Miguel San Martín

Following a life-long passion for Nature documentaries, Miguel is a wildlife photographer based in Mexico who was recently awarded a PhD in Biology, specialising in ecology and conservation. One of his main focuses is how urbanisation is affecting all kinds of raptor birds. He uses wildlife photography as a creative outlet to raise awareness on Nature conservation and educate others about local species. 

“If we can change this mindset from a very young age, it will help in the future and they can be more aware of these problems.”

Miguel is also working on a documentary called “Wings of Hope” where he’s aiming to cover all 59 species of hummingbirds in Mexico, the lives of each one of them and how various locals are mobilising to protect them. We chose Miguel as a 2025 Champion because of the incredibly beautiful imagery he captures, but also for his drive and mission to raise awareness and push for the protection and admiration for Nature. 

How does time in Nature, and feeling connected to Nature, help you personally?

“Nature plays a very crucial part in my life. I think it’s very important to connect with Nature because it makes us sensitive to other things, it helps us empathise. I’ve seen many people go running in the mornings, and none of them look up in the sky. Many people didn’t know that some beautiful and endangered birds live in their local parks. And I thought, how can this be? I think if we connect with nature, we can be more sensitive to and enjoy many other things, like the heat of the sun reaching your face and not just go out and do things in a hurry. 

We can empathise with everything that surrounds us, not only with wildlife or Nature, but with all the people around us. I think everyone should be more connected with Nature.”

What advice do you have for people looking for a better connection with Nature?

“Become part of the silence, many times we are just with headphones or in our car with the music turned all the way up. But when you are quiet, you start hearing other things, like the birds around you. Even if you live in a highly urban area, if you just listen for a few seconds, you will hear that you have more birds than you might think around you. That would be a good start. Or even in the night, some mammals like to go to our houses or close to our parks or green areas. That’s the first step to just start hearing more than what we are used to doing. And later when you start recognising these new sounds, you can start walking and looking for those species. 

Once you get used to these sounds, I think you will start realizing that you can find more and more wildlife around you, and really appreciate it.”

What changes would you like to see to help more people access Nature and build positive, nurturing relationships with it?

“I would love for politicians to take Nature into consideration a little bit more. Especially because, if the urban areas are more fragmented, the birds and other animals escape to the more Nature-abundant side of the city. 

In Xalapa we are dealing with a lot of exotic species that are killing local Nature; native plants and many endemic species are dying. My region is becoming hotter and hotter and we’re dealing with this because many of the new plants are not providing enough shade, they are more tropical plants. We need to intentionally increase biodiversity in general because many people just plant any species that they find that look beautiful, but they don’t always plant those that serve a special and needed function.”

Find out more about Miguel and his work:

Miguel’s Instagram

Miguel’s Website

Miguel’s TikTok

Miguel’s YouTube

Miguel’s Facebook