One of my main objectives with wildlife photography and education is my underlying belief that as human beings we have an inherent, personal duty to be mindful stewards of our environment. As such, I wrote this post to detail how I approach this subject with my photography, educational endeavors, and guiding. I believe it’s necessary to strike a balance between outright exploitation of plants and animals and believing that it’s possible for us to have zero impact on the environment on the other. After all, even if we leave only footprints, those still have an impact. As ornithologists John Fitzpatrick and Amanda Rodewald state in The Handbook of Bird Biology: “meaningful conservation success can be achieved only by recognizing that the human factor does exist.”
Environmental Impact
While I believe it’s important to consider the environmental impact of our behaviors, it is also an extremely complex topic. While offsetting the carbon footprint of our behaviors sounds good on paper, the most frequent implementations of how to do it are often mismanaged or outright misleading.
That is why I support projects such as Mossy Earth which are focused on conservation and rewilding efforts rather than a specific carbon offset. I also am a member of Costa Rica’s Ornithological Society which sponsors research projects and support other local conservation efforts such as the KABEK program that protects the wild avocado trees that Resplendent Quetzals rely on.
Animal Wellbeing
The well-being of the animals is always of primary concern. While feeders should never be used as a purely exploitative measure, I believe (as does Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology) that they can be set up in a way that is mutually beneficial for birds and humans alike. Likewise, I believe playback can be useful in a limited fashion, avoiding behaviors like calling birds that are nesting.