“In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love
only what we understand; and we will understand only
what we are taught.” (Baba Dioum)
We are all nature-obsessed nutjobs at Ocean Odyssey and most days you will find us bragging about Knysna’s wealth of natural assets, particularly its show-stopping marine environment. We are getting pretty good at convincing people that they simply haven’t lived until they’ve explored Knysna’s great outdoors. Our region is a veritable nature’s playground. You name it, we’ve got it… lakes, rivers, mountains, estuaries, sweeping beaches, ancient forests, fossilised dunes, intertidal wonderlands…you get the idea.
Of course, it is obviously good for business when we get the opportunity to showcase Knysna’s marine environment. But we want our narrative to be so much more than that. We want our stories about our daily wild encounters to inspire people. We want our images to make people want to get out onto the water. We feel an increasing sense of urgency to lure people outside so that they can to reconnect with nature, because we believe that when people fall in love with the natural world the way we do, they’ll be inspired to protect it.
It is no secret that our planet is in trouble. We witness the ongoing destruction of the environment in news stories across social media platforms day in and day out. But that is perhaps wherein lies the problem. Our addiction to our technological devices, and the need to constantly be connected to the web, has resulted in a serious disconnect with the world’s web of life. Our incessant need for material belongings, no matter what the cost to the environment, is simply because we have lost our connection to it. Many of us are suffering from a “Nature Deficit”, and along with it, a total disregard for the global crisis that is looming. If we lack a genuine connection to the natural world, we simply won’t give a rat’s arse about global warming, ocean acidification, forest destruction, species extinction and so forth.
Peter Kareiva, chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy, penned it perfectly – “If people never experience nature and have negligible understanding of the services that nature provides, it is unlikely people will choose a sustainable future.”
The more time you spend immersed in the wonders of the natural world, the more mindful you will become of your daily choices. And for each and every one of us 7 billion souls, DAILY LIFESTYLE CHOICES DO MATTER. The natural world is our lifeline, and as it slips into decline, so will we.
We want you to fall in love with being in nature. Knysna’s outdoor playground is a potent elixir for body, mind and soul. So do yourself and the planet a favour, switch off your devices and go:
Walk amongst the giants of our indigenous forests…
Swim in the sea…
Stroll along our sweeping beaches…
Sail across a liquid landscape…
Written by Lisa Leslie
All images by Lisa Leslie