Sunday, September 30, 2012

Aldo Leopold - A Standard of Change

 Photo by Samuel E Burns

Who is Aldo Leopold?

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Aldo Leopold was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer, and outdoor enthusiast. As a U.S. forester, he was instrumental in the creation of our first federally designated wilderness in the Gila National Forest.

In 1935, he and his family initiated an ecological restoration experiment on a worn-out farm along the Wisconsin River outside of Baraboo, Wisconsin where they planted thousands of pine trees, and restored prairies.

A little more than a year after his death in 1948 Leopold’s collection of essays A Sand County Almanac was published. With over two million copies sold, it is one of the most respected books about the environment ever published, and Leopold has come to be regarded by many as the most influential conservation thinker of the twentieth century. Leopold’s legacy continues to inform and inspire us to see the natural world “as a community to which we belong.”


Read more about Aldo Leopold on the Aldo Leopold Foundation website.

Bringing Aldo Leopold to Life

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Jim as Aldo Leopold
 Aldo Leopold - A Standard of Change is a one-man play written by and starring storyteller Jim Pfitzer. Set in one evening in and around the famous Wisconsin Shack that inspired much of his writing, A Standard of Change explores the influences and challenges that led Aldo Leopold to penning his widely popular book A Sand County Almanac.

        As the lights come up, Leopold walks up the path. It has been 64 years since his death, and as many years since he has seen his now historic Shack. Awaiting him are surprises, memories, emotions, and stories to be shared. Leopold invites his audience to join him as he reacquaints himself with his beloved landscape, remembers influential friends and family, quotes from some of his most important writings, and ponders his legacy.

Jim Pfitzer's site: http://www.astandardofchange.com/