Stroking my dog calms me down.

I don't enjoy doing exercise at the time, but I enjoy the feeling afterwards.

I take echinacea to ward off colds and I go through phases of taking vitamins, but I'd rather eat a lot of fruit and veg than take pills.

I have an overactive mind and I find that doing exercise clears it.

Part of the beauty of wilderness schooling is that the overheads are very low. You want a classroom? Build a shelter from nature's store. You want to eat? Forage for it.

The wilderness rescued me. I have been shaped by my experiences in the great outdoors. Feeling comfortable in the wild gave me the confidence to be who I am, not who others want me to be.

Let's be honest, some people are better suited to exams than others in the same way that some of us are more sporty or arty.

I don't want my children to feel the same sense of failure I did growing up because they're not good at passing tests.

Many locals in east Africa are calling for fences to separate wildlife and people. They argue it will reduce conflict and also make it easier to protect the wildlife from poachers. From my experience in Tanzania, no fence and no militia will hold back the tide of poachers drawn by the huge sums of money at stake.

Armies and former soldiers are working in the field to help protect elephants. Some have suggested staining the ivory; cameras and trackers have even been embedded within the tusk; others have arranged for tusks to be removed pre-emptively by conservationists.

Ivory is quickly becoming the new blood diamond of Africa and one that fuels militia battles. Some of the most notorious armed groups on the continent, including the Lord's Resistance Army, are hunting down elephants and using the tusks to buy weapons.

I saw firsthand the devastating consequences of poaching. I saw elephants with ivory hacked from their faces and the lengths private parks go to protect their precious wildlife.

As our focus turns to the oceans and the seemingly impossible task of repairing our marine habitat, we could look at Everest as a fine example of turning back the clock.

I have spent time in many of the world's popular wilderness locations and I would say Nepal should be proud. It is an example of man repairing the damage he has done.

As United Nations patron of the wilderness, one of my roles is to report back from the Earth's remaining wildernesses and to act as a voice for the wild.

In many people's minds, Everest has lost her crown. She has become a mountain synonymous with death, exploitation and pollution.

At 19 I left school and embarked on a 9-day bike ride with friends from London to Monte Carlo.

I am honoured to be taking part in the Diamond Jubilee flotilla along the Thames in my 20-foot rowing boat. The energy levels will be high, partly because I'm planning to ply the crew with thermos flasks filled with Typhoo!

My wife Marina likes salad and fish and I have reduced my meat consumption to just three times a week. It wouldn't take much to go vegetarian and I may well make that decision soon.

I have found myself increasingly moving away from meat. It hasn't been so much a conscious choice as an organic change.

We experienced a miscarriage at 13 weeks and then a few years later we lost our son Willem at 30 weeks. I held him in my arms and had to organise his funeral.

What I miss is being close to nature - collecting your own water and generating your own electricity, catching your own food. I still dream of doing that with my own family, even if it's just for a year-long experiment, I would love to have tried that.

In terms of TV shows, if you're a public figure, we've all been asked to do some sort of ridiculous show at some stage.

There are a lot of people that I think look very good - Bryan Ferry and Jude Law dress really well, Steve McQueen was cool, and all the James Bonds have been very dapper.