it will leave space free for new species to colonize. And the planet and nature is so plastic, it will find a way. And there and trees will come and we will have a different landscape than what we are using now. We will lose these beautiful ices coming up to the sea as we see them today. But nature will find a way.
[00:06:35] Speaker B: This paradox of destruction and creation happening.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: Simultaneously became the lens through which I.
[00:06:42] Speaker B: Started seeing the entire root of parks.
These aren't static museums, preserving a pristine Past, they're dynamic laboratories where evolution continues, where species adapt, where ecosystems reorganize themselves in response to changing conditions.
At CapeForward, where two oceans meet, Gabby.
[00:07:09] Speaker A: Walked me along the beach where ancient forests descend directly into the sea.
She explained how the kelp forests just offshore create underwater cities that support marine life. How whales navigate through these convergent waters, and how the trees here have adapted to salt spray and ocean winds.
[00:07:29] Speaker B: This place embodies the interconnection between terrestrial and marine worlds, ecosystems that evolve together.
[00:07:37] Speaker A: At this dramatic meeting point of the.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: Atlantic and the Pacific, and not also.
[00:07:42] Speaker G: Here in Marallanes, but through the whole route of the park to get people to understand that everything is connected.
The view, even just the kelp forest line a couple hundred meters.
It is very important because it's on this transition from the kelp forest to this forest where you have the most diversity, species diversity. It's called the Echebron.
[00:08:19] Speaker A: And in the wetlands of the Molly.
[00:08:21] Speaker B: River basin, the team at Lagado, Chile, taught me that conservation isn't always about pristine wilderness.
Sometimes it's about working landscapes where people.
[00:08:30] Speaker A: And nature have been intertwined for generations.
[00:08:33] Speaker B: The Wayne they're working to protect doesn't need untouched habitat. It needs clean water, intact riverbanks and communities that see its value.
[00:08:43] Speaker H: What's important about what we do is we try to do it always in a holistic way and with different disciplines. Like, it's not only conservation, it's also, but it's also, with the help of education, also relating with the community. So we need different professionals for that.
[00:09:02] Speaker B: Here's what I didn't expect when I started this journey. I thought I was documenting a Chilean story.
But what I discovered was a blueprint for planetary healing that's applicable anywhere people are trying to repair their relationship with the living world.
The Root of Parks of Patagonia succeeds because it operates on multiple levels.
Beyond protecting charismatic species and beautiful landscapes.
[00:09:25] Speaker A: Though it certainly does both of those.
[00:09:27] Speaker B: The project demonstrates a completely different way of thinking about conservation, development and human prosperity.
Let me break this down because I think this framework could transform conservation efforts worldwide.
First, think in corridors, not islands.
Traditional protected areas often function like ecological islands, small patches of protected habitat surrounded by human dominated landscapes. But real ecosystems don't respect their boundaries.
[00:09:58] Speaker A: They require connectivity to function.
[00:10:01] Speaker B: The genius of Patagonia's Root of Parks is that it protects entire gradients. From sea level to mountain peaks, from temperate rainforests to arid steppes. Animals can migrate seasonally. Plants can shift their ranges as climate changes and ecological processes can operate at their natural scales.
This corridor approach isn't just good for wildlife, it's essential for climate resilience.
As Ines showed us with the glaciers. The places where we're going to see.
[00:10:31] Speaker A: The most dramatic changes are the transition zones.
[00:10:34] Speaker B: Where forest meets grassland, where freshwater meets saltwater, where mountains meet plains.
By protecting these gradients, the rood of parks preserves nature's capacity to adapt.
Second, make local communities conservation partners, not obstacles.
This might be the most revolutionary aspect of the root of Park's approach.
Instead of treating local people as threats to conservation, it recognizes them as essential partners.
Think about what we saw at Estancia Cerriguito, where traditional ranching coexists with puma.
[00:11:08] Speaker A: Conservation and wildlife tourism, or the indigenous.
[00:11:11] Speaker B: Communities that Cape Forward who are being included as co managers of the new national park.
This approach represents strategic brilliance beyond feel good inclusivity. Protected areas surrounded by hostile communities don't survive long term.
When local people benefit directly from conservation, through employment, education, sustainable tourism, ecosystem services, they become its strongest defenders.
Third, restoration is as important as protection.
[00:11:44] Speaker A: The Darwin's REIA program crystallized something crucial for me.
[00:11:48] Speaker B: In a world where so many ecosystems.
[00:11:50] Speaker A: Have already been changed, conservation can't only be about preserving what's left.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: We need to actively heal what's been broken.
The rood of Park's approach to restoration demonstrates remarkable sophistication.
[00:12:04] Speaker A: Rather than trying to recreate some mythical.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Past, this work helps ecosystems reorganize themselves for an uncertain future.
This is restoration designed for the Anthropocene. Acknowledging that human influence is permanent, but.
[00:12:19] Speaker A: Choosing to make that influence healing rather than harmful.
[00:12:26] Speaker B: Fourth, climate action through conservation.
Those ilearse trees storing three times more carbon per hectare than the Amazon. That's not just a cool fact, it's a climate solution.
The temperate rainforests of Pumalin, the grasslands of Patagonia national park, the wetlands of the Moline river basin, all of these ecosystems are massive carbon sinks.
The root of parks extends far beyond carbon storage alone.
[00:12:54] Speaker A: These protected areas preserve natural climate regulation systems.
[00:12:58] Speaker B: Forests that create rainfall, wetlands that buffer storms, intact watersheds that prevent floods and droughts.
This integration of climate action with biodiversity.
[00:13:09] Speaker A: Conservation represents the future of environmental policy.
We can't solve climate change and the biodiversity crisis separately.
[00:13:18] Speaker B: They're the same crisis requiring integrated solutions.
[00:13:23] Speaker F: I see a huge opportunity in this, OMGs and foundations that are that are focusing on conservation to help on the development of the science in this place.
And I see many people moving towards these goals and I see that Chile, it's concerned and it's starting to be aware of the amazing nature that we have. And I see people moving towards the good conservation, towards doing education and trying to regain all the knowledge from indigenous people that we have lost, that were more connected with nature.
[00:14:08] Speaker B: 5Th scale ambition to match the challenge.
[00:14:12] Speaker A: Maybe the most important lesson from the Root of Parks is about scale.
[00:14:17] Speaker B: When Douglas and Christine Tompkins started buying land of Patagonia, people thought they were crazy.
The problems seemed too big, the solutions too expensive, the politics too complicated.
But they understood something crucial.
[00:14:32] Speaker A: You can't solve landscape scale problems with small scale solutions.
Climate change, biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation.
[00:14:41] Speaker B: These challenges operate at continental scales. Our responses need to match that ambition.
As I reflect on these lessons, I.
[00:14:50] Speaker A: Think about other places where this blueprint could be applied.
[00:14:54] Speaker B: The Great American Outdoors act in the United States. The European Green Deals Biodiversity Strategy.
[00:15:00] Speaker A: The proposed Great Green Wall across Africa.
[00:15:03] Speaker B: Indigenous led conservation initiatives from the Amazon to the Arctic.
What they all share is this recognition that conservation in the 21st century requires a fundamentally different approach.
One that's bigger in scale, more inclusive in participation, more integrated in its solutions and more ambitious in its vision.
The Root of Parks isn't perfect. No conservation initiative is.
[00:15:29] Speaker A: But it's functional proof that another way is possible.
In an era when environmental news can.
[00:15:35] Speaker B: Feel overwhelming, when the problems seem too big and our responses too small. Small, it shows us what it looks like when human ingenuity and natural resilience.
[00:15:46] Speaker A: Work together at the scale the moment demands.
[00:15:50] Speaker B: That's the real gift of this journey for me. Discovering a template for hope that can.
[00:15:55] Speaker A: Be adapted anywhere people are ready to.
[00:15:57] Speaker B: Think differently about their relationship with the living world.
Beyond documenting every market place, I found.
[00:16:05] Speaker A: A blueprint that transcends geography.
So here we are at the end.
[00:16:15] Speaker B: Of our journey through Chile's Root of Parks of Patagonia, and I want to talk about what happens next.
This conservation work needs our support to continue.
That's why I've created Project Patagonia, built on three simple but powerful pillars.
First. First, listen.
[00:16:33] Speaker A: You've already completed the first pillar by joining me on this journey through all.
[00:16:38] Speaker B: Eight episodes of our Root of Park series.
By listening to these stories, learning about these places and understanding these conservation challenges.
[00:16:47] Speaker A: You'Ve become part of a community that believes in what's possible when we think differently about our relationship with the natural world.
[00:16:56] Speaker B: Second, Protect.
The second pillar is direct support for the conservation work we've featured.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: I've partnered with Nicolas Lagos and Panthera to raise funds for their crucial Puma.
[00:17:10] Speaker B: Coexistence research and the innovative Linka project that's revolutionizing how we study and protect big cats.
[00:17:17] Speaker A: Our goal is to raise at least.
[00:17:19] Speaker B: $20,000 to support this groundbreaking work that's changed how humans and predators share landscapes.
When you contribute to this campaign, you're funding camera traps, supporting the technology that.
[00:17:32] Speaker A: Helps ranchers protect livestock while coexisting with.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: Wildlife, and investing in research that could.
[00:17:38] Speaker A: Transform predator conservation worldwide.
[00:17:42] Speaker B: Third Experience the third pillar is the most transformative seeing these places for yourself.
In April 2026, I'm leading an exclusive expedition based in Torres Alpine, my vision.
[00:17:58] Speaker A: Of marrying conservation and adventure in one.
[00:18:00] Speaker B: Of the world's most spectacular wilderness areas.
[00:18:04] Speaker A: This carefully designed journey will immerse you.
[00:18:07] Speaker B: In the exact landscapes and conservation work we've explored throughout this series.
You'll trek Pumas with expert guides through the same valleys where we encounter Rupestre. You'll join Nico for a special conservation dinner, learning firsthand about his groundbreaking research.
We'll embark on epic treks to the park's most iconic sites, those granite towers that define Patagonia's skyline. You'll kayak to Gray Glacier, witnessing the climate stories we discussed with the nests. And for the photographer among us, every.
[00:18:41] Speaker A: Moment offers opportunities to capture wildlife and.
[00:18:44] Speaker B: Landscapes that few ever experience.
This approach represents my vision of what.
[00:18:49] Speaker A: Adventure travel should be.
[00:18:52] Speaker B: Not just spectacular experiences, but meaningful engagement with conservation efforts and the remarkable people working to protect these places.
[00:19:01] Speaker A: Every element of the expedition directly supports the research, restoration and community community initiatives.
[00:19:07] Speaker B: That make Torres del Piney a model for conservation worldwide.
To learn more about Project Patagonia and how you can get involved, visit rewildology.com Project Patagonia I'm Brooke Mitchell and this has been Rewildology's exploration of Chile's root of parks of Patagonia.
Thank you for this incredible journey.
[00:19:29] Speaker A: Now let's see where these stories take us next.
This series was made possible by the.
[00:19:39] Speaker B: Extraordinary generosity of everyone who shared their knowledge, time and passion with us.
Special thanks to Rafa, Nicole and Carlo from Birds Chile, who guided us through so much of this journey with infectious enthusiasm and deep expertise.
To Nicolas Lagos from Panthera for sharing his groundbreaking puma research.
To Alejandro Saavedra and the entire team at Rewilding Chile's Darwin's breeding program.
To Gabriela Garrido for showing us the future of marine terrestrial conservation at Capeforward.
To the incredible team of Fundacion Lagado Chile Andres, David and Fernando for their tireless work protecting Chile's wetlands.
Thank you to Ines Dousiant for revealing the secrets of Patagonia's glaciers and their climate stories to the communities throughout the.
[00:20:30] Speaker A: Root of Parks who welcomed us and.
[00:20:32] Speaker B: Shared their perspectives to Estancia Seraguido and.
[00:20:35] Speaker A: All the other organizations working to demonstrate that conservation and human livelihoods can thrive together.
[00:20:42] Speaker B: Thanks to our translator Emiliana, to our drivers, pilots and guides who got us safely to some of the most remote places on Earth.
This series is dedicated to the vision of Christina Douglas Tompkins, whose audacious dream of connected wilderness became the Root of parks of Patagonia we've explored together.
Most importantly, thank you listeners who joined us on this journey.
[00:21:07] Speaker A: Your engagement gives these stories power to create change.
[00:21:12] Speaker B: This has been rewadology until our next adventure. Keep exploring, keep questioning and keep believing in what's possible when human vision aligns with natural resilience.
