Europe's Wild Wonders. Worth a look.

A plug for something is a common site and sound in all our media and I am certain I have unwitting done it many times in this blog.

I this case it is very deliberate. Please go and have a look at www.wild-wonders.com. Under the strapline Unseen. Unexpected. Unforgettable they have commissioned 60 of the best nature photographers in Europe to capture and create astonishing images that celebrate the best the is natural Europe from individual animals, birds and plants, to the most stunning landscapes. All of nature has been brought together in this pan European collection.

I was shown some of the images over dinner last night here at the Europarc conference in Stromstad, Sweden. Yesterday was excursion day and all of us had had a pretty long but exhilarating day, in the clear autumn sunshine that has made this event memorable. However I expect most of us just wanted to sit down eat dinner and get an early night. There was an almost audible sigh when the pa system started up and another Scandinavian with perfect English started talking, “yet another speech, please leave us alone”. The chap on the mic talked about celebrating Europe’s natural wonder and described the Wild Wonders project whilst showing a few of the images.

The tone around our table changed in an instant, Jim Dixon from the Peak National park, Helen Smith for the National Association of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Ashley Thomas from the Wye Valley AONB and I. are not a hard audience for great photos and even greater places. The thing about this slice of the conference was the positive, accessible and enjoyable tone of the project ad its beliefs.

A great change from my last blog. So go look at the site and its photos, sign up to support it when the exhibition comes to a shopping centre near you and plan to upgrade your phone to a Nokia next year as they will be shipping 500 million of theme with many of these images preloaded. Be inspired to go and enjoy these places and spaces. Hey are there for all of us to enjoy.

P.S have a look at Jim’s blog: http://jimdixon.wordpress.com/ Its not often a public bodies CEO bothers to try a communicate his values, experiences and ambitions to a wider audience in quite such a clear, open and accessible manner.