Stories from OneNature
The Trouble With Our Civilizational Toolkit
by John Waugh Executive Director OneNature Institute Most of us, when we notice something broken, reach for the nearest fix. A species is declining — manage it. A community is struggling — incentivize it. A forest is disappearing — fund its protection. These are...
OneNature Annual Report 2025: A Year of Transition, Resilience & New Directions
We’re pleased to share OneNature’s 2025 Annual Report and to thank you for being part of our journey. This past year brought significant change across the global conservation and development landscape. Yet through these shifts, your support helped us continue...
Remembering to Survive: Indigenous Wellbeing and Deep Time in Texas
By Gary Perez, Principal Chief, Pakahua/Coahuiltecan Peoples of Coahuila y Tejas, and John Waugh, Executive Director, OneNature OneNature, the Pakahua and Lipan Ndé (Apache), are collaborating in an exploration of what wellbeing looks like through Indigenous eyes,...
Gratitude & Impact: Thank You for Standing With Us in 2025
As 2025 draws to a close, we are filled with gratitude for the community of supporters who have stood with us throughout this year of learning, listening, and deepening our work with communities living alongside wildlife. Because of you, conservation has become more...
A Season of Gratitude and Reflection – Giving Tuesday 2025
As the year draws to a close, we at OneNature want to pause and sincerely thank you. Your support is helping communities and wildlife thrive together—ensuring that conservation protects vital ecosystems while uplifting the people who share these landscapes with...
What the People of Phu Taught Us: A New Model for Conservation Born in the Himalayas
by Dr. Natalie Schmitt, Conservation Biologist, Explorers Club 50 (2022), Founder/CEO @ WildTechDNA Inc. All photographs are courtesy of Dr. Natalie Schmitt and Brad Clement This week’s blog is a special one.We’re honoured to share a powerful reflection from Dr....
Rethinking Impact: Why OneNature Aligns with the “Meta Charity” Approach
The effective altruism (EA) movement has changed how many people think about doing good. It asks a simple question:How can we use our resources to help others as much as possible? As the world faces intertwined crises - climate instability, biodiversity loss, and...
What Is Regenerative Tourism? A Reflection from the Field by Karri Winn
This week, we’re honoured to share a powerful field reflection from Karri Winn, a passionate advocate for regenerative tourism and inclusive innovation. Karri travelled with our team to Rwanda in October 2024 to help launch a Wild Happiness Survey with Red Rocks...
Adapting the Wild Happiness Index for ESG Reporting
By AJ Horkan This Week at OneNature: AJ Horkan’s Internship Reflections This week, we’re delighted to share insights from A.J. Horkan, a 2025 summer intern and Master’s in Public Policy candidate at the University of Chicago. AJ joined us through the Jeff Metcalf...
Advancing the Wild Happiness Methodology & OneNature’s Communicative Strategies
By Ryan Ruggiero This week, we’re delighted to feature a guest reflection from Ryan Ruggiero, one of our 2025 summer interns. As a student of Psychology and Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, Ryan brought a passion for wellbeing and...
Developing a Case Study Handbook: Summer Internship 2025
by Emily Price This week, we're excited to share a reflection from Emily Price, a summer intern from the University of Chicago’s Jeff Metcalf Program. Over eight weeks, Emily developed a new global Case Study Handbook—a resource to support our partners in applying...
📢 New Publication: A Framework to Integrate Community Wellbeing into Climate Projects
A New Vision for Climate Projects: Centering Community Wellbeing We’re thrilled to announce the publication of our newest paper in Regional Science & Environmental Economics: “Integrating Community Wellbeing into Natural Climate Solutions: A Framework for Enhanced...
Tourism, Wellbeing, and Conservation: Lessons from the Khumbu by Paul Rogers
At OneNature, we believe that lasting conservation and tourism success begins with people—and with data that reflects their lived experience. That’s why we’re proud to collaborate with global partners who share this vision. In this guest piece, longtime collaborator...
Culture at the Core: Our Mongabay Feature on Conservation & Community
Culture, Spirit, and Reciprocity: Rethinking What Conservation Needs Most We’re proud to share that a new commentary by the OneNature team has been featured on Mongabay.com—a leading nonprofit platform for global environmental journalism. You may recall our recent...
An Opportunity for Foundations: Integrating Community Well-being into Environmental Strategy
Across the philanthropic landscape, many foundations funding environmental initiatives are moving toward more community-centered approaches. From forest protection to climate resilience and regenerative agriculture, there is growing recognition that lasting...