I recently read a "letter to the future" composed by Mongabay's Rhett Butler as a forward to an art exhibition. I was so impressed by this means of expressing an eco-testament, I crafted my own reflective narrative. As they say, imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery.
Dear Future Guardians of Earth,
If you’re reading this decades from now, it means there is still breath in the forest… and perhaps, a glimmer of hope still rustles in the canopy.
My name is Dr. Gary Shapiro, aka Orangutan Dad. In the late 1970's, I knelt in the leaf litter of Borneo’s ancient rainforest and looked into the eyes of a young orangutan named Princess. She met my gaze with curiosity, gentleness, love, and—if you’ll allow an old scientist a touch of poetry—a connection of ancient family and a wisdom that felt older than the forest itself.
That moment changed my life.
It’s what compelled me to dedicate my life to understanding and protecting these “people of the forest.” Orangutans, to me, are not just animals—they are fellow travelers on this fragile planet. Intelligent, yes, but also contemplative. Patient. Capable of empathy, thought, and resilience. They showed me that intelligence wears many forms, not all of them human.
I write this letter from a world that is, I fear, still learning that lesson.
Too many forests have fallen. Too many rivers have been poisoned. Too many species have been pushed to the edge for profit and convenience. But despite the odds, we’ve also witnessed the power of small actions—of communities rising to protect what they love, of students in Indonesia becoming scientists and stewards, of donors and dreamers uniting to save what they can. I have seen it in the faces of the young conservationists who received the Orangutan Caring Scholarship, many of whom now carry the torch I once held.
If this letter has reached you, it means something remained. Perhaps even something thrived.
Maybe you walk through a forest where orangutans still build their nests high in the trees. Maybe you sit beside your children and tell stories of how people came together—not perfectly, not quickly—but with heart, with wisdom, and with enough courage to matter.
I hope you live in a world that values silence as much as speed, wonder as much as wealth. I hope you’ve learned from the orangutan’s quiet strength—their ability to adapt, to think, to nurture with patience. And I hope you continue to fight for the voiceless—not because it's easy, but because it's right.
The future was never promised. But I believed it could be earned.
With care and conviction,
Gary L. Shapiro, Ph.D.
President, Orang Utan Republik Foundation
Field Researcher, Educator, and Friend of the Forest
Borneo & Sumatra, Earth—circa the 20th–21st century
