New Brunswick is a province shaped by nature.
From the forests covering much of our landscape to the rivers, lakes, wetlands, coastline and backwoods that wildlife depend upon, we are fortunate to live in a place where the natural world is still very much around us.
But having nature around us and respecting nature are two very different things.
Respect means understanding that when we enter the woods, walk along a river, visit a wetland or travel down an old back road, we are entering places where countless other living things already have a home.
We are the visitors.
The Forest Is Not Empty
One of the things I have learned through nature and wildlife photography is just how easy it is to walk through the woods without realizing how much life surrounds you.
Sometimes the forest seems completely quiet.
Then you stop.
You listen.
A chickadee calls from a branch. A woodpecker works on an old tree. A squirrel moves through the leaves. A deer watches you from somewhere you hadn't noticed. A frog sits almost perfectly camouflaged beside the water.
Maybe there is a fox nearby.
Maybe a coyote passed through hours earlier.
Maybe a grouse is sitting quietly only metres away.
The fact that we cannot see wildlife does not mean wildlife isn't there.
That is something we need to remember whenever we enter natural areas.
The forest isn't empty simply because we don't see its residents.
Leave Wildlife Wild
Respecting nature means respecting wildlife enough to give animals space.
Wildlife should not have to perform for us.
As a photographer, I understand the temptation to get closer. You see an animal and want that perfect photograph.
But no photograph is worth frightening an animal, separating a mother from her young, disturbing a nest or forcing wildlife to abandon a feeding area.
Sometimes the most respectful photograph is the one you don't take.
If an animal begins changing its behaviour because of your presence, you are probably too close.
Back away.
Let it continue doing what it was doing before you arrived.
Wildlife does not owe us an encounter.
Stop Treating the Woods Like a Dump
This is something that particularly bothers me.
I've walked through the backwoods of New Brunswick and seen garbage where garbage simply should not be.
Cans.
Bottles.
Old furniture.
Plastic.
Construction material.
Household garbage.
Sometimes entire piles of waste are dumped along back roads and in wooded areas.
I will never understand the thinking behind this.
How can someone drive into a beautiful forest, unload garbage onto the ground and simply leave?
Someone may say, "It's only one bag."
But one bag becomes another.
Then another.
And before long, a beautiful natural area becomes an illegal dumping ground.
Garbage can injure wildlife. Animals can become trapped in containers or tangled in discarded materials. Chemicals and other substances can contaminate soil and water.
If you brought something into the woods, take it back out.
That shouldn't be a difficult concept.
Respect the Small Things Too
When we talk about wildlife, people naturally think about deer, moose, bears, eagles and other large or impressive animals.
But nature is much bigger than those animals.
A salamander underneath a rotting log matters.
A caterpillar feeding on a leaf matters.
A frog sitting beside a pond matters.
Bees and other pollinating insects matter.
Mushrooms breaking down organic material matter.
Native plants matter.
Even a dead tree can matter enormously.
A tree does not suddenly become useless when it dies. Standing dead trees and fallen wood can provide food, shelter and nesting opportunities while eventually returning nutrients to the forest.
Nature has been recycling itself far longer than humans have existed.
Not everything needs to be cleaned up simply because it looks messy to us.
Sometimes what looks messy is exactly what a healthy ecosystem needs.
Wildlife Does Not Understand Property Lines
Humans have divided New Brunswick into properties, municipalities, roads, industrial areas and political boundaries.
Wildlife knows none of this.
A moose doesn't know it crossed from Crown land onto private property.
A deer doesn't understand why a forest suddenly ends at a subdivision.
A turtle doesn't understand why a road now crosses the route it has instinctively travelled.
Birds don't know where one property ends and another begins.
Animals follow habitat, food, water and instinct.
That is why wildlife corridors and connected habitat are so important.
We cannot protect one isolated patch of forest and assume everything will be fine while surrounding habitat disappears.
Nature needs connections.
Slow Down on Our Roads
Respect for wildlife also needs to follow us when we get behind the wheel.
New Brunswick roads cut through wildlife habitat everywhere.
We should expect animals to cross them.
Deer, moose, porcupines, raccoons, foxes, turtles and countless smaller animals are not deliberately trying to inconvenience drivers.
The road crosses their habitat.
During times of increased wildlife movement, slowing down and remaining alert can save both animal and human lives.
And when you see a turtle crossing a road or wildlife standing near the shoulder, remember that the animal is simply trying to get somewhere.
Give it a chance.
Respect Rivers, Lakes and Wetlands
New Brunswick's waterways deserve the same respect as our forests.
A wetland may not always look spectacular, but wetlands can provide incredibly important habitat.
They support birds, amphibians, insects, fish, mammals and plants while performing ecological functions that benefit the larger landscape.
Our rivers and lakes are equally important.
What we put into the environment eventually goes somewhere.
Oil, chemicals, plastics, garbage and other pollution do not simply disappear.
Protecting water means thinking beyond what is immediately in front of us.
What happens upstream eventually affects something downstream.
Take Only Memories and Photographs
When I walk through the woods with my camera, one of the things I love is knowing that I can document something without having to possess it.
I don't need to pick the flower.
I can photograph it.
I don't need to capture the bird.
I can photograph it.
I don't need to bring part of the forest home.
I can bring home the memory.
That is one of the greatest things photography has taught me.
We don't have to own nature to appreciate it.
Sometimes appreciation means simply standing quietly, looking around and then leaving everything exactly where we found it.
Teach Children to Respect What Is Wild
If we want conservation to succeed decades from now, we need children to develop a relationship with nature today.
Take children into the woods.
Show them animal tracks.
Let them hear frogs calling from a pond.
Show them birds building nests.
Teach them the difference between observing wildlife and disturbing wildlife.
Let them get muddy.
Let them ask questions.
Teach them that insects aren't automatically something to kill and that snakes aren't automatically something to fear.
A child who learns to love the natural world has a reason to protect it as an adult.
We cannot expect future generations to fight for places they were never given an opportunity to experience.
Respect Also Means Speaking Up
There are times when respecting nature requires more than simply behaving responsibly ourselves.
Sometimes we have to speak.
When important habitat is threatened, speak.
When you see illegal dumping, report it.
When you see wildlife being deliberately harassed, don't simply ignore it.
When development threatens environmentally sensitive areas, ask questions.
When governments make decisions affecting wildlife, pay attention.
And when good conservation work happens, support it.
Conservation isn't about being against everything.
It is about recognizing that nature deserves a place at the table when decisions are being made about New Brunswick's future.
We Are Caretakers, Not Owners
Humans often behave as though the natural world belongs exclusively to us.
We decide where roads go.
We decide which forests are cut.
We decide where buildings are constructed.
We decide which wetlands are altered.
We decide which animals are considered valuable and which are considered inconvenient.
But perhaps we need to change the way we think.
Instead of asking:
"What can we take from this land?"
We should sometimes ask:
"What responsibility do we have to this land?"
We are only here for a short time.
The forests of New Brunswick existed before us, and I hope many of them will remain long after us.
That makes us caretakers.
Respect Starts With Simple Choices
You don't need to be a scientist, biologist or professional conservationist to respect nature.
You can start with ordinary decisions.
Don't litter.
Don't illegally dump garbage.
Give wildlife space.
Keep dogs under control around wildlife and sensitive habitat.
Stay away from active nests.
Don't unnecessarily destroy vegetation.
Drive carefully through wildlife areas.
Respect protected areas.
Report environmental damage when you see it.
Learn about the species living around you.
And perhaps most importantly, teach someone else why these things matter.
None of these actions alone will solve every environmental problem facing New Brunswick.
But respect is built through thousands of individual choices.
This Is Their Home Too
When I am standing quietly somewhere in the New Brunswick backwoods with my camera, I sometimes remind myself that I am the outsider.
The deer belongs there.
The grouse belongs there.
The fox belongs there.
The chickadee belongs there.
The insects, frogs, trees, mosses and mushrooms belong there.
I am the visitor.
That changes the way you experience nature.
Instead of asking wildlife to make room for you, you make room for wildlife.
Instead of entering the woods thinking about what you can take from the experience, you begin thinking about how you can leave without changing it.
That is what respecting nature means to me.
Enjoy New Brunswick's wild places.
Explore them.
Photograph them.
Learn from them.
Bring your children into them.
Sit beside the river.
Walk through the forest.
Listen to the birds.
Watch the wildlife.
But when you leave, try to leave that place as though you were never there.
Because these forests, rivers, wetlands and wild creatures do not belong only to us.
This is their home too.
And they deserve our respect.
Keith Dennis Brewer
Nature and Wildlife Advocate
New Brunswick, Canada
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