Anonymous

Private Citizen
Today’s Date: 20 December 2007

1. What interaction with an animal and/or nature in your life has had the biggest impact on you?

One of the largest influences in my life and one of the reasons that I decided to work in ecological and species conservation was my childhood growing up on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is a wilderness lover’s paradise, as is much of Canada, and I spent much of my youth exploring the outdoors and the sea. A particular interaction that specifically caused me to enter into this field of work was witnessing the protests against logging of Carmanah Valley’s old growth forests when I was 18 years old. Our family also had a dog growing up which was very much a part of the family and I believe influenced me in caring for the welfare of animals and species.

2. Did you have a favorite place in the great outdoors during your childhood?

One of my favorite places to be when I was a child was either the forests close to my home or an island close to the community where I grew up called Sidney Island. We had a boat growing up and would travel with other families to the uninhabited island to camp and swim and hike. It is a quiet island surrounded by sandy beaches, much bird and sea life and is an excellent place to be on a sunny day.

Now? I would say that one of my favorite places today is either Garibaldi Lake in Garibaldi Park, British Columbia or Krabi, Thailand where I visited several years ago. They combine two amazing outdoor features – the pristine mountains and glaciers of Garibaldi Park and the clear, warm, fish-laden waters of Krabi. These areas symbolize both a beautiful and species-rich wilderness environment for me.

3. As a former zookeeper, I would love to know what your favorite animal is and why?

If I had to pick one animal as a favorite, it would probably be the tiger, followed in close second by the dolphin. I believe tigers to be physically gorgeous and intelligent animals and feel that they very much encapsulate the species extinction crisis we face today. I read a “Time magazine” article on the dire circumstances of tigers in the wild when I was about 20 years old and the urgency of the article’s message has stayed with me all this time, 15 years later. I adore dolphins because of their intelligence, playfulness, and curiosity.

4. What do you think is the greatest environmental challenge facing us now, and what do you think will be the greatest challenge in the future?

I think that the greatest environmental challenge facing humanity now as well as in the future is climate change. It is such a massive problem and the result of so many entrenched human activities that I think it will be extremely difficult to deal with it now and for many years in the future. It is an environmental problem that will truly affect all aspects of life, including species loss on land and in the sea.

5. If you could give one piece of advice regarding the environment and our natural resources, what would it be?

If I could give one piece of advice regarding the environment, I would say that it would be for each individual to think very carefully regarding their actions in daily life, particularly regarding driving vehicles, flying in airplanes, energy consumption in homes, recycling, and purchasing products. There are many ways that we can easily help the environment through our actions, through being aware of the impact of our actions. I believe it is a very exciting concept to think of how our intelligent actions today can help keep our environment healthy and bountiful for future generations. I would like to know that people 100, 500 and thousands of years in the future will still be able to say that there are tigers and many other beautiful and important species living and flourishing in the wild. Humans need a healthy environment and species populations for their livelihoods just as much as they need us and our careful actions to preserve them.


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