Climate Change – Our New Reality
While working at the United Nations in 2014, I had the opportunity to photograph powerful messages projected onto the façade of the UN Headquarters in New York. More than a decade later, those words remain as urgent and relevant as ever.
Across the world, we are witnessing increasingly devastating natural disasters and profound changes in the environments upon which all life depends. Climate change is no longer a distant possibility; it is our present reality. For far too long, however, we have failed to heed the warnings of Mother Earth.
The late Dr. Jane Goodall once wrote: “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Her words remind us that, although the scale of the climate crisis may seem overwhelming, every individual choice still matters.
Dr. Goodall’s pioneering journey began in Tanzania more than six decades ago. Today, her legacy continues through the Jane Goodall Institute, whose work recognizes the profound connection among animals, people and the environments they share. Its community-led approach demonstrates that lasting change becomes possible when conservation respects local knowledge and empowers people to protect the places they call home.
The Institute’s research indicates that a large majority of Canadians are concerned about biodiversity loss and climate change. Through its campaigns, it invites individuals, families and communities to become involved, reminding us that meaningful change is created through our collective actions. From the forests of Africa to Indigenous territories across Canada, its work is founded upon reciprocal partnerships that honour diverse ways of knowing and support those already working to protect what they cherish most.
For the past 25 years, my work as a photographer and visual artist has been deeply rooted in the natural world. I have always believed that life and a love of nature enrich the human spirit. By reconnecting with nature, with one another and with the places we inhabit, we can awaken a greater sense of awareness, responsibility and belonging.
I continue to place my hope in the younger generations. May they possess the courage, wisdom and determination to meet the immense challenge of climate change—not only for themselves, but for humanity, for every living creature and for the fragile beauty of our shared planet.
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