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Alan Watson Featherstone

ECOLOGIST, NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER AND INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER
FOUNDER OF THE AWARD-WINNING CHARITY TREES FOR LIFE

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Chile

Wild weather in the Araucaria forest of Chile, part 2

Chile: 24 October 2018 6 Comments

Young Araucaria trees (Araucaria araucana) covered in fresh snow, amongst lenga trees (Nothofagus pumilio) in early autumn colours.

This follows on immediately from my previous blog, about my visit to see the forest of Araucaria trees (Araucaria araucana) at the Nasampulli Reserve in Chile, during the southern autumn in April this year.  In the afternoon of my fourth day there, the snow had stopped (or so it appeared at least), and Esteban Arias (the researcher and park ranger based at the reserve) and I decided to go for a longer walk. This was along an old logging track, and it was easier going on that because it was more open, although the snow was still knee-deep in most places. As we walked I couldn’t stop wondering at how remarkable it was that just 24 hours previously, this entire area had still been in the middle of the rainstorm, but now it was a white wonderland. [Read more…] about Wild weather in the Araucaria forest of Chile, part 2

Wild weather in the Araucaria forest of Chile, part 1

Chile: 2 October 2018 4 Comments

Araucaria trees (Araucaria araucana) covered in fresh snow, amongst lenga trees (Nothofagus pumilio) in early autumn colours, Nasampulli Reserve, Chile.

One of the places I’ve been keen to visit during my trips to the Araucaria forests of Chile in the past three years is the Nasampulli Reserve. It’s an area of 1,200 hectares that is owned and managed by the UK-based conservation charity Rainforest Concern, in partnership with the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and Chilean scientists. Located on the site of a former logging concession, it contains undisturbed primary forest of Araucaria araucana, as well as previously logged areas that are in the process of recovery and restoration. [Read more…] about Wild weather in the Araucaria forest of Chile, part 1

Misty mornings in the Araucaria forest

Chile: 31 August 2018 5 Comments

Araucaria trees (Araucaria araucana) and ñire trees (Nothofagus antarctica) in autumn colour with old man’s beard lichen (Protousnea sp.) and clearing fog, Conguillio National Park, Chile.

This blog follows on directly from my previous blog, ‘The Araucaria forests of Chile, part 2‘, which ended up with me descending from the Sierra Nevada ridge in Conguillio National Park at night, with low-lying clouds covering Lago Conguillio and the surrounding forest. I knew then that the next morning the Araucaria forest would be shrouded in fog, which is one of my favourite times to be out in it. So although I was very late getting back to my campsite, where I then had to cook my dinner before going to sleep, I planned to get up early the next morning to take advantage of the special weather conditions. [Read more…] about Misty mornings in the Araucaria forest

The Araucaria forests of Chile, part 2

Chile: 31 July 2018 12 Comments

Araucaria trees (Araucaria araucana) and lenga trees (Nothofagus pumilio) in autumn colour in late afternoon light, with steam venting from Villarrica Volcano in the distance, Conguillio National Park, Chile.

During my most recent trip to the Araucaria forests of southern Chile in late March and April of this year one of my most memorable days was towards the end of my journey, when I was in Conguillio National Park. Centred around the active volcano, Volcan Llaima, the park contains a large area of forest dominated by the tree known in English as the monkey puzzle (Araucaria araucana), and gains its name from the large lake, Lago Conguillio, immediately to the north of the volcano. I’ve visited the park during several of my recent travels to photograph the Araucaria forest, and it’s one of my favourite sites to see the tree. [Read more…] about The Araucaria forests of Chile, part 2

The hummingbird stake-out

Chile: 28 June 2018 4 Comments

Green-backed firecrown (Sephanoides sephaniodes) perched on a flowering chilco bush (Fuchsia magellanica) in late summer, 2nd April 2018, Cañi Sanctuary, Chile.

When I went to the monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) forests of Chile in March and April of this year I had a specific list of target species I was hoping to photograph, to complete the images for my book project about the Ancient Araucaria Forests of the Andes. I referred to this book in my previous blog, and my visit this year was the last of five I’ve made since early 2015 to document the forest in all the seasons of the year. This time I was going in late summer and early autumn, hoping to catch some of the features and phenomena of both seasons. [Read more…] about The hummingbird stake-out

The Araucaria forests of Chile, part 1

Chile: 11 June 2018 8 Comments

Araucaria trees (Araucaria araucana) and ñire trees (Nothofagus antarctica) in autumn colours, with Llaima Volcano behind, Conguillio National Park, Chile.

For the past 3 years I’ve been making regular trips to the Araucaria forests of the southern Andes in Chile. I first encountered these remarkable forests in 1977, during an extended 6 month trip throughout the southern countries of South America, when someone I met mentioned there was an interesting forest on the pass between the Argentinian town of Junin de los Andes and Pucon in Chile. As I was planning to cross from Argentina to Chile, I decided to take that route, and discovered that what he had referred to was a whole forest of what I knew from Scotland as the monkey puzzle tree. [Read more…] about The Araucaria forests of Chile, part 1

Remembering Doug Tompkins

Chile, Miscellaneous: 14 December 2015 8 Comments

Doug Tompkins piloting his own plane, past the shoulder of the Michinmahuida Volcano in his Pumalin Park in Chile in February 2015.
Doug Tompkins piloting his own plane, past the shoulder of the Michinmahuida Volcano in his Pumalín Park in Chile in February 2015.

The world lost one of its leading and most effective conservationists this week, with the passing of Doug Tompkins, as a result of a kayaking accident on Lago General Carrera in southern Patagonia in Chile. Although he was perhaps not well known in the UK outside of conservation circles, he made a huge impact with his life in two very different fields. Firstly, as a founder of the North Face outdoor clothing and equipment company and as a co-founder of the Esprit clothing chain, he was a successful businessman. However, it was only when he left the business world behind, and devoted the last 25 years of his life to his true passion – the protection of wilderness areas – that he began to build a legacy that will persist for decades and even centuries to come. [Read more…] about Remembering Doug Tompkins

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    Ecologist, nature photographer and inspirational speaker. Founder of the award-winning charity Trees for Life that is restoring the Caledonian Forest.

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    rarohde Dr. Robert Rohde @rarohde ·
    11 Jun

    What might it look like in Europe if global warming causes Atlantic Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to collapse, inhibiting the warm ocean currents to Europe?

    Modest changes in Europe's summer paired with catastrophically colder winters.

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    jasonhickel Jason Hickel @jasonhickel ·
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    Providing decent living standards for 8.5 billion people requires only 30% of current global energy and material use. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452292924000493

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    wikileaks WikiLeaks @wikileaks ·
    11 Jun

    Palantir was hired by Bank of America in 2010 to target WikiLeaks. Their plan, later leaked to WikiLeaks, included hacking, disinformation and smearing supporters including @ggreenwald.

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