The Great Horizon

This photo was taken at Anna Maria Island and depicts a beautiful sunset on the beach. This photo is important to me particularly because it shows how, if we keep our planet clean, we will be able to continue to enjoy all the things it has to offer. However, there are countless documentaries about pollution across the globe, specifically with plastic and other garbage in the oceans. Although we are not able to see the problems that this causes marine life in our daily lives, it is still ongoing and needs a solution. The best thing to do is simply not buy things with plastic packaging, plastic bags at the grocery store, or everyday household items. This can be things like making the switch to a bamboo toothbrush, using bar soap instead of constantly buying a new plastic bottle, buying food in bulk to not have plastic packaging, or finding an alternative to plastic water bottles and plastic straws. If everyone put in the smallest bit of effort into keeping the planet clean, we would start to see a lot of change.- Tori B.

Tori allowed me to visit this island and view its breathtaking sunset.  It is important to capture images like these to expose others to the beauty of the natural world.  If we keep harming the environment, especially the ocean, it may not look this amazing in the future.  Oceanic conservation is vital to the survival of marine life around the globe.  The best message to take from this is too mind your pollution and usage of plastic products.- Dylan Teegarden

This photo was taken near my home in Tampa. As you can see, I live very close to a busy road that is always hustling and bustling, being right in a large city. This picture makes me feel a bit uneasy. The reason being that, if it were up to me, I would never want to live in a place that is always roaring with sirens and is never silent. I would much rather live in an area with nature surrounding me, that provides the feeling of being safe. I would love to live in a more rural area, where there is peace and quiet. Not to mention that living next to busy roads like this one, and living a few blocks from the interstate, can be bad for your health. It may lead to serious health conditions like respiratory illnesses and harm to one’s cardiovascular system. These conditions can be things like: inflammation in the blood vessels, blood clots, asthma, bronchitis, and even cancer. (source: https://www.oprah.com/omagazine/living-near-heavy-traffic-and-noise-may-affect-your-health). Nevertheless, this environment allows for a lovely community and healthy neighborly relationships that are valuable qualities for me as well.- Tori B.

Many of us are much too accustomed to the city lifestyle.  We conduct each day confided to tight spaces surrounded by vast white noise.  Most people forget what it is like to experience nature and take a step back into the rural world.  Our carbon footprint has a major impact on the environment, and we have to make changes to our usage of fossil fuels.  The world needs to push for eco-friendly alternatives of daily transportation.  Communities must appreciate the environment and its inhabitants as a whole.  If not, we will find are selves contained in giant city, with only one surviving tree or bush to admire.-Dylan Teegarden

This photo was taken this summer out in the Gulf of Mexico, which is where Manatees reside. Something I learned this summer was that these animals actually get injured and even die because of boats. This is due to a lack of compliance and following laws put in place to keep them out of harms way. Learning this made me sad and I never want to have the blood of one of these creatures on my hands. Other than that, I learned a lot about scalloping. I learned how to find them, what season is best to find them, how to cook them, and what they taste like. Overall, it is very important to take care of the environment whether that be limiting one’s pollution or taking care of the animals that we coexist with.- Tori B.

The endangered manatee is just an example of the damage humans cause to the marine biome and its population of species.  Boating traffic is one of the most fatal dangers effecting animals in the ocean.  It is necessary for fishing to take place to support means of life and survival, however we must consider safer practices on the water that benefit the creatures below the horizon.- Dylan Teegarden

I consent to the use of my photos and statements for educational purposes, as well as to be published in Dylan Teegarden’s Photo Voice Project.- Tori B.

The central theme around Tori’s images and statements can be defined as the importance of environmental conservation and the reduction of pollution.