Adventure’s what life’s about... but I’m also a father Television adventurer Steve Backshall talks to GABRIELLE FAGAN about how his children and the pandemic have shifted his priorities
biodiversity and the importance of a thriving environment.
It’s accompanied by tips on how to create a bug hotel, bird box, wild garden and a pond from a washing-up bowl.
Steve enthuses: “It was a revelation to me and I hope it will help open people’s ears to what’s around them, and encourage people to explore the nature on their doorstep.
“I’m planning to shut my eyes for 10 minutes every day, just to immerse myself in those sounds – it’s got to be the purest form of meditation.”
And Steve could understandably use a an extra dose of calm right now, as he believes the pandemic threatens the future of his career.
“While I’m so grateful for time to enjoy parenting, there’s also been panic about how on earth I’m going to pay the mortgage,” admits the explorer, who, with a TV crew, recently spent a year taking part in 10 expeditions to unexplored places throughout the world.
“There’s a worry about whether a job like mine will just completely disappear in the future and my sort of programmes will never come back.
“My work has been long trips to parts of the world where there’s little infrastructure and probably isn’t even a hospital,” he explains.
“So there’s a worry on two fronts – not only ensuring the health and safety of myself and the crew, but the fear of potentially introducing Covid-19 into remote areas and putting vulnerable people’s lives in peril.”
Resolutely positive, he adds: “I’m very lucky I’ve had 20 years in this job, but I’ve always known it could disappear tomorrow.
“If my current job goes, I’ll find another.”
Steve’s commitment to nature is unwavering, but his attitude to danger has changed now he’s a father.
“Just after Logan was born, I was struck by the absolute realisation that fatherhood was what I was put on the planet for and I didn’t want to miss a second of him,” he recalls.
“Yet I was away from him and miles from civilisation in Suriname (South America). Normally I’m Mr Positive, but I was positively miserable and grumpy on that trip.”
Nearly drowning on the first-ever descent of a white-water river in
Bhutan in the Himalayas further reshaped his priorities.
“I’ve had a few near misses but this was awful. I was under water for nearly five minutes and realised I may never see my little boy again.”
Eventually, he hopes to go exploring with the whole family – starting with UK expeditions – and any professional solo trips abroad will be halved from six weeks to three.
“That doesn’t mean I’ll stop pushing myself to feel my limits – living life on the edge and experiencing adventure is what life’s about... but I’m taking into account my responsibilities as a father.”
While his body’s taken a battering over the years – he had surgery on his shoulder after the kayaking accident and has clocked two broken vertebrae and multiple operations on a shattered ankle – his wellbeing is nourished by his relationship with nature.
“I keep fit by kayaking, cycling and swimming but mentally I keep myself healthy by connecting with nature and being outdoors,” he says.
“I think it’s a panacea for so many ills that we haven’t used enough.
“We should be shouting this from the treetops,” he declares.