Inspired by Leopold

Yesterday I had the honor of being interviewed by Maia Buschman , a fellow from the Aldo Leopold Foundation . We talked about wilderness, ecogrief, and what inspires us from the work of Aldo Leopold. I was inspired to write a quick piece.

Wilderness

As I think about wilderness, I get that for most people, it means, far out there and fairly untouched by humans. But there are no places untouched by humans. Even if a human has not touched foot in a place, it has been impacted by our human actions.

I immediately went to the Galapagos Islands when asked about such a place (as "wilderness" as I can get). There, I felt a peace and tranquility that was difficult to replicate. I can get close by going back to images from the trip and allowing my mind to float back to that time and my body to rest back in that place.

Like Leopold, I am a bit torn. I love to talk about the experience there. In my sharing, it might encourage others who may not be as mindful of the impact on such an amazing place.

In Sand County Almanac, Leopold wrote "In short, the very scarcity of wild places, reacting with mores of advertising and promotion, tend to defeat any deliberate effort to prevent their growing still more scarce."

I wrote "Galapagos" near that quote in my book. I fear that my sharing about the place leads to more impact upon it and eventually, its disappearance. At least in the way I experienced it. I think that's Leopold's point in not revisiting wilderness.

At the other end, when I think about wilderness, I think of wilder. I think we can have the "wilderness" experience each time we spend time with nature, even in a local park or our backyards, if we are fully present and mindful. I can even go to "wilderness" in my imagination and there is some research to suggest the effects to the body can be almost as beneficial as being there.

Ecogrief

Buschman already knew about my work around this topic. Before we met, I had already shared The Wildlife Professional article I wrote entitled "Working in a World of Wounds" which comes right from Leopold. I've also written an article for Dovetail Partners, a blog post , and offer workshops in this area.

Leopold says "“It is easy to say that the loss is all in our mind’s eye, but is there any sober ecologist who will agree? He knows full well that there has been an ecological death, the significance of which is inexpressible in terms of contemporary science.”

Even though Leopold didn't have the terms ecogrief, ecoanxiety, or any of the other climate emotions, I think he was referring to them here.

But it doesn't surprise me that people would ignore parts of Leopold's teachings because it asks them to look in the mirror at how conservation isn't working. We don't talk about ecogrief, just like we don't talk about gadgetry, economizing nature, recreation, or the true land ethic which asks us to be in relation.

Inspirations

Good Oak is another that I love. I have an activity from this part of his writing that I occasionally use in my ecopsychology workshops.

Draba is about perspective. Leopold wrote "He who hopes for spring with upturned eye never sees so small a thing as Draba. He who despairs of spring with downcast eye steps on it, unknowing. He who searches for spring with his knees in the mud finds it, in abundance."

65290 is about the chickadees, my favorite birds. He says about the chickadee; "Everyone laughs at so small a bundle of enthusiasms" and "If the chickadee had an office, the maxim over his desk would say: 'Keep Calm'." I am the chickadee - I know I have too many curiosities and my ultimate life goal is contentment.

Conclusion

My Sand County Almanac book is covered in notes and stickies. And in reviewing it again, I realized it's due for another read-through.

If you have not yet read Leopold's work, I encourage you to do so. Read it slowly. Note what resonates and inspires you and why. Reflect on some of Leopold's challenges to conservation and what it means for your work now.

If you have read his work, I encourage you to do so again. What are you picking up that you passed over before? Why is that resonating with you now?

Share your inspirations!