Willow Defebaugh is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Atmos and the author of The Overview, a deep ecology newsletter and book. She is a lifelong student of nature and graduated with a degree in creative writing from the University of Michigan. Her work has been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Teen Vogue, V Magazine, Interview, i-D, BBC, The Guardian, them, New York Magazine, and more.
IN WHAT WAY DOES NATURE INSPIRE OR INFORM YOUR WORK?
Nature inspires everything I do. I believe that inspiration is inherently tied to intuition, which is nature’s way of communicating with us. All of my work, including the stories I tell, begins and ends with listening to where I am intuitively feeling called. In this way, our stories are not our own; they are given to us to tell.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE PART OF A THRIVING ECOSYSTEM?
To be part of a thriving ecosystem is to play our part. In the same way that a bee does not try to exhale oxygen and a tree does not try to produce honey, we all have a role to play. This is why I prefer holism over sustainability; this movement requires each of us to find out how we can be of service to the whole. By supporting one another to fulfill our roles, we all benefit—as does the collective.
