We never know what might act as a spark when it comes to the natural world. It could be some profound and magnetic encounter with a wild animal or a commonplace connection with our local surroundings. It might be a thrilling journey on foot through remote mountains or the evocative atmosphere of an old-growth forest. … Continue reading Restoring Wetlands: a path into the future
This autumn I was meant to be in Chicago to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Wetlands Initiative and to help kick-off the next chapter of the organisation's vital mission to protect and restore wetlands across the American Midwest. Wetlands are amongst the most threatened and fragile ecosytems on the planet: in Europe, roughly two-thirds … Continue reading Wetlands: Havens of Life
Where Spain shelves into the sea at the most southerly tip of continental Europe only fourteen kilometres of water separate it from North Africa. Through the late summer haze you can see the buckled beginnings of Morocco’s Rif Mountains, towering over the glittering blue span of the Strait of Gibraltar. And with that landmass in … Continue reading Salt of Life
Francisco Armenteros stood beside a framed map of the Bay of Cádiz. “I remember something that my father once said: It was amazing when you came along the road and you could see so many little mountains of salt, like pyramids of salt.” Dating from the mid-1900s, the map reveals the complex saltscape of the … Continue reading The Moon is the Heart
He used the rake as if a gondolier, pushing the long wooden pole out into the briny water until he drew its flat blade backwards, pulling white crystals free of the shallow pond. The salt pan glimmered and shone in the fierce September heat of Andalucía, its crusted white surface blindingly bright. Flamingos cut a … Continue reading The Earth That Holds Us
Julian Hoffman 