This week marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. However, the US can look south and discover that its own border, harnessed by iron, undergoes environmental destruction due to a wall.

When an average citizen thinks of the US-Mexico border wall, if indeed they think often of it, I believe they link the wall with the concept of security. I don't believe they realize the disruption it causes. The wall plows arbitrarily and indiscriminately through a delicate and important ecological area.

This border region is a shared conservation treasure of international importance. It holds some of the most biodiverse landscapes on our continent. Many species exist only here and nowhere else. Into this natural treasure a team of world-renowned photographers entered, accompanied by writers, filmmakers and scientists, to document the wildlife, ecology, and effect of the border wall.

The video that group produced is a three-minute meditation...a reflection of breathtaking beauty. And it documents the jarring wound that the wall carves through this wilderness area as well. You will see the environmental travesty recorded and preserved by the eye of the lens.

Do watch the video of the International League of Conservation Photographers. It is a delight to the eye and an eye-opener all at the same time.

And celebrate the downfall of walls!

from "Mending Walls" by Robert Frost Robert FrosRobert Frost

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.

For more information: The International League of Conservation Photographers

The photo at the top of this post bears a quotation given by then Senator Barack Obama in Berlin, Germany in 2008.