Regularly searching the Internet and using FaceBook has revealed that a high proportion of people search for and “like” images of the Southern Lakes area in the south of New Zealand’s South Island.
In response this site has evolved as a fun place for artist / photographers, natural history enthusiasts, scientists and the public, to come together to examine and share information about the unique and threatened environment that southern New Zealand is, and the flora and fauna it hosts.
As of June 2017 the site is about one year old, and evolving slowly in response to feed back. Analytics for example, installed on the site indicate visitor trends: often they’re 22-34 years old, and that this group and all visitors tend to look at it from tablet devices.
So far content is gathered and managed by a handful of people, and more comes in weekly from the likes of New Zealand’s Dept of Conservation.
The onging goals are:
- Acting locally with global issues in mind, to publish content pertaining to environmental education worldwide.
- Foster and nurture a core of regular contributors and authors
- Encourage discussion of environmental issues, and ethical choices
- Promote positivity and hold that space, to offset the oft prevailing feelings of helplessness
- Maintain an ethos of science under-pinning planning, action, publishing and comment
- Reinforce the concept that if a billion people do one little thing to aid a healthier environment, then change will occur
- Use art to illustrate articles aimed at raising awareness and changing common perceptions to the most healthy possible for future generations
If you’d like to be part of this project, especially from a sustainable environment perspective please contact me:
Donald Lousley
May 2015
A recent photo [June 2017] of my son Red, and myself at Jackson Bay, South Westland having a day out by the sea in an area frequented by seals, penguins and dolphins. However our luck was out and we did not see anything.
Backgrounds:
Red:
- Chemistry degree Otago Uni., and Computer Science.
- Strong interest in biology pertaining to southern NZ. And anthropology.
- Currently studying Health related papers – again Otago Uni. School of Dentistry, while also working there
Donald:
- IT company owner with a focus on web site solutions and Apple hardware and training [an ex reseller]
- Ex mountain guide and outdoors instructor
- Photographer and writer
- Dept. of Conservation summer contractor – hut custodian work Mt Aspiring National Park, including native bird monitoring and predator control
How we get to the “southern light”, and back again, on picnic style information and photo gathering follies. Here enjoying visiting an historic and semi restored wool-shed in a remote corner of the Mckenzie Country, where my grandfather used to work.
Cheers and thanks for visiting this site
PS Views expressed in this web site are not necessarily my own