After a year long trip in 1992 in the new world (USA, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Ecuador), with a focus on birding, I was struck by the incredible and very disheartening destruction of the environment, especially in the tropics. Consequently, I decided to become involved in conservation.
After moving from South Africa in 1995, I worked for a while at the Smithsonian's and National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center, at Front Royal, Virginia. I was then hired as a GIS/Remote Sensing specialist by The Nature Conservancy, where I still work. During that time I travelled (some on vacation, but mostly on business) twice to Alaska (3 months and 1 month), Brazil (five times), China (twice), Cuba (twice), Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica (twice), Mexico (many times), Peru (thrice), Palau, Belize, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Venezuela (twice).
Below are some pictures and text of the amazing places I have been to.
In the summer of 1997 I spent three months in Alaska. For two of those months I had the privelage of spending time as a volunteer at Cape Peirce, part of Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. More...
I spent the rest of the time in Fairbanks working for the curator of birds, Dr Kevin Winker, at the University of Alaska Museum.
Another of my little adventures while I was in Alaska the first time was a trip up the Dalton Highway to and beyond the arctic circle, eventually getting to Prudhoe Bay.
Another adventure to Alaska was in the summer of 1999 (June) when we drove from Fairbanks to the Queen Charlotte Islands (in British Columbia, Canada), spent 8 days there, and then drove back (a round trip of 4000 miles!).
This trip was to the Yunnan Province of China. Here I was working on a conservation project with the Yunnan Provincial Government and The Nature Conservancy. I spent a month in China - two weeks in Kunming, the capital of the province, and two weeks in the field.
All the photo's on this website are my own.
You may download them and use them for your own use, but please acknowledge that they are mine.
If you want to use them for publication purposes please contact me.