David Reeve
David Reeve is the co-editor and co-founder of Where the Leaves Fall magazine and a filmmaker with various music videos and films, including Y/our Music and Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith, under his belt.
Describe the nature around you at the moment
Well, it’s been raining which is good (although the laundry got wet) and I’m inside as I write this. There are a few potted plants and two sleeping dogs. I can see some yellow tomatoes on the kitchen counter. And my daughter is drinking camomile tea telling me that “the taste of it is so calm”.
What lessons have you learned from nature?
To evolve.
How can publications like WtLF help us connect to nature?
Fast and convenient living has seeped into our lives more and more over the last century but at a cost - both to ourselves (in a myriad of ways) and the rest of the natural world. So it’s important to discuss different ways to reconnect alongside discussions around how we might adjust our systems, reconsider our histories and consider different futures. As Tania Roa discusses in issue #11’s Staying Power - we can begin our journeys close to home. And Aletta Harrison discovers a sense of belonging through learning the names of the flora and fauna around her. And as Jini Reddy suggests in issue #10 - we can also benefit from a spiritual connection.
Name a book, podcast or documentary that blew your mind.
Ex-Shaman. It’s on Netflix.
Name a place where you feel most at ease.
In calm water.
How can storytelling help shape our collective consciousness?
Storytelling is a great way to fire up our imagination and ask those important what-if questions – and also to explore alternative realities. I keep coming back to the magazine but check out Dreaming in sci-fi by Akielly Hu.
How can we understand ourselves as part of nature?
That we are intricately connected - through the air we breathe, the water inside us, the soil we walk on, and the microbes inside and outside our bodies. As Sol Polo wrote in her WtLF feature - we are pond. We are many things. We need to get beyond the boundaries and borders that separate us.
What kind of ancestor do you want to be?
One where the future generations are living in a calm enough world to honour and reflect on their ancestors.
What question would you like to ask the next person on #TNK?
If you could change one thing that your government is doing, what would it be?
And could you suggest someone else or other organisations you admire that we could approach for #TheNatureKind?
@elifarinango / @decolonisethegarden / @belagil