Watch Wild Life this Earth Day and Be Inspired By South America’s Conservationists, Kris and Doug Tompkins

Wild Life, a brand new feature length documentary  from National Geographic and Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin traces the extraordinary career and life of Kris Tomkins, former CEO of Patagonia, and her husband, former CEO of The North Face and Esprit. Along the way, you’ll hear from Yvon Chouinard and others important to their journey.

I saw the film last night– dinner from a food truck, an organic beer, and a movie in the outdoor patio of Patagonia to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Both my husband and I were move to tears several times.

Kris Tomkins grew up here in Ventura California, as a surfer chick neighbor to Yvon Chouinard who started the outdoor businesses Chouinard and Patagoinia. She began as an assistant shipping clerk, and worked her way up, becoming Patagonia’s first CEO when she was just out of college and 29 years old. She ran the company until she was in her 40s when she left to join her new husband Doug Tomkins who had hatched the idea of creating national parks to preserve the wild lands there.

The result? Tompkins Conservation created 15 national parks, protected 15 million acres of wilderness and is rewilding over 20 species in Chile and Argentina.

Learn about this historic, effort and the people who accomplished it — and learn how they inspired Yyon Chouinard to then donate his company to the planet.

In select theaters now, the film chronicles a fight for wild nature that was born of love, survived tragedy and continues to inspire and challenge us all. 

In Ventura, the film will show Friday, April 21, 2023. 

Be inspired this Earth Day to do something big or small for the planet.