Environmentalism: The Pioneers

Henry David Thoreau, 1817 - 1862

"I wish to speak a word for nature, for absolute Freedom and Wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and Culture merely civil,—to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society.

" … But alone in the distant woods or fields, in unpretending sprout-lands or pastures tracked by rabbits, even in a bleak and, to most, cheerless day, like this, when a villager would be thinking of his inn, I come to myself, I once more feel myself grandly related, and that cold and solitude are friends of mine. I suppose that this value, in my case, is equivalent to what others get by churchgoing and prayer. I come home to my solitary woodland walk as the homesick go home. I thus dispose of the superfluous and see things as they are, grand and beautiful. I have told many that I walk every day about half the daylight, but I think they do not believe it. I wish to get the Concord, the Massachusetts, the America, out of my head and be sane a part of every day." 

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822 – 1903) is recognized as the founder of American landscape architecture and the nation’s foremost parkmaker.

Olmsted designed America’s most treasured landscapes including the U. S. Capitol and White House Grounds; Great Smoky Mountains and Acadia National Parks; Yosemite Valley; New York's Central Park; and whole park systems in cities such as Seattle, Boston, and Louisville. The Olmsteds also played an influential role in the creation of the National Park Service.

Olmsted crafted evocative words that served as the foundation for legislation establishing the Park Service in 1916: "To conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

John Muir, 1838-1914

“God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.”

John Muir was America's most famous and influential naturalist and conservationist. He has been called "The Father of our National Parks," "Wilderness Prophet," and "Citizen of the Universe."

His words and deeds helped inspire President Theodore Roosevelt's innovative conservation programs, including establishing the first National Monuments by Presidential Proclamation, and Yosemite National Park by congressional action. In 1892, John Muir and other supporters formed the Sierra Club "to make the mountains glad."

“Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.”
 

Frank Lloyd Wright, 1867 - 1959

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you"

Frank Lloyd Wright introduced the word ‘organic’ into his philosophy of architecture as early as 1908.  Organic architecture involves a respect for the properties of the materials—you don’t twist steel into a flower—and a respect for the harmonious relationship between the form/design and the function of the building (for example, Wright rejected the idea of making a bank look like a Greek temple). Organic architecture is also an attempt to integrate the spaces into a coherent whole: a marriage between the site and the structure and a union between the context and the structure.

"Organic buildings are the strength and lightness of the spiders' spinning, buildings qualified by light, bred by native character to environment, married to the ground."

Aldo Leopold, 1887-1948

“Once you learn to read the land, I have no fear of what you will do to or with it.  And I know many pleasant things it will do to you.”  - Aldo Leopold

The Aldo Leopold Foundation, based in central Wisconsin, is actively trying to save and restore "every cog and wheel" so that the land retains its capacity for self-renewal. 

You can also learn about the world’s first sustainable brewery in Ann Arbor, Michigan at leopoldbros.com.  Now that’s progress!

Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-1909

"The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our national life."

In 1902 Roosevelt established the first national park at Crater Lake, Oregon and went on to create four more. During his tenure as president from 1901 to 1909 he created 51 wildlife refugees, passed the Antiquities Act (which led to the creation of 18 national monuments), and created the National Park Service.