My paradise looks like this picture. It is a rainforest in Borneo, a place full of orangutans, hornbills, leaf monkeys, and jawdropping kinds of insects. My moments in this forest have been among my most precious—hiking under the giant trees, swimming in the crystal clear creeks, and watching the animals.
But this place no longer exists. After my last visit, when I was 17, a logging company chopped down the trees and bulldozed the creeks. I don’t know what happened to the animals.
But in this forest’s destruction, something else was born: a person impassioned and determined to make a difference.
My passion for rainforests came at an early age.
I was a lucky child: my mom was a travel agent specializing in exotic locales, and my dad had about a million frequent flyer miles. They wanted to show my sister and me the world.
So we traveled all over. We went to places like Botswana, Australia, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and of course, Borneo.
Borneo wasn’t the first special place I lost, and it certainly wasn’t the last. The destruction of that particular forest, however, inspired me to try to make a difference.
In college I started writing a book to raise awareness of these places and what was happening to them. I spent three years writing the book and eventually found a publisher. Everything seemed to be going well.
Then one day I received some bad news from the publisher: it didn’t have money to put pictures in the book. But how could I convey the beauty of these places without photos?
That question lingered in my mind for weeks. Then I remembered why I wrote the book in the first place. I didn’t write it for money, I wrote it to make people care about rainforests.
The next day I started creating a web site so I could post the book online for free. I called the web site mongabay.com after another special place: Nosy Mangabe, a spectacular island off Madagascar.
Much to my surprise, the web site grew popular. So popular, in fact, that I thought I might try to make a living writing about rainforests. I quit my day job and never looked back. Since then mongabay.com has become one of the most popular conservation sites on the Web. The kids’ section, upon which this book is based, is now available in nearly 40 languages, and I have posted more than 50,000 photos that I’ve taken in dozens of countries. I’ve had opportunities to travel the world and meet fascinating people.
Most importantly, mongabay.com has had a real impact. It has introduced the beauty of rainforests to millions of people; supported rainforest conservation efforts in several countries; and helped stop destructive projects in Africa, Indonesia, and New Guinea. My dream has turned into something bigger than I ever imagined.
I hope Rainforests can be an inspiration for you. Maybe your dream isn’t saving rainforests, but I hope my story shows that today anyone can make a difference.
My parting message is that it’s going to take people with all backgrounds and interests—writers, photographers, programmers, performers, artists—to save the planet’s rainforests, but if you follow your passion, you can make a difference. Together we can save the Borneos, the Madagascars, or whatever places you call paradise.