Entitled, "How Animals and Humans Decide to Trust," Steve Hein's recent TEDX Savannah Talk used the example of the animals he works with on a daily basis to bridge the gap between humans, impressive birds of prey, and, our faithful four-legged friends, dogs.
This dynamic, Hein says, can also be applied with human to human interactions.
"What is trust? Trust is the firm belief in the ability, the truth, the accountability or strength of someone or something. In contrast, the breakdown of trust is due to a lack of competency, a lack of character, or both," Hein says at the inception of his talk.
"I wanted to talk about trust because if you don't have trust, you don't have anything," Hein shared.
Trust was at the core of the development of the Center for Wildlife Education and the Lamar Q. Ball Jr. Raptor Center many years ago. Hein, who has a degree in Business Administration from Georgia Southern University, was given the herculean task of bringing a bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, to Statesboro.
The impetus for this unique mission was the majestic flyover of a large bird of prey during a Georgia Southern championship football game. During the game, a sportscaster remarked that it was a bald eagle, when, in reality, it was a turkey vulture.
This got alumni and university supporter Harry Mathews thinking about how to secure a real bald eagle that could do game-day flyovers, and Hein stepped into action. After being on a federal waiting list for 13 years, the university was finally granted a bald eagle, who became Freedom, the beloved Georgia Southern mascot.
"One wayward turkey vulture changed my life in an instant," Hein says of the fortuitous misunderstanding at Paulson Stadium.
Hein is a passionate falconer, a pastime that has enhanced his 32-year tenure as executive director of the wildlife center. Falconry is the art of hunting with birds of prey. Hein became an avid falconer under the tutelage of a friend and mentor in the mid-1980s and still engages in the sport nearly 40 years later. A master falconer, he has federal and state licenses in the practice.
The TEDX Talk came about through a chance encounter with a communications professor who was touring the wildlife center with one of her classes. Hein met with the group briefly and then went to one of their classes to give a more in-depth talk.
The professor asked Hein if he had ever thought about doing a TED Talk. At first, Hein declined. However, after thinking about it, he decided to practice vulnerability, which is a key element of the trust in Hein's lecture, and speak to the TEDX audience.
"Vulnerability is tied to trust and trust is tied to truth," Hein explains. ". . . We have a great teacher in nature."
Hein urges his TEDX audience to make a difference in the physical world around them, not the virtual world. He ends with a call to action for viewers to allow themselves to become vulnerable to reach the deeper connections that he discussed.
"Learn to trust in one another."
See Hein's TEDx talk below.
For more information about Steve Hein or the Center for Wildlife Education and the Lamar Q. Ball Jr. Raptor Center, please visit their website.
