By Ivan Sitohang
Author, Bob Steelquist, read from his bestselling book, “The Northwest Coastal Explorer,” opening the 2017 Studium Generale series.
The book will guide readers to get to know more about the Northwest coast and its habitats.
At the start of the presentation, Steelquist discussed the importance of the ocean and emphasized how crucial it is for humanity to protect the ocean for the good of all living things.
“I think it’s very easy for people to believe that the ocean is so vast, and that it controls itself. And people fall into the belief that we can’t hurt it. We can and we are hurting it in many ways,” he explains.
“The very fact that we’ve put so much carbon into the atmosphere, we’re changing the chemistry in the ocean. So I would like to emphasize that no matter how big it is, it’s still fragile and it still requires that we treat it with great respect.”
The Pacific Northwest is no stranger for its beautiful nature and landscape. There are many variations of activity that travelers can do here, especially on the coastline.
Steelquist, who spent his lifetime in the Northwest, said that he was always astonished by the beauty of the region, and it is also the reason why he loves to explore.
“I get to relive parts of my life over through the memory, and also learn and discover new things everytime. No matter how much you think we know, we’re not full. I love exploring, and photography is a challenge in a way of how you capture the beauty, and it’s part of my life.”
The Northwest coast has distinct habitats: The coastal forest, rocky shores, tide pools, sand beaches, nearshore, rivers, and estuaries. These 6 habitats are the main purposes of why people travel and visit the Northwest coastline.
Steelquist described the Northwest as an unlimited activities region.
“During winter season here, we can go backpacking and hiking to the coast because we’re prepared for it… We have nature accessible to us all year round, we have so much variety.”
With the rich and resourceful environment that the Northwest coastline has, the responsibilities for tourists and travelers to help preserve the nature is important.
And for Steelquist, the two most essential things that people need to have are knowledge and experience.
“For some people, they want to read about it before they experience it. Other people will experience it and then go home and read about it. But it’s combination of those two things that I think are most crucial to be able to protect and maintain the environment,” Steelquist stated.