How Stories Shape the Planet

🧗🏼 About the Speaker

Rhett Ayers Butler is the founder and CEO of Mongabay, a nonprofit news organization that reports on issues at the intersection of people and nature. What began in 1999 as a small personal website has grown into a global newsroom with contributors in more than 80 countries, publishing in multiple languages and reaching millions each month.

His path to journalism was unconventional. A formative encounter with a wild orangutan in Borneo—and the later destruction of that same forest—sparked his lifelong commitment to connecting people with nature. Without formal training, he built Mongabay to fill the gap between advocacy and objectivity, offering consistent, evidence-based coverage of stories often overlooked by mainstream media.

Over time, the organization evolved from a one-person operation to a decentralized network of local journalists telling stories from the front lines of conservation. Under his leadership, Mongabay has shaped understanding of deforestation, biodiversity, and climate change while amplifying local and Indigenous voices.

Beyond Mongabay, Rhett has advised foundations, universities, and institutions on topics ranging from environmental communication to philanthropic strategy. His writing and photography have appeared in hundreds of publications, reflecting a lifelong commitment to connecting people with the natural world.

Rhett’s work has been recognized with honors including the Heinz Award for the Environment, the Parker/Gentry Award for Conservation Biology, and the Henry Shaw Medal from the Missouri Botanical Garden. He has also been named among Forbes’ 50 Sustainability Leaders.

He continues to lead Mongabay with a belief that informed storytelling can bridge the distance between humanity and the living world.

How stories shape the planet: What I've learned about communicating science from 25 years of Mongabay

🪘 About this Event

Rhett Ayers Butler will give a wide-ranging talk on how nature reporting can bridge science, society, and hope. Drawing on 25 years of experience leading one of the world’s largest environmental newsrooms, he will share lessons from Mongabay’s evolution—from a one-person website into a global, multilingual network reporting from more than 80 countries.

The talk will explore how clear, compelling communication can translate complex science into stories that inform action and policy; how journalism can contribute to measurable real-world impact; and what scientists can learn from journalistic storytelling to reach broader audiences. Rhett will also discuss the changing media landscape, including the challenges of polarization, misinformation, and news avoidance, and how approaches like solutions journalism can restore trust and agency.

Blending personal reflection with practical insights, he offers a hopeful perspective on how storytelling, when done with empathy and evidence, can reconnect people with the natural world and one another.

After his sharing, Rhett will also sit down for an interactive and cozy forest-side chat with the audience. He will be joined by Sankar Ananthanarayanan, a PhD Candidate at the Theoretical Ecology Lab (NUS Department of Biological Sciences) and a Co-founder of the Herpetological Society of Singapore, who will facilitate the conversation and Q&A with the audience.

🪧 Nature for Climate for You: Talk & Fireside Chat with Rhett Ayers Butler

This event is the third in the series (and the first in-person/offline one) of our new programme!

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