This project began as a way to explore my interest in capturing how human activity visibly transforms the environment. Santa Cruz has had a thriving granite, limestone, and quartz industry, with some operations still in use today while others have been decommissioned. I aimed to reveal the ecological damage left by these mining operations in the Santa Cruz Mountains, as well as the indifference humans show once a place is no longer seen as useful. These quarries felt like scars on the land. Scars that haven’t healed. Scars can remind us of old wounds, but unfortunately, in this case, the damage is ongoing. Two of the four quarries I found were still in use, while the other two were no longer active. Once the land’s resources were extracted, mining stopped, leaving the landscape permanently altered. These “abandoned” and seemingly forgotten sites conveyed a sense of neglect to me, showing how humans often treat the land with little regard once its value has been depleted. Humans have always taken from nature, but to me, this project reflects the speed and scale at which we now do so and the indifference shown towards the natural world once it no longer benefits us. This indifference shows our disconnection with the environment as well as the consequences of these actions. I want to continue bringing attention to what is often ignored and purposely hidden away, encouraging a greater sense of responsibility for the environment that we share