The Humble Way
Hello eco-nnectors,
When we asked Luc Marescot if we could interview him, he was surprised: “I am usually focused on other people’s stories, not have people focus on me.” This was evident when eco-nnect storyteller Anton Rivette asked to photograph him, he could feel Luc was nervous - despite the fearlessness he has often needed to explore the foreign environments he has visited - as he was clearly more comfortable behind the camera. But Luc’s stories merit an audience, he has lived a life dedicated to nature, documenting its beauty and its destruction.
When Anton asked Luc what was important about his life, he responded “the link I always succeeded to keep with nature - I think that helps me, which helps the people around me that love me and that I love”. It’s a simple philosophy that has inspired a beautiful life.
We hope you enjoy his story.
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♾️ eco-stories
🗺️ The Humble Way
Luc Marescot has been on a quest.
“When I was around seven, my father came back from Antarctica, he was the helicopter pilot of the French polar explorer Paul-Émile Victor. My father used to attach a Super 8 camera to the front of the helicopter, so he could record and return home with some pictures. When he came back from his first trip to Antarctica, we had a lunch, I was around seven years old, and during the lunch he pulled out a screen and projected the pictures (makes a film wheel whirling noise) like this, no sound, just the pictures with some hair here and there. At the time there was no internet, and there wasn’t television at home, so the only picture of the world I had were some photos from books. And then what appeared on the screen was like a big vast space between icebergs, because the helicopter had to go from the boat to the French base in Antarctica, Dumont d’Urville, which they were building. And I realised this landscape was magic I had never seen before, and I think from that point I was kind of curious of, wow, further than the horizon line there are some magic worlds to discover, and I kind of stayed with that childhood quest from there, because I always wanted to see what was next, what was further than the horizon.”
This quest has lasted his entire adult life, Luc has always chosen the path of adventure. During his university studies in economics, he met a friend who would later become a travel companion: “we had read the same book by a guy who left on a journey hitchhiking, and spent eighteen years hitchhiking around the world with some jobs here and there. I loved that book, and I said to my friend we’re going to do the same, we’re going to travel the world on that same quest.”
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🌏 The Culture Club
📺 What we’re watching: Brothers of the Trees, documentary by Luc Marescot and Marc Dozier
📸 Profile of the week: @_spicymoustache_
📚What we’re reading: Environmental Hero: Leydy Pech
🤯 Fun fact we learnt this week: Despite covering less than 0.5 percent of Earth's surface, New Guinea is estimated to contain 5-10% of global biodiversity.