Blog

Last week I had the privilege to observe a phenomenon I’ve seen play out time and time again. Public tours for JLT often result in people from diverse backgrounds on the same boat – two, three, sometimes four or more separate family units. At the beginning, one can often sense the hesitancy. Who are these strangers I’m about to spend the next few hours with? Will it be awkward? Will this be a waste of time? However, almost without exception, conversation inevitably ensues, common ground is discovered, and, over the course of just a few hours shared in the enchantment of what we call Jocassee, connections are made. In conservation biology, one of the hallmarks of ecosystem health is diversity. However, diverse ecosystems are not healthy simply because of how many different organisms and resources are present, they are healthy because of the connections which exist between and among all the parts. Here’s to diverse ecosystems, in all their forms, and to special places which facilitate them. ~Rocky Nation, JLT guide.