“Human Nature” is a series of interconnected stories about people, nature, and the science of our relationship to wilderness.

The series begins in cities and moves through forests, farms, deserts, ice fields, and oceans. At a time when the average American spends 93% of their life indoors, I photographed government programs that connect people to nature; neuroscientists measuring how spending time in the wild benefits us; and climate scientists measuring how human activity is changing the air.

The book focuses on positive examples—of places, people, programs, and science—that deserve support. This was very important to me. Nature used to mean the Earth besides humans and human creations. But now there is no place on Earth unaltered by people, which has led many to argue that Nature no longer exists. At the same time, research has suggested that time in wild places is integral our health and happiness.

My book tells the story of our current relationship with nature; on how we need wild places even if they have been shaped by us. Because we need time in nature, so we need to care for nature.

—Lucas Foglia

Editors’ note: Alongside the publication of the book, there will be exhibitions of the photographs at Michael Hoppen Gallery in London, Fredericks & Freiser Gallery in NYC, Foam Amsterdam, Triennial of Photography Hamburg, and Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago.

The book was also chosen as one of the top photobooks of 2017 by a panel of 75 international experts—discover who chose Human Nature as their favorite and what made it special.