Haliburton

Wow Clara! The African Safari looks incredible! While I’ve never had any experience like that, the most incredible encounters I have had with the non-human world took place in Northern Ontario. Growing up in Toronto, Canada, on holidays I would visit my Grandparents who lived about three hours north of the city in a town called Haliburton, Ontario. They lived in a cottage on an isolated bay of Koshlong Lake. In the midst of the vast and beautiful Canadian forest, I found my love and appreciation for nature. The leaves and the mosses, the streams, and the stones are vivid in my mind every day. While the area was not particularly full of biodiversity, I spent great portions of my childhood there hiking, exploring, and discovering hidden sections of the woods on the lake. In periodic clearings formed by ancient rocky moraines, deer would flock together along with loons on the lake and other wetland creatures. In these woods I found some of the most incredible sights and had some of the most amazing experiences of my life.

I believe that nature is something that we should be very concerned about as we humans are fundamentally part of nature. We depend on nature for sustenance, water, and countless other resources. In fact, it is nearly impossible to think of a thing that humans use that does not come from nature. But more than simple survival, nature reminds us where we come from and the simple beauty of life. I think this journey of self discovery and adventure must be preserved so future generations can enjoy the beauties of Northern Ontario and other sacred places just as I did.