Wednesday Wisdom – Happy Birthday, Rachel

Posting our #WednesdayWisdom on this Friday, May 27, so we can say, “Happy Birthday, Rachel Carson!” May 27, 2016 marks the 109th anniversary of the birth of Rachel Carson, one of the world’s foremost leaders in conservation and former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee. Her work as an educator, scientist and writer revolutionized America’s interest in environmental issues. Whether it was her passion for the oceans and coasts, her inspiration as one of the first female scientists and government leaders, or her overall footprint on the history of conservation, her legacy is certainly one to be honored and celebrated.

The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge , headquartered in Wells, Maine, protects various kinds of habitat, including barrier beach, tidal estuary, dune, salt marsh and rocky coastline.  The piping plover, an endangered species, nests on refuge land.  The refuge was established in 1966 and was first known as the Coastal Maine National Wildlife Refuge, was renamed in honor of Rachel Carson in 1968, five years after her passing.

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Wednesday Wisdom – Native American Proverb

Original image by Steve Arena/USFWS

Wendell Berry, in his 1971 essay on wilderness, said “I am speaking of the life of a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children; who has undertaken to cherish it and do it no damage….”  John James Audubon said, “A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children.” Meanwhile, this quote is chiseled on the National Aquarium building in Washington, DC as a quote from wilderness crusader and environmental activist David Brower.  Beyond that, Jane Goodall has  referenced this contending “we are stealing from our children,” not borrowing as to pay them back.  Attribution of this quote seems less important than to acknowledge it as a universal conservation message.

This family of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) makes its way at dawn across the Lower Pool at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Concord, MA.  Thanks to FWS volunteer and photographer Steve Arena  for his photographic storytelling at Great Meadows.  Since today’s wisdom is about caring for our future by nurturing the present, Steve’s image reminds us “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –over and over announcing your place in the family of things.”  (Mary Oliver, “Wild Geese”).  After all, it is still April and it is still  National Poetry Month!!

 

 

Wednesday Wisdom – Harriet Tubman

We’re commemorating today’s historic announcement that Harriet Tubman is replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with this week’s Wednesday Wisdom.

Original image by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program

The original version of this image is from a photo essay exploring the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway by the Chesapeake Bay Program. Check it out at http://bit.ly/1VCtkLY