Who are we? We are science and arts professionals who specialise in bringing people closer to nature.
Will Self is a BCU (British Canoe Union) 4 Star Sea Kayak Leader and a Full Member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management. He has been exploring this part of Argyll since childhood, much of it by sea. Will has led cultural exchange programmes around the world including expeditions by dug out canoe up the west coast of Madagascar. Will runs Wild Argyll and most of the trips.
Will's work in rural development www.willselfrd.com in the highlands and islands involves wildlife surveys in all habitats, terrains and seasons. With a background in Natural Resources and from many years working with subsistence communities in South Asia and Madagascar he brings fresh eyes to living with and from nature, as people did here until recently. He is also a Walk Leader (Paths for All).
Mark Smith is a wildlife film cameraman. His recent work includes The Hunt, Life Story, Africa, Frozen Planet and Planet Earth for the BBC Natural History Unit. He regularly contributes to Springwatch and Autumnwatch.
He has won Emmy awards and a BAFTA for Cinematography for his filming for the BBC and of the Striated Caracara in the Falkland Islands for National Geographic. Mark was the first person to film a snow leopard hunt. He was recently the subject of the BBC documentary Wild Cameramen at Work.
Mark will take you off the beaten track to explore some of his favorite places - which are here in Knapdale. In so doing you will explore his experiences from Snow Leopards to Wild Turkeys. Ask about options for film workshops.
Jane Smith is a zoologist and wildlife artist and cinematographer. She won an Emmy Award for her work in the Falkland Islands with National Geographic. She exhibits regularly with the Society of Wildlife Artists in London. Jane has led amateurs and professionals of all ages to capture the moments and movements in micro and macro of moths on a lamp to migrants from the Arctic.
janesmithwildlifeart.blogspot.com
Caroline Hunter is a painter. She is immersed in these wild landscapes and seascapes from which she draws her remarkable palette and insight. She sometimes paints on wood washed up on the shore sculpted by years of Atlantic storms. Although Caroline exhibits widely, here you have the chance to get behind her eyes - on foot or from a kayak. www.carolinehunterart.com
Other Associates: We have a pool of experts that we can draw on. All know the Argyll landscape intimately. Whether you want to experience the mighty Corryvrekan whirlpool in full roar from the safety of a powerful boat or paddle there with an excellent coach or hone your identification skills of the rare lichens that festoon the trees please ask and we will point you in the right direction.