National Park Week is almost here! It’s the week of April 15-23, and the National Park Foundation and National Park service are partnering to offer free admission to hundreds of national parks (and monuments) across the USA on April 15-16th, so plan to get out and LOVE your parks on those days and beyond! Earth Day is also just around the corner, too – April 22 – and those same parks will also be offering free admission on April 22-23. It’s a great time to get out and enjoy your park(s), but also to take CARE of the earth, and there are local events near you that you can get involved in surrounding Earth Day weekend.
While I make some of my living from selling fine art landscapes/nature images, more important is that I am passionate about spreading the message of our need to preserve wild spaces, and wild animals and birds. I strongly support organizations that work with landowners, such as the Nature Conservancy, because I believe that in many cases, the land being used privately or commercially can be protected by working with the landowners, in both conservation and education.
I strongly support organizations that work tirelessly for wilderness protection, too, including those that go to ‘bat’ (i.e. court) in defense of public lands, wildlife, or land needing protection, such as Southwest Utah Wilderness Alliance who works so hard to protect Utah’s wilderness. I realize it’s not possible to donate to every group out there – my gosh there are so many – but we can do what we can, and also donate our time, a photo for fundraising or images for educational use. We can also blog and post on social media as a way to educate more people about the importance of preservation and conservation. It’s up to us to spread the word of the need for preservation and conservation, and our images can help do that.
Love your park(s)!
