We were extremely lucky to see an exhibit of the incredible Joel Satore’s (www.joelsatore.com) Photo Ark Project (www.photoark.com) whilst on holiday in the U.S. this past summer. Upon returning home to Kingston, Canada, this amazing experience inspired our middle son, age 12, to ask if we could do a Photo Ark of insects from around the cottage. Well, he didn’t need to ask twice!! We set up a mini photo studio in the garage and he began searching for marvellous creatures. Some of his finds are shown below:

An enthusiastic naturalist, my son was adamant that no insects get hurt during this project. He was very keen on taking photographs quickly and efficiently so he could put our little friends back where they came from as soon as possible.

One of the reasons Joel Satore has said he shoots his Photo Ark on either white or black seemless backgrounds is that he wants the smallest creatures to get the same real estate as the larger ones. We took the same approach and marvelled at the beauty and diversity of what literally lives in our own backyard!

Our young entomologist has long been a member of the Kingston Junior Naturalist Club. This fabulous organization has been run for many years by one of our community’s unsung heroes, the wonderful Anne Robertson (no relation). Anne has inspired children and adults alike for nearly 50 years with her passionate commitment to educating us all about our natural world.

Upon returning to his elementary school, our son began bringing a different species from his Photo Ark to school each day to present to the children in the younger grades. He also put together a book filled with his Ark and information about each insect for his Junior Naturalist meetings. The ripple effect has begun…

Global educators like Joel Satore and local heroes like Anne Robertson make more of difference than perhaps they’ll ever know. Thank you to them, and to the countless others like them, for inspiring us all. And thank you to my amazing son, whose passion and commitment inspires me every day.