Conservation

What exactly is nature conservation?

Most every company is proactive in mentioning it these days. Evidently I’m no different, as here I am devoting an entire section of my website to the topic!

While I can only speak for myself, when I think of conservation, I think about the wildest of spaces, and how crucial it is to keep them wild.

See, in my mind, everything in our world fits into one of two categories: God-made or man-made. I don’t believe it is any surprise that no human ever craves concrete or steel, but that we all crave the ocean, a river, or our favorite mountain vista. The natural world around us—Creation—is where our desires lie.

Visiting a zoo and seeing a giraffe or bison or lion is great—until you’re able to witness the same species in the wild. Afterwards, it will be hard to ever get excited about seeing one in captivity. A perfectly manicured palm tree at a massive real estate development alongside a concrete curb can be beautiful—but it is easily surpassed by any never-trimmed palm on any beach anywhere. 

Unfortunately, partially out of necessity, and partially out of greed, our natural spaces in their original God-made glory are dwindling. There just aren’t many left. Even many of our protected spaces aren’t in their original condition, but have only been protected after being altered by man. 

So, for me, conservation is about protecting the wild places and wild things that we all cherish and crave. 

Our world and lives are complex. If you’re like me and live in Florida, chances are high that fairly often you drive by a recently clear-cut patch of land that was previously filled with pines and palmettos or palms. A real estate developer viewed the parcel as a real estate transaction and only in terms of ROI. That is short-term thinking. 

In Costa Rica I learned an expression that many locals ascribe to: “a tree left standing is worth infinitely more than one cut down.”

People don’t visit places like Florida’s gulf coast or Jackson Hole for beautiful accommodations and trendy shops. They visit for the natural beauty; everything else is ancillary. What will happen, then, when the balance is permanently tilted, and too much of the natural environment is replaced with condos and shopping centers that all look alike? 

The natural Creation will have been destroyed for a short-term financial gain, and future generations will never get to enjoy the beautiful sights we saw. Have a conversation with any elder person that grew up at or near your favorite beach or mountain retreat, and I’m positive they can share endless saddening stories about the changes that have already occurred.

I want to do what I can to help conserve the wild places and wild creatures that God blessed us with. I’m confident that he didn’t create so many species solely for us to destroy them or hunt them to extinction. 

I have no problem with responsible hunting. But some species are just highly special and deserve special protections. A cow is not the same as an elephant or a bear. If you’re not convinced, try looking them in the eye sometime. It will change you.

I have no problem with responsible development. We all need shelter, but perhaps the poor real estate developer could manage to leave a few trees standing instead of clear-cutting acres at a time. 

Conservation will be an evolving focus of mine with my work. As I visit new places and as I learn new things, I’m sure my goals will change. That’s only natural. For now though, I’ll be selecting captures and featuring them within a new “Conservation Collection.” These captures will have a designated non-profit beneficiary that is doing wonderful work relevant to the subject of the capture, and your purchase will result in a financial gift being given to the organization in your honor. 

We’ve all been blessed differently, and accordingly, each of us has different responsibilities and opportunities to do good. My sincere hope is that my art helps everyone who sees it to have a greater appreciation for God and his Creation, and to have an increased desire to do what they can to protect and conserve it. With this new Conservation Collection, I’ll be able to directly make an immediate impact, but only with your help.

Beneficiaries will only consist of organizations that I’ve personally observed and/or worked with. While I’m certainly not an accountant or auditor, I’ve seen these groups doing great things, and am as confident as I can possibly be that they’ll be fantastic stewards of all donations received. I may not agree with every position they take or statement they make, but I believe enough in the work that they do that I’m willing to set aside differences in favor of common ground. 

I’m deliberately starting with a very small number of captures, and will grow this collection as I learn more and gain knowledge of organizations that will be great stewards of your investment.

Thanks for reading. It means a lot to me that you share my passion for the wonderful Creation around us. I’m just one person with a crate full of photography equipment, but I’m confident that together we can make a difference. 

Naturally Yours,