Digital Learning Resources
Available January 11, 2023—the Virtual Shack Tour!
Click to unlock the Virtual Shack Tour!
Now Available!—two new and exciting resources created by 2021 Education and Communication Fellow Jackson Newman.
Click for access to Backwash of the River Progress and The Guiding Virtues of the Land Ethic!
Backwash of the River Progress: “What is progress and why does it matter to you?”
Backwash of the River Progress Study Guide
The Guiding Virtues of the Land Ethic: “Who do I need to be to live in harmony with the land?”
Guiding Virtues of the Land Ethic Study Guide
Faculty across America and around the world have incorporated these powerful digital resources as key elements in their Aldo Leopold and land ethic curricula!
Download this engaging discussion guide for the timeless classic, A Sand County Almanac!
This Emmy award-winning documentary is a must see for students everywhere. Stream it today!
Get more digital learning resources below:
The Aldo Leopold Foundation recognizes that disruptions caused by COVID-19 may continue for some time, so you are probably retooling your whole approach and content this semester, and we want to help. On this page you will find links to powerful, FREE resources that will help you seamlessly integrate ethics content into your courses and curricula.
These resources explore land ethics generally and specifically through Aldo Leopold’s articulation of a “land ethic” and can be used either as stand-alone elements such as a film, video, or book in your course, or they can build upon each other creating room for deeper dialog through the respective discussion guides.
This is the most recent step in an ongoing effort at the Aldo Leopold Foundation to ensure there is specific Leopold related content in collegiate classes and curricula, and also that ethics content, more broadly and deeply defined, is included in the educational experience of our future leaders.
We have more resources in the works so please do consider joining our Leopold Family and staying up to date on these, events, and more through our monthly e-newsletter. Sign up.
Our Digital Learning Resources
Read
A Sand County Almanac
“Thinking Like a Mountain” Essay
View
Green Fire Film
Who is Aldo Leopold? Short Video
Discuss
Green Fire Film Discussion Guide
A Sand County Almanac Discussion Guide
“Thinking Like a Mountain” Essay Discussion Guide
Green Fire Film
The first full-length documentary film ever made about legendary conservation thinker Aldo Leopold, Green Fire explores Leopold’s extraordinary career and his enduring influence – tracing how he shaped the modern conservation movement and continues to inspire projects all over the country that connect people and the land.
This film garnered several awards including: an Emmy Award, Best Historical Documentary, Chicago/Midwest Chapter, 2012; a Telly Award, 2011; and a CINE Golden Eagle Award. The Aldo Leopold Foundation, Center for Humans and Nature, and The U.S. Forest Service along with support from donors made this film possible.
To watch the 56 minute version of the film, simply enter your email address and name below.
The full-length film is now available! To watch the film, simply enter your email address and name below.
A Sand County Almanac
Aldo Leopold’s seminal work, A Sand County Almanac was published in 1949. This timeless work achieved prominence around the first Earth Day in 1970, has been translated into 14 different languages, and recently has been reborn for Earth Day 50 with an introduction by famed author and conservationist, Barbara Kingsolver.
Whether reading from the “Almanac” portion providing a snapshot through the seasons of the year or from adventures in “Sketches Here and There” you will be transported to these places to observe and reflect on the many insights Leopold shares.
In A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold’s “The Land Ethic” essay is an appeal for moral responsibility to the natural world. Ethics direct all members of a community to treat one another with respect. A land ethic, Leopold wrote, “simply enlarges the boundaries of the community” to include not only humans, but also soils, waters, plants, and animals—or what Leopold called “the land.”
Leopold recognized that his dream of a widely accepted and implemented set of values based on caring—for people, for land, and for all the connections between them—would have to “evolve… in the minds of a thinking community.”
Interested in discussing A Sand County Almanac with your students or in your community?
The new edition of A Sand County Almanac featuring an introduction by Barbara Kingsolver is now available for purchase.
Interested in purchasing a bulk order (10 or more copies)? Bulk ordering is now available. Place your order here.
“Thinking Like a Mountain” Essay
Besides “The Land Ethic” essay this is one of the most read essays from A Sand County Almanac. Leopold describes a wolf hunting experience in the southwest U.S. early on in his professional career that was so much more than a hunt, it was a pivotal experience in his process of understanding the roll of predator and prey relationships and the impacts on land health. This essay reminds all of us that our ideas and understanding are ever evolving.
This essay and discussion guide can be used in conjunction with the Green Fire film which includes a visit to the site of Leopold’s hunting excursion.
Get the ESsay & Discussion Guide
Who is Aldo Leopold?
Looking to introduce your students to Aldo Leopold? In this video (10 minutes) you will hear from Leopold’s biographer, Curt Meine, distilling Leopold’s life and work. You also get a sneak peek into Leopold’s famous Shack, a National Historic Landmark.
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