Canadian Tariq Hossenbux began his lifelong fascination with nature and the outdoors as a child growing up in Ottawa, Ontario.
Born in 1973, Tariq Hossenbux credits his interest in nature and history to the pets his family owned when he was a child, as well as travel to visit relatives in far-flung locations.
Descended from pioneering Canadian ancestors, Tariq Hossenbux can count in his family tree some of the first settlers who colonized Quebec City, as well as Irish immigrants to eastern Canada in the 1800s.
Tariq Hossenbux recalls the first flight he took on an airplane, traveling to Africa, and seeing small freighters on the horizon and billowing clouds at 35,000 feet. Other trips took Tariq Hossenbux to the Indian Ocean, England, the United States, Mexico and many remote parts of Canada. During these trips, he explored his interest in mineralogy, collecting fossils and stones, including a memorable trip to the Arctic, where Tariq Hossenbux found a fossil seashell on a frozen hilltop – despite fears that he might be discovered by a foraging polar bear.
After attending high school in Ottawa, Tariq Hossenbux enrolled in university courses in history and geography, but decided to enroll in the resource engineering program at Seneca College.
The coursework included classes in forestry, water management and geography as well as civil engineering, drafting, environmental protection, remote sensing and air photo interpretation. Tariq Hossenbux believes that that aerial photos in particular give people an invaluable way to appreciate the vastness and beauty of the earth, as they show how much of it is hidden from view.
Partly as a result of his strong interests in environmental fields, Tariq Hossenbux has become more concerned about people’s treatment of plants and animals. He is currently exploring his interest in herbal medicine. Free-range farming is an interest of Tariq Hossenbux’s as well, as exemplified by the two pet chickens he keeps at home.
Other hobbies include fishing and nature photography. Tariq Hossenbux follows environmental issues through organizations including Greenpeace the World Wildlife Fund and participates in fundraising efforts for dogs and cats in his area.
Tariq Hossenbux recalls one encounter with wildlife in the northern Ontario town of Sudbury one summer. As he explored a forested area near a highway, he discovered a small lake with a beaver lodge on the shore. Tariq Hossenbux sat down on top of the lodge to enjoy the sunshine, but shortly after, noticed the resident beaver, about 60 feet away, swimming back and forth and staring at him – presumably because he was sitting on the beaver’s lodge.
The beaver slapped his tail on the water, dove and resurfaced, about 30 feet from Tariq Hossenbux, continuing to stare at him. Tariq Hossenbux decided he had bothered the beaver enough and found another nearby rock to sit on.
When he got up to leave, Tariq Hossenbux discovered the beaver had been right behind him, watching.
“How long had he been right behind me, observing me as I had observed him?” Tariq Hossenbux said. “I suppose this was the way that he expressed his irritation -- in a somewhat human-like way.”
