Inspiring the Human Race to Share their Space
A wave of grassroots philanthropy is quickly capturing hearts and imaginations along America’s Eastern Seaboard, as a parade of pachyderms has stomped the coastal bluffs of Newport, RI ... navigated the back alleys of Manhattan's Meatpacking District …and are now forging a path towards the swellegant scene at Miami's Art Basel festival- playfully interacting with fascinated advocates at every port of call!
Members of the elephant herd at Gansevoort Plaza in New York City's Meatpacking District. (Mark Warner/The Great Elephant Migration)
Doesn't each of us fondly remember when the circus came to our home town? In my case, it’s the childhood memory of lumbering elephants strolling up 8th Avenue - their hulking trunks holding tight to the skinny tails wagging in front of them - filing in a single line up to the old Madison Square Garden. Decades later I remain mesmerized by these gentle giants, the largest of all land mammals. But now I'm enthralled by the inspired mission of this Great Elephant Migration ("GEM"), and especially the Coexistence Collective - a community of aboriginal Indian craftsmen in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu who create these massive beasts by weaving woody stalks of (invasive!) lantana weed around a seriously strong steel structure. Says the comely co-founder of the Coexistence Collective, Ruth Ganesh: "Right now we are overlapping with wildlife more than ever before, as our human footprint expands. And as everyone wants most animals to survive and regain nature's balance, the answer is coexistence. India's elephants are the poster child of this movement, as they come from a place where the overlap is at its most extreme". Ganesh goes on to point out: "As a breed, the majestic elephants speak louder and more profoundly for the concept of coexisting, and their natural migration from East to West is inspiring the human race to better share the space we occupy".
Ruth Ganesh (Photo by Harry Benson)
Behind the scenes with artisans for the Coexistence Collective at work in India’s Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. (Photo by Michael Turek)