BY ALMA LISSETTE SÁNCHEZ AND GONZALO DE LEÓN
The photography exhibition “Discover the forest” was presented from April 14 through 16, 2017, in the Semeel Jak Museum located in the Sierra San Pedro Mártir National Park, in Baja California.
The exhibition was offered to the visitors as an activity during Easter Week as a means to promote conservation education.
“It is important to share with the public the experience of photographing wildlife, like coyotes, condors, mule deer and rattlesnakes”, said the park ranger and photographer Felipe Leon during the opening ceremony.
The photos were taken by 6 nature photographers, who donated their work to support conservation actions and to promote the natural beauty of the park.
The exhibition features 15 photos of flora, fauna and several landscapes of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir National Park. It also includes photos taken by camera traps, as part of a mammals monitoring program that began in 2011 and that has provided evidence of the presence of cougars and bobcats, among other species.
With a rich variety of endemic flora and fauna species, the photography exhibition aims to amaze the visitors with images of what they can find in the park; also, so that they can learn more about the coniferous forest and the southernmost boreal relict in North America.
It is intended that the visitors of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir National Park feel part of the forest and spread the efforts to protect it. Around 500 visitors enjoyed the exhibition while they received a short lecture from the volunteer guides.
The exhibition “Discover the forest” will be displayed in the Cultural Center of the city of Mexicali during May, and it will be displayed in the State Government Offices in Ensenada in June of 2017.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
This event was presented by the Sierra San Pedro Mártir National Park and sponsored by Terra Peninsular, Idea Wild, the Art Faculty of the University of Baja California (UABC) and Foto Natura México. The volunteer photographers are: Francisco Buelna, Felipe León, Cynthia Ortiz, Eduardo Prieto, Nathán Velasco and Elena Suarez, as well as Elías Zavala, who provided the photos of the camera traps.