Mary Bergeron (graduate of the December 2012 Land Ethic Leader program) created this presentation about Leopold, the land ethic, and the Observe, Participate, Reflect model of connecting people to the natural world. Please note, the images used in this presentation are included here without explicit permission to redistribute. So please, if you use some form of this talk, modify it with your own images or use discretion in sharing.
1. Developing Land Ethic Leaders
for South Louisiana
Louisiana State University
School of the Coast & Environment
http://www.mixcloud.com/CEGO/louisiology-wetland-loss-restoration-and-management/
2. Today’s Approach to Environmental Issues:
Identify Problems and Find Solutions FAST
• Global climate change
• Air and water pollution
• Loss of biological diversity
• Rising human population
• Coastal erosion
Prescriptive v. Reflective Approaches
3. A Very Different Approach:
Develop a Land Ethic
• Weave reflections on history, social trends, and ethics into deliberation
of ecological issues
• Create opportunities for dialogue about humanity’s relationships to the
natural world that is not bounded by a need to produce solutions to
specific problems
• Generate new ideas and inspiration for active engagement
• Explore, question, and reaffirm beliefs and values, deepen
commitment to conservation and communities—get people to talk
about environmental problems in deeper, more meaningful ways
4. About Aldo Leopold
“That land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that
land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics.”
Yale
Forest 1924 Transferred to Wisconsin.
School 1933 published first textbook on
wildlife management and was hired
1909 by University of Wisconsin as
nation’s first professor in wildlife
ecology and management
“Nothing so important as
an ethic is ever written. It
evolves in the minds of a
thinking community.”
US Forest Service in
Arizona & New Mexico until 1924
5. Themes in Leopold’s Work
“There are two things that interest me;
the relationship of people to each other
and the relationship between people to
land.”
The Land Ethic
6. 1935: The Shack
“We abuse land because we regard it as a
commodity belonging to us. When we see land as
a community to which we belong, we may begin
to use it with love and respect.”
7. Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?
Joni Mitchell, 1970, Big Yellow Taxi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJesFraW1Lo
8. They took all the trees,
and put ‘em in a tree museum.
They charged the people
a dollar and a half
just to see ‘em.
3 minutes
to prep &
exchange
11. When it comes to environmental issues, what
guides our decision-making processes?
• Greatest Common Good
• Utility
• Return on investment (ROI)
• Sentimentality / Tradition
• Expediency
• Longevity
• Trade-offs
• Ethical Considerations
Are decision-making processes different when we’re talking about Aldo
Leopold’s trees, Louisiana’s coastal regions, or projects in “my back yard”?
12. So, what is a Land Ethic?
“Nothing so important as an ethic is ever written. It
evolves in the minds of a thinking community.”
“A thing is right if it tends to preserve the
beauty, stability, or integrity of a piece of land. It is
wrong if it tends otherwise.”
“A land ethic…reflects a conviction of individual
responsibility for the health of the land. Health is
the capacity of the land for self-renewal.
Conservation is our effort to understand and
preserve this capacity.”
13. Think About It:
Land Ethic Leaders
• In general, how would you
define or describe a Land
Ethic Leader?
• What do you think it means
to be a Land Ethic Leader in
South Louisiana? What
characteristics or actions
would you see in this person?
• Are you a Land Ethic Leader?
Do you want to be?
14. Thank
You!
LSU School of the Coast & Environment
Editor's Notes
MARY: LSU Coast & Environment is honored to be here today and wants to thank the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center for inviting us to participate in today’s program. Before we get started, let me introduce members of our team.Dr. Don Baltz is the Chair for the Dept of Oceanography and Coastal Science at LSU. He’s originally from Northern California and completed his PhD at UC Davis. Dr. Baltz studies fish ecology, life history, and habitat selection, marine vertebrates, and passive acoustics. Dr. Rick Shaw is the Associate Dean of the School of the Coast & Environment and a Professor in the Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences. He’s originally from Boston Massachusetts, and came to LSU in 1981 after having received his doctorate from the University of Maine. He is a Fisheries Oceanographer, who studies the early life history stages (i.e., the larval and juvenile stages) of commercially- and recreationally- important fish.Kelsey Clinton is a Master’s student in Environmental Science who hails from Bellingham, Washington. She is studying climate change policy and planning.Chi Li—who goes by Liz—is a first year graduate student majoring in Environmental Science. Liz is originally from Nanjing, China, but studied geography at SUNY-Binghamton. Liz is interested in Environmental Health, Environmental Justice and GIS.Crawford White is a graduate student in the Department of Environmental Sciences. He is from Savannah, Georgia, and has a degree in Geology. Crawford came to LSU to study Environmental Policy and Law.
RICK:Very little time and space are given to contemplating the root causes of these problems, their ethical implications, or our personal and communal connections with the natural world. Our current approach to solving environmental problems is prescriptive, rather than reflective.From natural disasters to emergency funding windfalls, decisions regarding the environment are often made with a sense of urgency when people’s “backs are up against the wall.” Coastal issues are no different, given the stats on Louisiana’s land loss. When people hear that we’re losing a football field every hour, there is certainly a sense of urgency! At first glance it looks like prescriptive and reflective approaches would be at odds with each other…It looks like you’d have to choose one or the other. That’s not the case. You can take immediate action with a particular project, but you should also look at establishing what one conservationist called a Land Ethic—to guide our actions. A Land Ethic helps communities decide what to do, what not to do, and shapes day-to-day living in support of a shared vision.It’s the philosophy—yes, PHILOSOPHY—behind those long term, day-to-day efforts that we’re going to talk about in this session.
RICK:Today, we’ll talk about the work of someone who changed the direction of conservation in America. His name was Aldo Leopold.He’s been called a forester, conservationist, teacher, ecologist, writer, and community activist. When you read his writings you see the philosopher in him, too.We’re going to discuss Leopold’s life and work in greater detail—well, as best we can in a hour—because it’s important to understand how he arrived at the notion of a Land Ethic. The reason why it’s important to follow HIS path to this kind of philosophical awakening—which is OBSERVE, PARTICIPATE, AND REFLECT—is because it’s probably the ONLY STRUCTURED WAY others can begin to understand and embrace the notion of a Land Ethic.Let’s look at the elements of developing a Land Ethic. (Point to the bullets in this slide.) Based on these descriptions, does this approach look short term or long term? Some would say we don’t have the luxury of time to bother discussing these kinds of things.Others would say we can’t afford NOT to!
DON:Aldo Leopold was born 1887 in Burlington, Iowa. He loved the outdoors.After graduating from Yale Forest School in 1909 he traveled out west and went to work for the Forest Service. One of his jobs was to hunt and kill wolves who were thought to be extremely dangerous to people and a threat to local farmers and herders. During his service in Arizona and New Mexico he began to see how aggressive hunting could upset nature’s balance. He also began to question and challenge the popular or traditional means of ascribing value (or lack thereof) to creatures and land elements such as timber. Leopold began to take a more holistic view of the environment, as compared to what he had originally been taught as a student of forestry. (Option to talk about the utilitarian view of conservation.) At the beginning of the 20th century, many people viewed the land (and what was on it) in terms of what it could do for man. Aldo Leopold began to view man as being part of the greater community with an obligation to contribute to the land—not just take from it—so that sustainability is supported.
DON:There are lots of themes in Aldo Leopold’s work, but today, we’ll focus on the Land Ethic. In particular, we’ll explore some of the processes or steps that can be taken to develop a Land Ethic in our own lives.Aldo Leopold’s life—through his choices for vocation and recreation—opened up opportunities for observation, participation, and reflection—helping him to think about and cultivate a Land Ethic. Lucky for us, he recorded his actions, so we have a blueprint for being able to do something similar in our own lives and in our own communities.It can be frustrating to approach the idea of a Land Ethic—especially in such a fast paced world—but I think most would agree it this is essential. It’s important to help us solve today’s problems, but perhaps more importantly, it will put us on a path for avoiding similar problems in the future.Let’s look at a pivotal event and what became an ongoing influential element in Aldo Leopold’s life. Not only did it change his life, but it dramatically impacted the lives of his children and inspired millions of people for generations to come.
DON: In 1935—think Great Depression and Dust Bowl—Leopold purchased an abandoned, desolate 80 acre farm for $8 an acre. The land originally had a farmhouse that some say burned down because of illegal bootlegging; so, for shelter, the family converted an old chicken coop into what they fondly referred to as “the shack.” The Leopold’s farm functioned the same way that we Louisianans think of as a camp. The family spent weekends and breaks from school enjoying the outdoors along the Wisconsin River. Unlike camps of today which are almost exclusively recreational, Aldo Leopold’s family embarked on the adventure of trying to restore the land—put it back to a state that they imagined it would have been IF the farmer had never cleared the land.Over the years, they planted thousands of pine trees, wildflowers and other plants and watched the ensuing changes in the landscape. Leopold observed and recorded the changes, making him more environmentally informed and inspired by what he witnessed. Records—both writings and drawings—of what he saw and experienced are found a now popular journal called in The Sand County Almanac. The result: Leopold sees the need to develop, uphold, and share the notion that communities are not defined by just the people who live and work in them. Communities are made up of ALL elements of the natural world, such as soils, waters, plants, and animals, “or collectively: the land.” He talks about developing a Land Ethic this way:1. Observe the natural world through scientific inquiry2. Participate in purposeful, restorative work on the land3. Reflect on experiences—on the significance of what’s been seen and done
DON:Let’s begin the process Aldo Leopold suggested: Observe, Participate, and Reflect.We’re now passing out a sheet with song lyrics. Hold on to these, because you’re going to need them in a moment. They’re yours to keep so you can write on these sheets or make notes if you want.We’re going to watch a music video that portrays a song called Big Yellow Taxi, first written and performed by Joni Mitchell in 1970. Later covers of the same song were performed by Bob Dylan, Counting Crows, Amy Grant, Green Day/Pinhead Gunpowder, and, yes, even Alvin and the Chipmunks. Let’s listen to a Counting Crows cover that accompanies an animation video. You can follow the lyrics on the sheets we just passed out.After the video, we’ll break up into groups and talk about the song and what it means. In particular, I want you to think about one line that is repeated: “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” Think about what Joni Mitchell was trying to tell uswhen she wrote it in 1970. Does it still have the same kind of relevance? Why or why not?
GROUP LEADERS:Now, remember Joni Mitchell’s lyrics that talk about a tree museum? We don’t have enough time to go outside and actually OBSERVE, actually PARTICIPATE in an outdoor project, or do a lot of REFLECTION—the way Aldo Leopold did—so we’re going to compress these activities into a virtual world and virtual activity today. Look on the right hand side of your lyrics sheet. You’ll see some questions or prompts for you to think about. Pretend you are the curator of a tree museum. Spend 2 minutes thinking & jotting down notes that address the prompts, describing what you did to assemble your collection—including an explanation about the one, single tree which is at the center of your collection. Consider the visitors you’re trying to reach, etc. If you finish early, pair up and share your museum stories with a partner—allowing an opportunity for questions to arise. Museum curators can then make adjustments to their narratives and prepare to share with the group.
GROUP LEADERS:Each curator shares their story…maximum one minute eachRemember focus on the process of OBSERVE, PARTICIPATE, AND REFLECT.
GROUP LEADERS: Let’s jump right in! Have someone read paragraph one, which begins “The Lord giveth…” What does this mean?Have someone read paragraph two, which begins, “Other ancestors, less remote…” What’s Leopold talking about? What does the last line mean: “It knows that men thus determine, by their manner of thinking and wishing, whether it is worth it to wield any.”How do you know which trees are valuable and which ones are not in Leopold’s eyes? Let’s look at the portions highlighted in blue. How would you characterize or translate these arguments for a tree’s value?Look at the third highlight down, on the first page, with the text that begins, “I have read many definitions of what is a conservationist…” What does Leopold mean by, “A conservationist is one who is humbly aware that with each stroke he is writing his signature on the face of his land.”Let’s turn to the back or second page, first highlighted portion which reads “Such are the pros and cons…” What does Leopold mean that “bias will…prove to be more than good intentions”?Look at the next paragraph (“The Wielder of an axe”)…what does Leopold cover here? What doe you suppose is the point of giving trees “character”?What does “the modern dogma is comfort at any cost” mean? (last yellow highlight, page 2.)So, why did we read this essay and what does it have to do with today’s coastal issues in Louisiana? (Groups reunite for wrap up)
RICK:Look at these bullet points, are any of these issues reflected in Aldo Leopold’s essay Axe-in-Hand? Would you agree that this list also characterizes the types of challenges people experience in making political decisions about environmental projects?How so?
RICK:Let’s look at some famous quotes from Aldo Leopold.We need to be a thinking community…which means we have responsibility to learn science and discuss issues. A Land Ethic needs to be part of who we are so that everyone WANTS to abide by it, not be compelled to do so because it’s the law. Scientific knowledge about the environment will help people understand why they would want to follow the ethic.We need to think in terms of what’s right and wrong and how to know and agree on the difference. This is a sort of yardstick to help us do the right thing.We need to think about and be individually responsible for land health, supporting the capacity of the land for self-renewal and sustainability.
Think about this…What’s the purpose of you being here today?If we can’t easily prescribe the answers, then how will you know if what you’re doing is right or in line with what Aldo Leopold was trying to teach us?Is the Land Ethic ever finished? Are we, as Land Ethic Leaders, ever complete in our development?
