Hi all, Chris here. I've really missed you. I hope you're doing well and finding a way to get out and enjoy a bit of nature. Maybe I hike in the mountains or walk around your city park.

There really is wildlife all around us, no matter where you are.

And it's a really important time right now for the species we share this planet with. Because this week world leaders are gathering at the UN Biodeiversity Conference in Montreal.

But first, I just wanted to check in so you know what we're up to. We haven't disappeared. We're busy working on season 5.

Season 5, I can't believe that. And we've got some enticing episodes shaping up from the Pacific Northwest, Ireland, England, the Arctic and the Everglades.

All places we're travelling to to uncover some really fascinating people and species. Season 5 will launch in March, so hang tight.

Okay, a little more about the biodiversity conference that's happening. I thought you'd like to know about it if you haven't already heard.

Because it's a very important gathering of thousands of people, delegates from all over the world. It's called COP 15. COP stands for the Conference of the Parties. You probably remember COP 27 earlier this year.

That one was for climate discussions. COP 15 is all about biodiversity.

Leaders, scientists and conservationists, finding ways to protect nature in all its variety. The estimated 9 million other species we share planet earth with.

And we all need to act fast. Remember when the dinosaurs disappeared? That was the fifth mass extinction. We're now in the sixth mass extinction phase.

And it wasn't caused by an asteroid. It was caused by humans. So whenever I can, I'm trying to convey as vividly as possible how protecting healthy biodiversity and wild places is not just a luxury or a hobby for some.

It's essential. We have to protect the natural world. It's our life support system. And part of it is remembering that protecting wondrous ecosystems like Arctic tundra or sea ice, forests of all kinds can also help halt climate change.

Many of these places store massive quantities of carbon. And forests absorb a quarter of the carbon we produce every year. So you know it, you know what's coming?

Saving bears and wolves, caribou lions, orangutans, tigers, all the beautiful big and popular animals in those places.

We can save those ecosystems and we can save ourselves. It's all interconnected. And looking at these needs as exciting opportunities for a massive shift in our relationship with the natural world is something that we can all see as captivating I think.

There's some big things happening like check out the 30 by 30 campaign to protect 30% of the planet by 2030. And a few months ago the UN adopted a brand new resolution, the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

161 countries voted in favor of it and none against. Imagine the possibilities when we all work together.

We put a link in the show notes about the Montreal gathering, voice your support for nature whenever you can. It makes a big difference.

Here's hoping a strong agreement will come out of the conference to reverse biodiversity loss.

And hey, while you wait in season 5, maybe I could keep your company through a previous episode, maybe a craving an international trip in a very biodiverse rainforest. Check out orangutans, people of the forest.

Or ride with me through Germany looking for wolves in return of as a big bad wolf.

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