When one dryas plant is able to take root in the nutrient-poor “soils” left behind by the retreating Reid Glacier, a wondrous process begins. That one single plant begins to propagate outwards making a bigger and bigger circle in an otherwise desolate landscape. Eventually, other similar circles of dryas grow and meet and the entire area becomes covered in dryas. The dryas plants help enrich the soil so that eventually it will be able to sustain different types of plants, a process known as “plant succession”. Photographer: Jim Mackovjak