Juan Frutos (Monesterio, Badajoz, 1977) is a director, producer, screenwriter, bushcraft specialist, adventurer and, in general, one of our leading nature communicators today. He is often seen on television programs teaching routes, flora and fauna of his native Extremadura and of Europe as a whole. It’s something that has accompanied him since he was very young, as he tells us: “Field outings have accompanied me since I was little with my grandfather, my father, my brothers and, many times, on my own. I’m from a village and it is a natural part of my day-to-day life, so to speak.”
Although in his new project, Letters About Nature, he has decided to change format. It consists of three collections of cards about birds, trees and minerals that began as technical sheets in his notebook where he was taking notes for himself: “Since I went to university I have kept the habit of noting down everything I observe and find interesting. They are not diaries, more like “field notebooks.” I used to (and still do) them in a “moleskine.” They are very practical and you can carry them with you at all times. Of course, they appear on shoots, and there I make botanical, ornithological, geological notes… Also technical details for post-production, the literary script, new ideas… My moleskines are magical places, which allow me to travel back in time when I reread them. It is fascinating.”
Now they become cards with a finish of the utmost care thanks to this collaboration between GenXGames (Spain) and Moses Verlag (Germany). Juan explains that in reality “it has been the work of several authors and illustrators from both countries. I have been in charge of elaborating the Spanish version. It was a proposal that I sent to Moses in Germany, because I saw an educational card format that captivated me, something I always had in mind. I proposed making a Spanish version with original contributions, and it’s there that Servando Carballar, director of Generation X, enters; he loved the idea and supported me to get it running together with RTVE”.
The project is made up of three packs of 50 cards: 50 Birds of Spain and Europe, 50 Minerals & Rocks and 50 Trees of Spain and Europe, under the slogan “discover and solve.” Frutos explains that they are aimed “at the whole family, at all those nature lovers, at those who love the countryside, life in a rural environment or curious people who want to start in the world of botany, ornithology or geology. It’s a first step to bring people closer to nature. If we understand it, we will respect it, as Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente used to say. Additionally, I have counted on the help of SEO/BirdLife, the Spanish Mineralogical Society and Caminos Naturales, so it’s not just a “game,” it’s also an accessible scientific reference”.
