User:Glarussa/Garth Lenz

Garth Lenz is a Canadian photographer and fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers.

Lenz specializes in landscape and aerial photography, exploring environmental issues and threatened wilderness regions and their impact on human populations. Upon learning that ten of the tallest trees in Canada had been discovered in the old growth forests of Carmanah Valley, which was slated to be clearcut, Garth felt the urgency of the situation and went to witness with his camera. The resulting images contrasted the untouched forest with the surrounding areas where clearcutting was occurring. This body of work was Garth’s first collection of published images, and he was subsequently asked to photograph clearcut logging on the west coast and in the western Boreal for a book entitled Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry, published by Sierra Club Books.

He has been documenting the Boreal forest since 1992 and first photographed the Alberta Tar Sands in 2005.

Childhood
The days that filled Garth’s early life on the north shore mountains outside verdant Vancouver, British Columbia, were spent in true wilderness fashion: building forts in the tall trees, swimming and fishing in Mosquito Creek, and occasional encounters with deer or bears.

Education
Much like the great conservation photographer before him, Ansel Adams, Garth deliberated between his love for the camera and the piano. Garth dedicated himself to the study of music while at university in Ontario, and it was there that he unwittingly experienced the Boreal Forest for the first time, a place which would later factor heavily into his photographic work.

With his studies concluded, Garth assumed a teaching post at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. His return to the west coast prompted a renewed interest in photography, as Garth immersed himself in the wealth of natural beauty that abounds on Vancouver Island. Upon learning that ten of the tallest trees in Canada had been discovered in the old growth forests of Carmanah Valley, which was slated to be clearcut, Garth felt the urgency of the situation and went to witness with his camera. The resulting images contrasted the untouched forest with the surrounding areas where clearcutting was occurring. This body of work was Garth’s first collection of published images, and he was subsequently asked to photograph clearcut logging on the west coast and in the western Boreal for a book entitled Clearcut: The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry. It was this opportunity that encouraged Garth to leave his teaching position and dedicate himself full time to conservation photography.

Conservation Photography
Garth’s interest in the Boreal continued to grow and in 2005 Garth completed a large project on the Boreal in which he traveled throughout the Canadian Boreal, visiting every province and territory of the Boreal in Canada. This was also Garth’s introduction to the Alberta Tar Sands. Garth explains why he has dedicated so much time to this region, stating “The Boreal requires time to get to know and photograph. One needs to become attuned to those subtle combinations of light and form that define the forests and wetlands.” Aerial photography became integral to Garth’s work, allowing him to capture the scale and grandeur of the terrain and create meaningful juxtapositions with the scarred landscape of the Alberta Tar Sands at the heart of the Boreal.

Since Garth began documenting the Boreal in 1992, his work has been featured in TIME, Sierra Magazine, New York Times Sunday Edition, and many more leading publications. His imagery has been adopted by leading Non Governmental Organizations to depict their urgent environmental initiatives. Images featured in Boreal Future have received major awards in both the International Photography Awards and Paris Px3 Prix de la Photographie.

Boreal Future: Our Last Great Forest and the Threat of The Tar Sands
At 1.3 billion acres, the Canadian Boreal Forest is one of the world’s largest intact eco-systems, providing a myriad of benefits. Perhaps the world's greatest and most effective carbon storehouse, the Boreal’s old growth trees are extremely effective at absorbing harmful greenhouse gasses and releasing life-giving oxygen into the atmosphere. The wetlands of the Boreal filter millions of gallons of water per day, and the forest still supports a natural food web that is home to many First Nations communities.

The Alberta Tar Sands in the heart of the Boreal Forest are both the largest proven oil reserves outside of Saudi Arabia and the single largest source of oil for the United States. The proposed expansion of the Tar Sands would cover a section of the Boreal the size of Florida, imperiling our fresh water supply and stripping bare much of this vital forest.

Photographer Garth Lenz has been documenting the Boreal Forest since 1992. His images reveal the present beauty of the region and the environmental impact now underway, suggesting alternative outcomes for our Boreal Future.

Conservation groups such as the Sierra Club have identified the Boreal Forest as an incredible resource to be defended against the proliferation of oil companies exploiting the Tar Sands. For those who have experienced the Boreal first hand like photographer Garth Lenz, the Boreal truly does stand out as our last remaining great forest. With most of the Boreal still intact, there is still the possibility to preserve the area’s bounty. Dedicated champions of the Boreal like Garth are exposing the detrimental effects of the Tar Sands development with high hopes for a positive outcome for our Boreal Future.

Documentary Work
Garth was the primary photographer for the Documentary, Tipping Point: The Age of the Oil Sands. This controversial film documents the harsh reality of the Alberta Oil Sands and the environmental struggle that is currently unfolding. This dramatic documentary focuses on the community in the northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan and their struggle with various rare illnesses including cancer. The community believes this is from the oil sands production while the global oil companies stated this process produced zero toxins.

The leader of this fight was Dene Elder Francois Paulette who based on Dr. David Schindler's findings lead the fight to show the world that the water was carrying higher than normal levels of toxins including but not limited to Arsenic and Mercury. Soon he was able to enlist Hollywood director and activist James Cameron to bring attention to the struggle for environmental legislative reform. This has lead to the Canadian government reviewing their pollution monitoring and show that the oil sands production have a direct environmental impact on the surrounding communities including the boreal forest.