Photograph by Michael Nichols
Photograph by Michael Nichols
You have heard the phrase, “vote with your feet.” Few people have ever taken this to heart as completely as J. Michael Fay, a biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society and Explorer-in-Residence for National Geographic. Driven by an unyielding passion to document and preserve the last wild spaces on Earth, Fay has gone to extremes to raise the profile of these Edens.
In 2001 he set out on a 2,000-mile walk through the heart of Africa to document the largest unspoiled area on the continent, an expedition dubbed as the Megatransect. As a result of this historic expedition, Gabon established its first system of national parks, offering protection to over 10 percent of its flora and fauna.
Inspired by this success, Fay set his sights on all of Africa, spending eight months on the Megaflyover project, flying low and slow over 60,000 miles of Africa. The expedition captured a hundred thousand digital images, creating an unprecedented record of the environment and sparking further action for conservation. Recently, Fay completed the Redwoods Transect, walking the entire range of the Redwood Forest in North American to encourage conservation of these old growth forests.
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Think Big
Using his life’s work as an example, Fay inspires us to dream beyond what seems possible, and to consider what we might achieve if we were willing to see ourselves as powerful.
Learn More About Michael:
National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Profile
Listen to Radio Interview With Michael Fay
Boyd Matson Interviews Michael for NG Weekend Radio Show
Outside magazine explores what has Michael Fay questioning the way forward for the conservation movement.
Explorer-in-Residence Mike Fay describes his feelings as he treks through the California redwood forest.
David LaHuta sits down with conservationist and Nation Geographic explorer Mike Fay, notable for, among other things, the Megatransect, in which he spent 455 days walking 3200 miles across Africa.
NPR‘s Alex Chadwick talks with Mike Fay, an explorer and biologist for the Wildlife Conservation Society, who spent 15 months flying in a small plane across Africa and recording environmental data.
They can grow to be the tallest trees on Earth. They can produce lumber, support jobs, safeguard clear waters, and provide refuge for countless forest species. If we let them.
While poachers are slaughtering some of the last surviving central African elephants for their tusks, a refuge in Chad gives this endangered species armed protection—and a fighting chance.
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