Joining the iLCW

Recently, the demands of work have limited my chances to think about this blog. Thankfully, it is a season when little is to be done in the way of hands-on river clean-up, as most of the waterways are swollen with the runoff of the spring thaw. At best, I would be collecting thoughts from various news reports on matters of conservation, as I have done often over the winter months.

That said, I have been making slow but steady progress on a companion blog, one composed of brief pictorial and written essays about the amazing places I have been fortunate enough to visit, whether by kayak, canoe, or on foot. As a part of that project, I have been studying independently (when time allows) to improve my photography skills. By that, I don’t mean just learning how to run a camera… but thinking about how to be a good observer and student of the natural landscapes and wildlife within my reach. This process led me to an organization known as the International League of Conservation Photographers, a group which boasts some of the finest natural photojournalists on the planet. My current photo skills do not provide for participation in that elite group. (Think National Geographic, Audubon, Discovery Channel, etc.) But discovery of that organization has led me to another, somewhat related peer group: The International League of Conservation Writers.

The iLCW is a young organization, founded only this year. But its interests are parallel enough to my own that I applied to join, and was recently accepted as an associate member. Recently, my addition—along with two other writers from Canada and the United Kingdom—were announced in this brief release at the iLCW website.

I have been writing professionally, in one way or another, for somewhere north of thirty years, now. (You might not know it by my skills in grammar or punctuation, but I hope color and character are an adequate substitute for my shortfalls in English composition.) Most often, my writing has had something to do with advertising copy, media production, or more recently, research, consumer behavior, and related marketing matters. But writing is not only something I am paid to do; it is something I enjoy doing; more so over the past several years, as my life has been given the compliment of numerous outdoor experiences, and a new appreciation for the same.

You may never have heard of the International League of Conservation Writers, and perhaps you will never consider it a high-profile group. But I’m really looking forward to benefiting from—and contributing to—a group of like-minded people, who share the goal of helping others appreciate…

Life.

© 2010 Mike D. Anderson, St. Michael, MN. All rights reserved.