{"id":57,"date":"2021-07-26T17:31:30","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T17:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/2021-7-20-the-imperative-to-become-an-ambassador-for-nature\/"},"modified":"2022-12-02T14:49:29","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T21:49:29","slug":"the-imperative-to-become-an-ambassador-for-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/news-items\/2021\/07\/26\/the-imperative-to-become-an-ambassador-for-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"The Imperative to Become an Ambassador for Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"57\" class=\"elementor elementor-57\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-341933a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"341933a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-fb3f40f\" data-id=\"fb3f40f\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e398c5e elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"e398c5e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-11aba40 elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"datePublished\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/news-items\/2021\/07\/26\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-calendar\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time>July 26, 2021<\/time>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-920e108 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"920e108\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>by Rick Dunn, Nature First Staff<\/em><\/p><p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-58 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4317_4319_p1200-1024x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4317_4319_p1200-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4317_4319_p1200-500x332.jpg 500w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4317_4319_p1200-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4317_4319_p1200-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4317_4319_p1200.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p><div id=\"block-yui_3_17_2_1_1626820031832_18260\" class=\"sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html\" data-block-type=\"2\"><div class=\"sqs-block-content\"><p class=\"\">\u201c<em>No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.<\/em>\u201d \u2015 Voltaire<\/p><p class=\"\">I\u2019ve been a nature photographer for over 25 years.\u00a0 I have an intrinsic appreciation for wild and natural places and the creatures that inhabit them.\u00a0 I made that appreciation the focus of my undergrad education, having earned a degree in Ecology &amp; Evolution but also having taken just about every course that the University of Pittsburgh offered relating to nature and the study of the natural world.\u00a0 I diligently recycle.\u00a0 My wife and I work hard to minimize our carbon footprint.\u00a0 As a poor college student, I still donated to Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Sierra Club and a half dozen other organizations working to preserve and\/or conserve segments of the natural world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\">It\u2019s tempting to think that in all these years, the depth and breadth of my appreciation for nature would translate into behavior that, at a minimum, would do no harm to the places I visit, photograph and love.\u00a0 But the truth is that has not always been the case.\u00a0 While I\u2019ve never knowingly committed egregious acts of destruction, I\u2019ve been guilty of the occasional rationalization that the impact of my ill-advised behavior was nearly insignificant (or, more honestly, wouldn\u2019t be noticed).\u00a0 Which brings us back to the quotation above.\u00a0<span style=\"font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><div id=\"block-yui_3_17_2_1_1626820843579_12287\" class=\"sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html\" data-block-type=\"2\"><div class=\"sqs-block-content\"><p class=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1375 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/0706-CAN-LF-3012_2p680-370x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"370\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/0706-CAN-LF-3012_2p680-370x500.jpg 370w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/0706-CAN-LF-3012_2p680-9x12.jpg 9w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/0706-CAN-LF-3012_2p680.jpg 503w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\" \/><span style=\"font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;\">There may have been a time when nature photographers and videographers were so few in number, and practicing sufficiently good field behavior, that the occasional innocent transgression wouldn\u2019t result in accumulated negative impact on nature.\u00a0 Those days are clearly behind us.\u00a0 There\u2019s little value in debating whether it\u2019s the increased popularity of photography, ubiquitous smartphones enabling the selfie crowd, worse behavior on the part of a minority of photographers and videographers \u2013 or, more likely, all of the above &#8211; that are contributing to the problems we see affecting our wild and natural places.\u00a0 We see the effect.\u00a0 We know it\u2019s bad and we know it\u2019s getting worse.\u00a0 But, we can do something about it and the solution does not require tremendous sacrifice \u2013 if <\/span><em style=\"font-weight: inherit;\">we all<\/em><span style=\"font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;\"> play just a small part, collectively we\u2019ll have a large enough impact to make a difference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p class=\"\">And that\u2019s the key\u2026 each and everyone one of who photograph nature have a role to play in protecting the very thing that we value.\u00a0 One of the most important and impactful roles is that of ambassador for nature, returning to the stewardship roots that defined so many notable early nature photographers.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\"><strong><em>Becoming an ambassador for Nature\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p><p class=\"\">All Nature First members commit to practicing the core principles that we developed to help educate and guide photographers in sustainable, minimal impact practices that will help preserve nature\u2019s beautiful locations.\u00a0 Members incorporate these behaviors into their daily activities and, in doing so, lead by example and play a crucial role in passively influencing others.\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\">In developing the principles, we intentionally included a single principle that addresses the imperative to <em>actively<\/em> influence others.<\/p><p class=\"\">Becoming an ambassador for nature means going beyond practicing these behaviors at an individual level and involves engaging with other photographers and videographers to more actively promote the principles in a variety of constructive ways \u2013 some proactive, some reactive.<\/p><p class=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1376 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/NFPrinciples-434x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"434\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/NFPrinciples-434x500.jpg 434w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/NFPrinciples-888x1024.jpg 888w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/NFPrinciples-768x885.jpg 768w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/NFPrinciples-10x12.jpg 10w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/NFPrinciples.jpg 1088w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 434px) 100vw, 434px\" \/>Members who take time to inform their fellow photographers of the Nature First mission and the principles and advocate for practicing sustainable nature photography play a crucial role in actively building our membership.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to note that we are not interested in membership growth for the sake of growth; we are compelled to grow membership because it\u2019s only when all photographers do their part that we can succeed in protecting the places we love to photograph.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\">Ambassadors for nature take on a wide range of roles and activities &#8211; workshop leaders and tour guides who take time to educate their clients about the of the places they\u2019ll visit and rules &amp; regulations to follow in order to protect the landscapes and wildlife; volunteers who take time to repair damaged areas or cleanup trash left by others; contest organizers who promote the Nature First principles in soliciting submissions and manage the sharing of detailed location information in a responsible manner.<\/p><p class=\"\">Ambassadors may also take on the role of constructively educating others about responsible behavior when they see a fellow photographer or videographer doing something that is harming nature.\u00a0 These teaching moments can seem awkward at first, but my personal experience has been that the vast majority of photographers \u2013 like my early self \u2013 are well-intentioned but occasionally unaware of the negative impact that they may be having, such as moving into a poorly marked restoration area or walking across sensitive tundra in a park with which they are not familiar.\u00a0 A friendly intervention often results in good-natured dialogue between photographers with a common passion.\u00a0 If and when someone persists in their activity, that\u2019s okay \u2013 we can\u2019t <em>convince<\/em> people to behave responsibly, we can only educate and inform, and trust that most photographers will appreciate guidance on responsible nature photography practices.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\">If we are to make a difference and succeed in our mission to conserve and protect our cherished places, we need the global photography community to return to their role as stewards of nature and ambassadors for the natural world.\u00a0 Now is the time.\u00a0 We hope that you will join us!<\/p><p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/join\/\"><strong>Become a Nature First Member<\/strong><\/a><\/p><p class=\"\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/volunteer\/\"><strong>Volunteer with Nature First<\/strong><\/a><\/p><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1377 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1000642_p720.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1000642_p720.jpg 720w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1000642_p720-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1000642_p720-16x12.jpg 16w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve been a nature photographer for over 25 years.  I have an intrinsic appreciation for wild and natural places and the creatures that inhabit them.  I made that appreciation the focus of my undergrad education, having earned a degree in Ecology &#038; Evolution but also having taken just about every course that the University of Pittsburgh offered relating to nature and the study of the natural world.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3472,"featured_media":58,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[52],"class_list":["post-57","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"authors":[{"term_id":52,"user_id":3472,"is_guest":0,"slug":"rickdunn3gmail-com","display_name":"Rick Dunn","avatar_url":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/cf1d99ba051f5382b353d266236763d9.jpg?ver=1775938590","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3472"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3065,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions\/3065"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}