My whistlestop tour of the my 24th National Park, the Everglades, consisted of nothing more than taking an airboat tour of the vast swamplands that form the primary terrain of the Everglades. I remember the boat gliding over marshes and open water, catching glimpses of tree snakes and walking with jacanas, checking out the ospreys fishing, and soaking in the humid atmosphere of these pristine wetlands. Nevertheless, these were just the teaser to the largest subtropical wilderness of the country.
Being so close to the population centers of Florida, the Everglades ecosystem experiences multiple stresses: from human intervention to control to the flow of water, air and water pollution, the lowering of the fresh water table, and last but not the least, the rising sea levels from the global climate change. It remains to be seen how much impact these factors have had already, and how much more the region's ecosystem can take
Everglades National Park
FL USA
For the Planet
The earth is old. 5 billion years old. In that time, millions of species have evolved and become extinct. Humanity is but a temporary blip in this vast canvas over time. And yet, in that short time, we have somehow managed to impact the environment in ways very few other life forms have. And these changes have left permanent scars, and has happened at a rate faster than the life in this planet can adapt. Examples abound, from increasing CO2 levels, rapid deforestation, and higher-than-average rates of species extinction. And at such a scale, these impacts are but a statistic. And when a calamity becomes a statistic, we often tend to ignore it. And change never happens.
What triggers change is usually individual events that take on viral lives of their own - the death of the last wild southern white rhino, the recent tragic killing of a pregnant elephant in India, the illegal trophy hunting of Cecil the Lion, the death of Harambe, and so many more. It was one such event that spurred me think of the pain and the grief these creatures go through from a decision not of their in making. It was, needless to say, an emotional day.
These animals paid and continue pay the price for a choice humanity made. One cannot reverse it, but I hope to help reduce the impact we have impressed on the one life-bearing planet. On this World Environment Day, both my partner and I have pledged to donate 5% of our income to charities focused on preserving the environment, and on helping the other species who cohabit this planet survive and thrive. It may be a small amount, but over time, we hope to increase it and have even more impact.
Well you join me?
Sunstars
While a part of my weekend time is spent looking at my photo archives for jogging my memories, a part of it is also spent gathering inspiration for future travel. And sometimes, looking at my archives can motivate me to seek new destinations.
This was one such archival set - a backpack I did into the coastal range of British Columbia into the heart of Garibaldi Provincial Park. While exploring opportunities to shoot by the lake at sunset, I found a small patch of fireweed catching the fire of the last light. This inspired me to start booking backpacking trips in this beautiful part of Cascadia.
Garibaldi Provincial Park
BC Canada