The American Outdoor Education Movement

The environmentalist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries presents a picture of America at the time: torn between the desires to expand while seeking to protect nature. Although all members of the movement sought to protect nature, there were two predominant schools as to how to go about this. In their two philosophies, they created two methods for human interaction with the wilderness. The conservationist movement can be called the utilitarian movement, and sought the greatest good for the greatest number over the longest term. In contrast, the preservationist school aimed at keeping nature in its current state, although the

The Progressive Era was a period of social activism and political reform that grew from the 1890s to the 1920s. Social reformers and journalists, like Jane Addams, Jacob Riis, and Ida Tarbell were some of the powerful voices for progressivism. “They concentrated on exposing the evils of corporate greed, combating fear of immigrants, and urging Americans to think hard about what democracy meant.” Many progressive reformers wanted to end corruption in the government, regulate business practices, address health hazards, and improve working conditions. It was also an era of conservationists. Conservationists are people who protect and preserve the environment and wildlife. Throughout the Progressive Era, there were many conservationists who wrote and described nature, but the most well-known figure in conservation was John Muir. John Muir worked to protect Earth’s beauty by traveling and exploring nature, co-founding the Sierra Club, and by influencing others through his writings and by showing some of the most important people how the wildlife was magnificent.

“Timber!” is a word that engulfed Woodrow Wilson in fear, as a loving, determined environmentalist he was the driving force behind the Organic Act of 1916. Wilson’s Organic Act set grounds for the founding of the National Park Service, which sets and enforces regulations that protect National Parks. Woodrow Wilson’s determination, conveyed by his adamant support for the Organic Act, was evident throughout Wilson’s lifetime. Wilson realized how important it was to protect America’s land and took action to protect it. Through the Organic Act, Wilson was able to save the current thirty-five national parks and land for hundreds of future national parks throughout the United States. The founding of the National Park Service was a major part of Wilson’s plan to preserve and protect America 's natural land. Wilson’s idea of preservation of the United States’ land has lived throughout the years through the National Park Service. The National Park Service today continues with the same responsibilities along with a multifarious collection of others. The actions taken in the Organic Act of 1916 have helped eternalize the ideas proposed by President Wilson by preserving the scarce remaining natural land of America.

John Muir is arguably the most influential conservationist in American history. He was an active member in the preservation of the American wilderness from the late 1800’s until he passed in 1914. Muir is often referred to as the “Father of the National Parks” because of his efforts in the establishment of several National Parks. One of the biggest flaws of American history textbooks in need of change is the fact that they do not include the conservationists who have preserved the environment so today the same beauty can be see the way that they saw it. John Muir was involved in many American conservation efforts including the co-founding of Yosemite National Park, founding of the Sierra Club, and his overall career as a

Outdoor Education in KS3 and KS4 involves different adventurous activities that can be accomplished either as an individual or in a group. These activities include things such as: residential visits, orienteering, climbing, caving, team building, problem solving and many more. It generally provides depth to the curriculum which makes an important contribution to pupil’s physical, personal and social education (OFSTED, 2004; Priest and Gass, 1997). In order for these activities to be successful and meet the National Curriculum (NC), teachers must make sure all KS3 pupils are taking part in these outdoor adventurous activities (OAA), whilst being intellectually and physically challenged (National Curriculum, 2014). The two schemes of work presented are aimed to meet these NC subject content targets. They are two very different schemes of work but they both provide opportunities for pupils which challenge them both physically and mentally. The year 8 scheme of work focuses on a variety of different OAA activities that can be progressed and developed throughout each lesson and over the period of time they are in school. The content challenges the pupils thinking throughout the whole six weeks, developing the way they think to solve particular problems. Whereas, the year 9 scheme of work primarily focuses on the planning and preparation for a Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) expedition which will be carried out at the end of the term.

Many people that go out and enjoy the wilderness or the outdoors head to those places because they need to get away from the world and relax. The opportunity you have to go out and enjoy these beautiful areas all started with the beginning of this country by many men and their ideas and views of the outdoors. I will conduct a rhetorical analysis of J. Baird Callicott and Priscilla Solis Ybarra’s article, The Puritan Origins of the American Wilderness Movement, and critique there use of rhetorical appeals in order to show that their article was written successfully.

When Americans think of nature images of the wild west, wide open plains, and majestic landscapes spring forth. Nature is part of the American heritage; a site of beauty set aside for preservation outside the industrial cities that encompasses daily life. Because of this segregation between nature and man, it is easy to forget that everything on the planet is nature, not simply the parks set aside for preservation and egos. Throughout American history, dating as far back as the indigenous people, this connection between man and the natural world has been prevalent. By examining the the conservationist movement of the twentieth century and the impact Americans have had on the environment, there is a chance to close the chasm that now exists

In 1887, Roosevelt and George Grinnell, editor of "Forest and Stream" magazine founded the Boone and Crockett Club. In this magazine, Grinnell called for scientific forest management, clean water, and restricted use of natural resources-ideas considered quite radical by most Americans. (PBS, 2015) Under Roosevelt and Grinnell, the Boone and Crockett Club supported these concepts, not only

Amidst the chaos and disparity of the great depression, there was one man who brought hope and happiness to British Columbia in the form of recreation. Jan Eisenhardt, also known as Ian Eisenhardt, has been touted as “a national hero and treasure” (as cited in Markham-Starr & Delamere, 2005, para. 2) for his contributions to recreation in Canada and abroad. He was born in 1906 in Denmark and relocated to Vancouver, Canada in 1928. Eisenhardt began his career in recreation as a playground attendant in and was later promoted to Supervisor of Playgrounds for Vancouver (Dunae, 1992) He was known to be an avid advocate of physical activity and wellness as a means for personal and social freedom and wellbeing (Macdonald, 2013). During The Great Depression of the 1930’s, Eisenhardt, with the help of BC Minister of Education George Weir, spearheaded a revolutionary recreational movement dubbed The Provincial Recreation Program or ‘the Pro-Rec movement’. At time when Vancouver was plagued with unemployment, homelessness, and despair, the pro-rec movement was intended to bring relief and purpose to unemployed men (Schrodt, 1983).

In a time when the United States was consumed by industrialization, John Muir dedicated his time to the opposite spectrum. John worked vigorously to prove to the government that the nature of the west coast needed to be saved, not destroyed. He did so by taking some of the most important people on simple camping trips to prove that conservation was needed in the United States. He even founded a club, that served to protect nature for years to come. Because of his passion for nature, John Muir was a monumental influence on preserving the United States’ natural beauty by dedicating his life to creating the foundation of the National Parks System.

For once, his ideas could have big impacts on the global population’s behavior. Muir’s main role in the Sierra Club was to write important letters and mobilize the groups (Fox 114). His hard work with this organization was quickly rewarded. Only a couple of months after its creation, the club was composed of 175 members and already had a real influence on the government policies in the United States (Fox 107). In the beginning, the Sierra Club concentrated its work on the creation of national parks and on mountaineering matters (Fox 160).

The Theodore Roosevelt National Park wasn’t a park in 1901 when Theodore Roosevelt was president. He had been living in this area and he had a love and respect for nature. While he was a President, he protected 230,000,000 acres of land. He did this by creating the first 55 federal wildlife refuges, 150 national forests, 5 national parks, and creating the first 18 national monument sites. Remembering his time spent in this area, he wanted to protect lands. As President, one of his greatest achievements was protecting America’s natural

John Muir is one of California’s most important historical personalities. Born in Scotland, he has been called “The Father of our National Parks,” “Wilderness Profit,” and “Citizen of the Universe.” As a wilderness explorer, his exciting adventures in the Sierra Nevada and Alaska’s glaciers led him searching for nature’s beauty. Gifford Pinchot was born to a wealthy family on

Outdoor education has been described as the education as an education in and about and for the outdoors (Ford, 1985).

The first national park, Yellow Stone National Park, was established in 1872 by Ulysses S. Grant (Brown). This was one of the last explored areas in the west. This establishing of a national park led to more wildlife conservation national movements. In 1887 President Roosevelt gathered a group of influential American hunters in New York to form the Boome and Crockett Club with a mission of preserving big game in North America (Brown). In the 1930’s management of wildlife resources began in earnest. Funds were mostly provided by levies on hunters (Brown). The 1930s were also the beginning of wildlife research in the United States. The leader of this effort was Aldo Leopold (Brown).