The weekend of April 15-17, John was invited down to Mobile, Alabama for the SouthWings Fly-In, a conference attended by many of the volunteer pilots who are affiliated with one of SkyTruth’s Gulf Monitoring Consortium partners. John gave a presentation on Saturday, and then Sunday, had the privilege of going out into the Mobile-Tensaw Delta on a swamp tour with world-renowned naturalist E.O. Wilson hosted by another Gulf Monitoring Consortium member, the Mobile Baykeeper. John was very excited at the opportunity to go out and get his feet muddy (in loaned boots – thanks Ben!) alongside someone he’s admired and respected for many years. And to see alligators, dolphins, snakes and turtles. Did we mention alligators?

E.O. Wilson is the foremost expert on ants, and in this video from the Mobile Press-Register, you can see John smiling like a kid at Christmas as he looks on while Dr. Wilson examines and points out the species of ants climbing not only on a branch that John pulled out of the swamp but all over his hands as well. He’s had a lot of practice with this:

This video was originally posted here.