Planet Protectors: Laura Turner Seydel

Interview by Costas Christ

Growing up as Ted Turner’s daughter, my childhood was filled with learning about nature. My father is a conservation champion who leads by example: We’d go for walks when I was young, and he’d teach me not to be afraid of bugs or the sounds and smells of nature in the forest. “We need to save everything,” he frequently said, and he taught me that small actions add up. He would stop to pick up litter on our walks and then explain the importance of protecting the environment.

Although my father is perhaps best known as the founder of CNN, he’s especially proud of launching Captain Planet and the Planeteers, a cartoon series educating children about the importance of saving the earth, seen by millions of kids worldwide. He also established the Captain Planet Foundation to support youth environmental education and funded numerous wildlife documentaries and Jacques Cousteau films. He brought up large ranches in North America to rewild habitat, restore eco-systems, and save endangered species such as the American bison. That led to the creation of Ted Turner Reserves, which now consists of more than 1 million acres of spectacular landscapes, ranging from snowcapped peaks to arid deserts.