Connecting with the Natural World   John Knuerr   Oct 04, 2004 05:24 PDT  J. Baird Callicott, a philosophy professor, wrote an essay entitled "The Land Aesthetic", in which he tries to capture Aldo Leopold's thoughts on how we come to appreciate the landscape. In brief: - he begins by pointing out that the Western appreciation of natural beauty does not flow naturally from nature itself; is not directly oriented to nature on nature's own terms; nor is it well informed by the ecological and evolutionary dynamics. it is superficial and narcissistic; in a word, it is trivial. He describes Leopold's land aesthetic as an appreciation that begins simply with our ability to perceive what is pretty. To develop a land aesthetic requires a willingness to learn things about the land that deepens our knowledge which in turn informs our senses. I'm pretty sure that all of us on this list have experienced this process personally. The challenges you point out are not limited to the issue of forest appreciation. The greater issue is the overall dumbing down that is occurring in our culture and the fact that most people are more and more cut-off from significant experiences of the natural world around them. And, the expectation is that the natural world will give them wow-experiences that they can immediately consume (sound-byte mentality). So, I'm thinking if we can give them an immersion experience in the forest that includes a cognitive component on forest dynamics, we might have a shot? The language we use doesn't need to be complex. It could be in the form of a story (... imagine your standing in this spot 140 years ago... what would you see?) that engages them and educates them. Any thoughts? Connecting with the Natural World   SHAMR-@aol.com   Oct 07, 2004 11:03 PDT  John, Bob and all- I would love to see more discussions on the topic of people and nature. I have been taking a much needed break from this problem for the past year and a half, shifting my work from natural history education and public outreach to pure research. But, I know for certain that science and research will not preserve and restore our natural heritage. They are tools that can be used to help but on their own are completely inadequate to accomplish this exponentially growing task. As long as the majority of people have no understanding, respect and personal connection with the natural world all our efforts to protect it will amount to nothing. The trick that I have been trying to figure out is how to make those deeper connections with a wide enough audience to affect change. In my opinion the "get out there" message is an abysmal failure. The limited benefits of this movement have been far outweighed by the increased impacts on our natural areas. Getting people to drive their SUVs to the few remaining "wild" places and having them put on their hiking boots or skies, or grab their climbing ropes all so they can conquer the mountains is not the solution. It is just a way of forcing our cultures short sighted and self centered values upon nature instead of allowing nature to teach us the lessons it patiently lays before. Until people understand that nature surrounds and supports them every day (regardless of whether they are in the forest or a treeless city) they will never understand its importance until it is too late to preserve and regain what we are losing. We can't just throw people out the door and expect them to get to know nature. They need to be taken by the hand and reintroduced by those few remaining people who have either not lost the connection or been fortunate enough to regain it. I think groups like ENTS, Audobon and others (especially those who take people into their own backyards or neighborhood parks) are a part of the solution. But these groups have to find ways to reach a much larger audience and connect with people who's minds are being numbed by ever more detached ways of viewing and communicating with the world. How can we help people slow down and see the real world immediately around themselves when television and even the internet are bombarding us all with messages to speed up and look ahead or beyond to some magical place where some mythical happiness awaits us? Ok, I've at least convinced myself. I'm gonna turn off this computer and go out and enjoy this beautiful fall day. Tim RE: Connecting with the Natural World   Robert Leverett   Oct 07, 2004 12:47 PDT  Tim:    I'm with you completely. The science must be there. We all agree on that, but so must popular interpretation of the science to the general public and political activism to translate often scattered efforts into statutory protections.    One lesson that we seem destined to have to relearn over and over is not to take our eye off the ball. Places don't stay protected. We have to stay continuously engaged and be ready to pass the torch to the next generation when the time comes and that implies a next generation that is ready. It is our responsibility to see that takes place. It is a never ending process. Bob RE: Connecting with the Natural World   Ernie Ostuno   Oct 07, 2004 23:44 PDT  John, Although I agree that the environmental consciousness of the average person needs to be raised, I think back about where we came from... One hundred years ago, when people would seem to have had a better connection to the natural world than we do now, we were laying waste to vast sections of North American forests in the most unsustainable manner possible. Even the Giant Sequoia were being felled without regard to their sheer grandeur...and only a lack of profitability saved them from being decimated. While we are still looking at the same basic economic engine running today, we do have the legacy of a few dedicated people committed to conservation that have been able to harness some of the most destructive tendencies of that engine. While this has made an important difference, I worry that as long as the profit motive drives the engine, we will always face a fight to protect our natural heritage no matter how enviro-conscious the general population is. Ernie   Home