Stephen Fry

52, is an actor, writer and broadcaster. In his new BBC Two television series Last Chance to See, he and zoologist Mark Carwardine go in search of a series of endangered animals.Read on

Michael Palin - Extras

A profile of Michael Palin and the plans he has for the RGS appears in our October issue. Below are the bits we couldn't squeeze into the feature, including Palin on his hometown of Sheffield, travel heroes and air travelRead on

Simon Armitage

46, is a poet and novelist who has lived in Yorkshire for most of his life. After graduating with a degree in geography, he spent more than seven years as a probation officer before becoming a full-time poet.Read on

Sue Holden

Sue Holden, 43, is chief executive of the Woodland Trust, a charity that campaigns for the protection of ancient woodland and restores and expands the area of native woodland in the UK.Read on

Tristan Gooley

36, non-executive vice-chairman of Trailfinders and the only living person to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean solo by both plane and boat, has just established the world's first school of natural navigation.Read on

Kate Ashbrook

Kate Ashbrook runs the Open Spaces Society, Britain’s oldest conservation society, founded in 1865 as the Commons Preservation Society.Read on

Talal Akasheh

Talal Akasheh, 61, a chemistry professor from Jordan, has devoted the past 26 years to documenting the 2,500-year-old ruins of the ancient city of Petra, helping to develop a unique geo-archaeological information system. Read on

Gary Foxcroft

Gary Foxcroft, 29, is the co-founder of Stepping Stones Nigeria, a charity that works in the Niger Delta to protect the rights of disadvantaged children, particularly those who’ve been accused of witchcraftRead on

Rob Woodall

Rob Woodall, 48, is attempting to become the first person to visit all 6,100 surviving Ordnance Survey triangulation pillars in Britain. For this exploratory challenge he now has fewer than 200 to visitRead on

Andrew McGonigle

Andrew McGonigle is a Scottish physicist and volcanologist in the process of developing a model helicopter that can measure gases released before a volcanic eruption. This could provide enough data to predict eruptionsRead on

Marina Silva

Marina Silva served as Brazil’s minister for the environment from 2002 until her resignation in May last year, helping to deliver several globally important environmental programmes and masterminding a reduction in deforestationRead on

Lord Chris Patten

Lord Chris Patten has enjoyed a political career that spans five decades. In addition to serving as the last British governor of Hong Kong, he has been chairman of the Conservative Party and European commissionerRead on

The future of travel

The travel industry has come under sustained attack for everything from its carbon footprint to its social costs. Justin Francis, co-founder of responsibletravel.com, offers his vision of a truly sustainable industryRead on

Paul Rose

Paul Rose, 57, expedition leader, polar guide, professional diver and instructor, mountaineer, engineer and TV presenter, was base commander for the BAS for ten years and is a former vice president of the RGS (with IBG)Read on

Stuart Franklin

The president of the Magnum Photos agency, Stuart Franklin spent more then a decade travelling the world as a freelance photographer before returning to university to study geographyRead on

Pen Hadow

After setting up his own polar travel company, Pen Hadow became the first person to complete one of the last great polar challenges – to walk solo, without resupply, from Canada to the North Pole in May 2003Read on

Alex James

40, farmer, writer, broadcaster and former member of the band Blur, travelled to Burkina Faso with Christian Aid to help highlight the plight of farmers on the frontline of climate change in developing countriesRead on

Sun Shuyun

Sun Shuyun is a Chinese writer and documentary film-maker. For her recent BBC series and book, A Year in Tibet, she spent a year following a shaman, a rickshaw driver, a hotel manager and othersRead on

Marina Rikhvanova

Marina Rikhvanova played a key role in organising mass protests that directly resulted in President Vladimir Putin’s 2006 decision to reroute an oil pipeline in order to protect Lake Baikal in SiberiaRead on

Peter Head

Peter Head, the director of global design and business consulting firm Arup, and independent adviser to the London Sustainable Development Commission, is the master planner behind the world’s first true eco-city.Read on

Nigel Vardy

After recovering from severe frostbite, Nigel Vardy became the first Briton to climb the highest peaks on the world’s seven largest islands. Natalie Hoare speaks to him about his recovery, climbing and the ‘7x7 challenge’Read on

Tim Cope

The first person in more than 800 years to ride 10,000 kilometres beween Mongolia and Hungary in the footsteps of Genghis Khan, Tim Cope talks to Natalie Hoare about the region’s nomadic cultureRead on

Dr Iain Stewart

Lecturer and TV documentary presenter, Dr Iain Stewart talks to Natalie Hoare about his latest series, Earth: The Power of the Planet, lecturing at the University of Plymouth and the best way of dealing with the constant threat from natural hazards Read on

Sir Chris Bonington

Sir Chris Bonington, 73, mountaineer and explorer, has completed 19 expeditions to the Himalaya. Natalie Hoare talkes to him about his involvement in the creation of a Heritage Sherpa Museum in Khumjung, NepalRead on

One of the tribe

Bruce Parry has travelled the world living, sleeping, eating and working with some of the remote indigenous peoples. Natalie Hoare caught up with him during a fleeting visit to LondonRead on

David Nussbaum

David Nussbaum joined WWF UK as its new chief executive in May, taking charge of all of the conservation organisation’s activities in the UKRead on

Rebecca Hosking

Rebecca Hosking, 33, a freelance wildlife producer and camerawoman, recently led a campaign to rid the shops in Modbury, a small town in Devon, of all plastic bagsRead on

Wayne Hemingway

Wayne Hemingway, 46, designer and co-founder of the Red or Dead fasion label, is now turning his hand to housing designRead on

Willie Corduff

Willie Corduff, 53, a farmer from Ireland, was recently awarded a Goldman Environmental Prize for challenging Shell’s plans for a gas pipeline and refinery – activities that landed him and four others in jail.Read on

David Dimbleby

David Dimbleby has been presenting current affairs programmes and documentaries on the BBC since 1962. His latest series, How We Built Britain, investigates the changing face of British architecture.Read on

Mark Ellingham

Mark Ellingham, 48, is a co-founder of Rough Guides, which celebrates its 25-year anniversary this year. Since writing the first Rough Guide in 1982, he has seen the company achieve considerable growthRead on

Colin Thubron

One of the true elder statesmen of travel writing, Colin Thubron muses on his latest book, Shadow of the Silk Road, the dangers of vodka and why you’re never alone on the road. Words and portrait by Nick SmithRead on

Mike Stentiford

Mike Stentiford is the chairman of the National Trust for Jersey’s Coastline Campaign, which aims to preserve and protect the island’s coastal heritage and celebrates its first anniversary this month. Read on

David Hill

David Hill, 28, a campaigner and researcher for Survival International, recently visited the Peruvian Amazon to investigate areas inhabited by some of the 15 uncontacted tribes that are estimated to live there.
Read on

Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Sir Ranulph Fiennes, 62, the first man to reach both North and South poles by land, is to climb the 3,970-metre Eiger Mountain in the Swiss Alps in March.Read on

Professor Rory Wilson

Rory Wilson was recognised for inventing a device that can track animals and record their behaviour without the need for direct observation.Read on

Robin Hanbury-Tenison

Nick Smith caught up with the explorer on his 70th birthday and discovered that he has lost none of his legendary thirst for both adventure and controversy.Read on

Ajantha Perera

Ajantha Perera, a former environmental science lecturer, was fired from the University of Colombo after bringing members of an underclass of 'rag pickers' to her lectures.Read on

Bettany Hughes

Bettany Hughes, 44, is a historian, broadcaster and author. Her book, Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore has just been released in paperback.Read on

Frans Lanting

Frans' latest project, Life, is a multi-media venture that explores the history of life on Earth.Read on

Dipal Barua

Dipal is the managing director of Grameen Shakti, an NGO that has helped to bring sustainable energy to Bangladesh's rural communities through micro-financing. Read on

Michael McGrath

Michael McGrath is the only disabled person to have walked to both poles. Muscular dystophy has caused him to lose 65 per cent of his muscle bulk, making walking difficult. Read on

Tim Flannery

Sir David Attenborough described him as "in the league of the great explorers". He's discovered numerous new mammal species, but now acclaimed Australian author and biologist Tim Flannery has turned his attention to the world's climate.

Jared Diamond

Jared Diamond, professor of geography at UCLA discusses the decline of societies such as the Maya and Easter Islanders, and asks if the modern world might be heading in the same direction.

Tim Mackintosh-Smith

The award-winning author talks about his life in Yemen and his fascination with the 14th-century traveller Ibn Battutah.

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