ABOUT US
For Nature uses science, community empowerment, and inspiring ethical arguments to be a voice for Nature, combat extinction, and lead high-impact conservation initiatives that protect endangered species, preserve threatened habitats, and advance and implement the Rights of Nature legally around the world.
Our Founder
For Nature is led by marine biologist, National Geographic Explorer, and conservationist Callie Veelenturf.
Callie’s journey to taking a rights-based approach to the conservation of Nature began with a personal fight to defend her own rights, which showed her the power of rights-based protections when all else had failed. She wanted to try to better protect Nature through the same pathway that she had protected herself, applying this experience to her work as a conservationist, but soon discovered that Nature’s rights could not be defended in the way that she had defended her own, as the Rights of Nature are not recognized in most legal systems around the world. How could it be that Nature—the living systems that sustain all life on Earth—has not had the most basic legal rights recognized? That realization lit a fire within her.
Determined to act, Callie proposed the idea of a Rights of Nature law while working in Panama. With the support of Congressman Juan Diego Vásquez, the First Lady of Panama, and a team of lawyers, she helped draft what would become Law 287, a landmark national law recognizing the Rights of Nature. Panama became just the third country in the world to take this step, joining Ecuador and Bolivia.
Since then, her work has helped show the world how science, law, and community leadership can converge to bring Rights of Nature from principle to practice, protecting ecosystems, empowering communities, and giving species like sea turtles a direct voice in governance. This blueprint became the foundation for For Nature: a hub to equip others to advance and implement Rights of Nature through science, education, and storytelling, while building national momentum and U.N.-level alignment.
OUR LOGO
The For Nature logo is the congruency symbol in a circle. The definition of congruency is “to be in agreement or harmony” and that “two things can exist or be combined without problems”. Mathematically congruency is the decision to assign equality to two entities based upon presented evidence. Imagine if we extended this concept of equality within our societies to Nature? Recognize the Rights of Nature within our current legal systems and progress towards harmony and balance with nature.