Mangrove illustration, originally created for The Marine Diaries, selected for the Blue Zone VIP area (Leaders’ Lounge) at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021.

The illustration was submitted to the Sketch for Survival competition by Explorers Against Extinction, supporting wildlife conservation. Who applied for an exhibition space at COP26, from over 7,000 global NGO and association submissions competing for exhibition space in the COP26 Blue Zone, only 25 artworks were selected, and just 5 were chosen for the VIP area. My illustration was among these rare selections.

I found out on 31 October 2021, the opening day of COP26. As the space was highly exclusive, there were almost no images available, so I searched on Twitter and discovered a photo of Angela Merkel and Dr Nigel Clarke standing in front of my illustration. It was a surreal moment, reinforcing the visibility and importance of mangrove ecosystems and the urgent need for their protection.