August 2 , 2007

Students Discover the Essence of Leopold on
Cross-Country Land Ethic Trip

Connecting people to land is a challenge in our modern world. Myron Blosser, a teacher from Eastern Mennonite High School in Harrisonburg, VA, answers that challenge with a 6,000 trip. His students take part in a 22 day tour across America under the theme of “developing a land ethic.” On July 27th and 28th, a group of 38 high school students arrived at the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center.   En route, they'd had the opportunity to visit organizations and communities at the forefront of sorting out how to live more sustainably.  Those sites included The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas; Village Homes, a planned sustainable community in Davis, California; and Glacier National Park for a discussion of climate change. By bringing the class to visit Leopold's Shack, Blosser hoped to expose students to "the essence and presence of Aldo Leopold."

A student studies a caterpillar he found while collecting native prairie seeds on the Leopold Memorial Reserve.

As one of the final stops of their trip, they visited the Shack and the new Legacy Center, and were able to discuss questions of ethics and sustainability with the staff.  The group raised thoughtful questions about choices made in the facility – “Why not use solar hot water for the in-floor heating?” asked one teacher.  “Why did you choose to put in paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms instead of air driers?” asked a student.  Together students and staff members pondered larger questions of how to live in greater harmony with the land.  Using Leopold's ecological restoration as an example, the class discussed the impact of the choices we make when we choose to restore a piece of land to a natural state rather than using that piece of land to fulfill other human needs. 

On Saturday, after learning a little about the stewardship work the foundation does on the Leopold Memorial Reserve, the students helped ALF land stewardship staff collect spiderwort seed in a restored prairie. The seed will be planted in the native landscaping surrounding the Legacy Center. 

Read more about the Discovery 2007 trip, including their full itinerary and student blog, here.

Read Baraboo News Republic article on the group's visit here.