Copyright (c) 2010 Savannah Holtcamp
My latest article has come out in the Annual Water issue of Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, and has gotten a lot of positive attention! It's called Saving Land, Saving Water: Cities purchase land in the long-term fight to preserve aquifers. It includes a couple of my daughter's first published photos!
A new editor at the magazine sent me this when it was in editing, "I thought you did a great job on the water story. That was the story I was most worried about for that issue, and I thought you nailed it." And when the magazine came out, my other editor at the magazine sent me this email, "we’ve had great response to our July water issue. Last week, a groundwater board member called for extra copies of Wendee’s article, as he would like to see their board follow suit." It's always nice to get positive feedback! The article was based on the trip when me and the kids visited the San Antonio and Austin area during spring break - I blogged about it here. Here are the first 2 paragraphs:
As I approach the R-44, helicopter blades slowly whirring overhead, I think, “I’m not so sure about this thing.” I’ve come to Government Canyon State Natural Area, an 11,576-acre landscape on the western edge of San Antonio, to learn about the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program, through which the city’s residents earmarked sales tax to preserve vast swaths of natural lands that help ensure healthy drinking water in the aquifer below. Pilot Mike Luigs, a laid-back conservation real estate specialist, beckons me and my two teenagers. He’s smiling as if my life isn’t about to end, here and now, and my chest tightens, not at all matching the perfect spring day, all sunshine and blue sky and light breeze. “The weather couldn’t be more perfect for this,” says Luigs, who wants to show us what can’t be seen by foot. “You’ll love it.”
Encouraged by my son overcoming his own fear, nudging me, “I want to go,” we climb in, latch the doors, buckle our belts and place our earphones on. My daughter clings to the seat, I make the sign of the cross, and in two seconds flat we’re hovering, then rising higher. The limestone cliffs of Government Canyon stand out whitish-gray against the evergreen of ashe juniper trees and the still-bare deciduous trees. Signs of humanity appear in miniature from above — cars, roads, houses, swimming pools. As soon as we rise above the ground, the tension eases and my kids’ smiles tell me they’re having a blast.
I have now posted six blog posts for Nature on the Bering Sea Project, and I'll link to them below:
- Phytoplankton, micropoop, and the bottom of the food chain
- The Pribilof Islands
- What is happening to pollock?
- Wild Weather, Damaged Equipment & the Oscillating Control Hypothesis
- Water, mud and critters
- Setting sail for climate change research
And don't forget to check out the latest weekly stories on my Animal Planet blog!
1 comment:
A great big congratulations to you!! Well done!
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