“Share your vision of our magnificent Earth through your lens,” challenges Jen H this week.
At Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens lush beds of cycads flourish, plants which have an ancient lineage going back 250 million years. In a time-warp take a Pterodactyl hangs suspended and the impression is of a different era. Thinking of epochs and this ever changing dynamic earth of ours: in the Jurassic era fossil records indicate that many of the arid deserts of the Triassic were replaced by lush rainforests. The first birds appeared evolving from the pterosaurs. Crocodilians made the transition from a terrestrial to an aquatic mode of life. Dinosaurs roamed and then disappeared, wiped out.
In today’s terms of the Anthropocene: greenhouse gasses, climate change and the rapid extinction of species, one wonders about Mother Earth’s balance.
Let’s make the planet a greener place.
As a tribute to Earth day and the green movement, I’d like to give a shout out to an organisation here in Cape Town – www.Greenpop.org;
“Greenpop plants trees and invites everyone to join the treevolution, see inspiration instead of gloom in the green space and create innovative and sustainable solutions. We pride ourselves in making green living fun, educating people on best practice tree care, monitoring our trees and ensuring that together we leave a lasting legacy.”
Nature on the Edge 
We’re just a blip on the screen.
Too true, Eliza!!
An oft quoted Greek proverb reads: A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in. It has taken 25 years for our formerly bare, cactus-laden (aliens all) garden to become a leafy forest that attracts birds and shelters us from the worst of the summer heat. Trees are an investment in the future and are a wonderful thing to plant in memory of a dear one or simply to celebrate a birthday!
Lovely comment, Anne and i like the metaphorical in that quote too – paying it forward. It must have been rewarding to see how garden you created flourish with the fit of indigenous ecosystems. Cactii just don’t quite cut it when it comes to providing leafy greeness.
A beautiful and thought provoking interpretation Liz and Greenpop sounds great, nearly 60,000 trees planted! We have a similar organisation in my town – on a smaller scale, http://www.book-cycle.org/
It’s heartening that awareness is growing worldwide that we need a greener future. Like that the book-cycle projects have an holistic approach including through books and education. All filtering through an ongoing awareness.
Love your Pterodactyl Liz! And I agree with your sentiment. We must look after our Earth.