On the 22nd of October, we welcomed Marsh Deane to Open Forum. Marsh is accomplished photographer who owns his own business, MLNL Media. MLNL Media does all kinds of photography from real estate to nature to weddings. Marsh is also a teacher at TGS. He started out by teaching photography, then branched out to also teach Earth Science and Robotics. Marsh brings lots of knowledge and experience to the school through his job and personal knowledge of the local land and environment. 

Marsh believes in the power of immersing yourself in nature and the necessity of preserving nature for future generations. He spoke to us about a wonderful experience he had in the Congaree National Park photographing the synchronous fireflies that appear there every spring. He went on the Congaree, traveling miles upriver on his kayak to reach the most secluded parts of the swamp. When he arrived, he went deep into the forest to find the fireflies, a twinkling array of beautiful lights in the night.

For Marsh, this experience put a deep focus on how we tend to skip over the little things we see every day, whether it be the trees, the wildlife, the river, or anything else. He reminded us that some other places, like big cities, can’t even see the stars in the night sky due to light pollution. Marsh’s journey into the Congaree Swamp gives us an example of exactly what he hopes people will have the courage to do—he went deep into the wild to capture nature in its purest form. Through this journey, he told us that he conquered his fears and truly “witnessed the Holy Spirit deep in the Carolina night.” 

We thank Mr. Marsh for sharing his inspiring account of his journey in the Congaree National Park and his experience with the beautiful wildlife deep in the pristine forest.

By Nolan