Deep in a jungled land, where monkeys and apes share the trees with myriad snakes, birds and giant insects – and the orangutan
As the flight neared the Borneo shore, the forest merged from the fog. The steam wafted skyward, slowly and mysteriously revealing the grandeur of the last remaining patches of Malaysian rainforest. Thoughts of strange wild men and headhunters still lingered as I contemplated my imminent arrival in Kota Kinabalu (K.K. to the locals), the capital…
There are many positive environmental outcomes as the result of a dramatically slower economy
The media is filled daily with dire stories about COVID-19. Is there anything good coming out of this pandemic? Beyond the sadness and unease, some benefits will positively impact our lives and the health of the environment. The most obvious environmental benefit is that travel has diminished significantly across the globe. Tens of thousands of…
As we get off the bus at Sapa, Vietnam, my wife and I are enthusiastically greeted by the lilting voices of a group of women trying to sell us goods. The sound floats through the crisp morning air of the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range, where this city of 40,000 people is situated. The women…
Surprisingly, plenty of insects migrate. Just like birds, they seek to escape the cold, and find food and places where competition is lessened
Migration is a concept most people don’t really understand and have difficulty relating to, since it’s something we humans just don’t normally do. When we think of migration, we think of birds and mammals primarily, for these are the most obvious creatures to migrate. Twice each year, billions of them travel to or from their…
When I was young, I worried about the environment and tried wherever I could to facilitate change, in both myself and others. My primary focus was on DDT and those other hazardous hydrocarbon-based pesticides that were so freely used in the 1970s. I’m not sure if I was directly influenced by Rachel Carson and her…
As we approached the island, our anticipation rose and ebbed as we watched the weather. We weren’t sure if, after travelling so far, we could even land
As a guide, I often get to travel to exciting destinations. For example, I recently participated in an adventure to the Canadian Maritime provinces that took me to Sable Island. I’ve felt the urge, almost the need, to visit this magical place for most of my adult life. I’m not sure really why since it’s…
In January as the days get longer, the trees start preparing for spring and the buds start to swell
Every year about this time, I get quite excited as my trees start to get chubby! They aren’t really putting on weight, but their profile looks different than it did in November and December, when it was easy to see the sky through the branches since the buds were very small and the twigs weren’t…
Troy Media is pleased to introduce a biweekly column by naturalist and author Geoff Carpentier
Troy Media is pleased to introduce a biweekly column by naturalist Geoff Carpentier. Geoff’s interest in nature started when he was 13, wandering through the woods near his home in northern Ontario. He studied zoology and biological sciences at the University of Guelph before working for more than three decades in senior positions with the…
As the flight neared the Borneo shore, the forest merged from the fog. The steam wafted skyward, slowly and mysteriously revealing the grandeur of the last remaining patches of Malaysian rainforest. Thoughts of strange wild men and headhunters still lingered as I contemplated my imminent arrival in Kota Kinabalu (K.K. to the locals), the capital…
