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ALDO LEOPOLD FOUNDATION / CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
greensplainer
Aldo in Athens
EVENTS CELEBRATE ENVIRONMENTALIST ALDO LEOPOLD
By Abigail West news@flagpole.com
Apr. 22 will be the 50th anniversary of
Earth Day. That whole week, Earth Week
events will be celebrated in Athens and
around the world.
In preparation, there will be events
throughout the month of March as part of
“Aldo in Athens.” These events will celebrate
the work oiASand County Almanac author
Aldo Leopold and follow in his spirit of
conservation.
To reflect back for a moment on the
history of Earth Day, watch a clip of Walter
Cronkite on CBS News from the first Earth
Day in 1970. The broadcast illustrates many
parallels to the environmental movements
them feel. “Once you begin to understand
how people think about land, then we can
go forward to help people in informed
ways,” he says. Only with this important
bridge can we take positive steps.
According to Lanham, there is a gap
between scientific research and the public,
and the strength of Leopold’s writing was
his ability to bridge that gap by “connect
ing head to heart.” Leopold became widely
known through his writings about the land
he grew up on in Iowa, and later the farm
land his family bought and set about restor
ing in Wisconsin. Though he is a renowned
scientist himself, his writings are accessible
Aldo Leopold (left) and Drew Lanham
of today. The holiday was founded, after all,
as a demonstration to draw attention to
what was referred to even then as the envi
ronmental “crisis.” Images of high school
and college students taking to the streets
echo the contemporary youth climate
strikes led by 17-year-old Swedish Greta
Thunberg.
In the 1970 report, Cronkite points out
that, for many, that first Earth Day was a
massive success with high turnout. He goes
on to point out why some thought of it as
a failure: the homogeneity of participants,
who were “predominantly young, predom
inantly white, predominantly anti-Nixon.”
This serves as a reminder that the criticisms
facing the environmental movement have
been largely similar since its inception. The
field of conservation, of which Aldo Leopold
was pioneer, is also not one typically known
for its diversity.
Drew Lanham, an ornithologist from
Clemson University who will be leading
a series of the Aldo in Athens events,
addresses this head-on in his work. In an
interview with National Geographic, Lanham
cites Leopold as one of his key influences.
He references a quote from Leopold:
“Conservation is a state of harmony
between men and land,” which Lanham
extends to include people of all genders,
cultures and skin colors. It is vitally import
ant, he says, that we ask people about their
relationship and connection to the land,
what it brings to them, and how it makes
to the general public and have served for
several generations as a great inspiration
to nature lovers from all backgrounds. He
writes from a place of love and reverence.
Like Leopold, Lanham has written
about growing up on a rural family farm
in Edgefield, SC, in his memoir, The Home
Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair
With Nature.
Lanham will speak alongside Clarke
County high school students at the Athens
Regional Library on Friday, Mar. 27, from
7-9 p.m. about their thoughts and reactions
to A Sand County Almanac. He will then lead
a bird walk on Saturday, Mar. 28, from 8-11
a.m. at the State Botanical Garden, followed
by an event with the Athens Land Trust
youth program at Williams Farm (registra
tion required).
The monthlong Aldo in Athens offers
many opportunities to get outside and
take guided nature walks in various Athens
locations. These include the University
of Georgia campus, Sandy Creek Nature
Center, Tallassee Forest Nature Preserve,
the State Botanical Garden, a privately
owned conservation easement, and a
location in an old-growth forest disclosed
only upon registration. There will also be a
screening of award-winning documentary
GreenFire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for
Our Time, on Thursday, Mar. 19 at 7 p.m. at
the Athens Regional Library. For a full list
of events, visit accgov.com/9168/Aldo-in-
Athens-Events. ©
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MARCH 11, 2020 | FLAGPOLE.COM
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