I would love to explain a little about why I decided to get into the NFT scene. I won’t bother explaining what they are exactly, there are a lot of introductory videos and more for that purpose. What I am going to do is explain what they could become as they relate to me and my future plans. I have the ability to experiment and have fun with it, so it’s not a big loss if the whole idea fails.

NFTs are making their way into many different aspects of our lives, but we mostly hear how they are disrupting the art scene (for the better IMO). When I first heard of NFTs, my eyes glazed over and I had no interest in learning about it. Non-fungible tokens? Gross. A few years later I couldn’t ignore the subject any longer and decided to look into it, so this is how I understand it in a nutshell:

After getting a crypto wallet set up, I mint an NFT and put a price tag on it. Someone buys it for whatever reason, but there has to be some sort of benefit for the buyer. In most cases, the buyer hopes the NFT will increase in value so that they can sell it for a profit.

As you can see, it’s basically how the art world works, but without the exclusivity and gatekeeping of curators and galleries. The NFT represents the minted digital art, maybe you’ll get a print, a high quality file, or even the physical original if it exists.

But what if the NFT didn’t represent “art”, but something else? A charitable donation, a title to a house, a business idea, a vacation, environmental conservation efforts. What if each purchase from a particular NFT project contributed to a cause (or person) you believe in? NFTs are still only in their infancy and I feel their applications are limitless.

So how do they apply to my plans? Well, I began a business back in 2020 in which I plan to purchase wetland properties and create low-impact eco-retreats and conservation areas. I am already well underway with this plan as I not only purchased a 6-acre wetland wonderland in that year, but I am also heir to a medium-sized campground. Fun eh?

Now, I could go to local business development corporations, banks or credit unions and keep applying for loans and grants. I could even head to a big city and try and find large investors. But I don’t want to do that. In fact, when I first tried to buy my wetland, no one would give me a loan because they view wetlands as junk property and impossible to develop. As a result I scrounged all I had and was miraculously able to purchase it myself - now I just have to refill the coffers before doing anything with it.

This is when I felt that NFTs could be used as a fundraising tool with different benefit tiers; for example, on one end of the spectrum some NFTs could simply act as a donation to the project with no expectation of returns (you’re helping me conserve wetlands remember? lol), other NFTs could grant you an annual campsite or cabin stay. The “artwork” on the cover is simply that, cover art, inconsequential to what’s inside. Although, it does allow me to get creative and artsy.

So why are my NFTs featuring my nudies? My idea of paradise is anywhere I can wake up and confidently walk outside naked without having to look over my shoulder first. Wetlands are one of my favourite places to shed my clothes as they’re generally peaceful and brimming with wildlife. It’s a feeling I wish to share with the world. They also filter our water and are vital parts of the ecosystem, we need to value them more.