Conservation
We’ve only one planet to live on, so the preservation of natural resources for our children and grandchildren is up to us. This reading set highlights the work of noted conservationists and the need to protect the planet from the wasteful expenditures of finite resources.
Dr. Dian Fossey, founder of the Karisoke Research Center in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda, initiated groundbreaking studies of mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. She was considered one of the world’s foremost primatologists and animal conservationists. Along with primatologists Jane Goodall and Birutė Galdikas, she was known as one…
John Muir wrote a series of essays on the U.S. national parks. A noted naturalist, his essays were published in 1901. Muir was the founder of the Sierra Club which organized in 1892. He would come to be known as “the Father of the National Parks.” The Muir Woods near…
Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. He was a enthusiastic outdoorsman and conservationist. Among the many accomplishments under his leadership was the establishment of the National Forest Service, the creation of five national parks and 150 national forests. Below is part…
A city is a place where many people live. Did you know that some animals are city dwellers, too? Let’s look at a few that live in parks. Trees make leafy homes for birds. Some birds build their nests high up in trees. This helps keep the birds and their…
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was the 26th President of the United States. Part of a wealthy and political New York family, Roosevelt is best known for his courage in the Spanish-American War, his devotion to nature, and his establishment of the National Park Service. In this passage from his autobiography written…