As a landscape photographer and tour guide, it is fair to say I feel a very close attachment to the natural environment.

Part of the introduction to my new book talks about really feeling the timelessness of nature – standing on the wild Tarkine coast under dark brooding skies; or at the base of ancient trees in beautiful old forest and feeling something.

When issues like climate change and native forest logging/land clearing rear their ugly heads, it brings up very different feelings. We are at great risk of losing so many precious landscapes and ecosystems, and more than that, as climate change results in fiercer storms and floods, and amplifies droughts and fires, we are going to face serious challenges in the years ahead.

Discussion of these issues often comes across as negative or pessimistic, but I feel not addressing them is the real negative response. In terms of my new book, I’ve touched on this sense of loss just a little in my introduction, and again in the Tall Trees chapter. It certainly didn’t seem inappropriate to share just a few words on the fragility of these areas in light of all these issues at this point in time.

On a related note, I also included an acknowledgement to those who advocate for the protection of nature in the introduction to my book. Going back to the days of Gustav Weindorfer, who first advocated for the creation of a National Park at Cradle Mountain “for all people, for all time” more than 100 years ago, to the present day where Tasmania has a magnificent area of reserves, nature conservation/management issues have been part of our psyche for a very long time.

Tasmania’s reserves allow nature to go on doing its thing in peace, and for visitors to admire the process, as the world continues to get busier and busier, and the area of truly wild lands globally diminishes. We should be proud that so much of Tasmania is reserved, and it would only be enhanced by including places like the Tarkine and the groves of giant trees that remain unprotected.

I sincerely hope that my book serves as a nice little snapshot of what we’ve got at this point in time – that is – what makes Tasmania special, unique and indeed, timeless.

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On a separate note, thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered my new book – I posted the first batch out today (October 23) so books should start arriving later this week/early next week!

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This is probably going to be the last instalment of my “Timeless Tasmania – In Words” blog posts. I hope they have provided a little more insight into my thoughts and motivations behind the book.