True conservationists/environmentalists are a pretty focused passionate lot. In fact they rarely talk about much else. Certainly topics such as cars or phones don't come up except when talking about tools of the trade so stories about old jeeps can happen. Subjects like sport may provide light relief but talk about relationships will only result in shuffling of feet. Hey, I jest :)
True conservationists WALK THE WALK, both literally and metaphorically. They rarely take holidays and
the day never really ends because the mind is constantly working on the issues.
One day the knees may say enough is enough and the journeys mean different strategies. The conservation photographer will find different ways to get to his subject but he/she WILL get there. The conservation researcher may have to park his/her bottom in front of a laptop as they receive information from the physical walkers but they will still put in, for hours on end. For those working at ground level, paid or unpaid, the day can be wonderfully varied or extremely monotonous. However, the dedicated will not stop regardless of the task.
Shortly I'm going to profiling three people within the WildTiger framework. These are people with passion.
These are people I trust.
Trust is such a key element. My radar has had years to develop and I can spot hidden agendas much more quickly now. The term "friend" seems to be a pretty loose one now these days and money can often be behind the motivation for new "friendships". I even get a lot of guys wanting to get into conservation because it's "cool" and will hopefully improve their love lives! Reality check needed there, wannabees need not apply.
So I look for the truly dedicated. I look for people without ego and who truly want to improve their backyard. It can take time and I look for persistence and stamina in wanting to be involved. These things don't happen overnight. While I think most people consider me to be a friendly beast there's been occasions of late where after considered thinking I've had to do the right thing by WildTiger and let people go, change the status of working relationships. This isn't easy but it has to be done.
I mention this because support for WildTiger is growing in many ways. I want people to know that the people I involve are the right people and mistakes are corrected quickly.
I've got a really busy time coming up but I'll enlarge on this soon. I'm sure you'll enjoy the profiles as they get published. Once again a huge thank you for the support.
No comments:
Post a Comment