"The Lovely and the Wild"
Gray Jays
Original Pastel on Museum Paper
14.5 x 20.5

For those of you who have had the privilege of hand-feeding the bold and inquisitive Algonquin Park Gray Jay, you may have noticed brightly coloured bands encircling their legs, evidence of previous contact with at least one other human. By putting combinations of coloured bands on different birds, researchers can recognize individuals and gain valuable information about their habits and the effects of the world on them. This information, once published, educates thousands of visitors to Algonquin each year through publications such as the Friends of Algonquin, Raven. The knowledge these articles impart ultimately cycles back to impact the park with increased reverence. So the next time we encounter a Gray Jay with tiny brightly coloured bands may it remind us in a not so tiny way of our co-existence with, impact on and stewardship of creation.