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Date: 28 February, 2001
May Theilgaard Watts, a naturalist and ecologist at the Morton Arboretum in
Lisle, Illinois, in 1957 authored a book entitled "Reading the Landscape."
It's a book about biodiversity written before this term had gained a
foothold. It's a book dealing with mutual relations between organisms and
their environment.
It's a book intended to teach us how to read - then to understand, to
appreciate and to respect - the landscape. For May Theilgaard Watts, a
contemporary of Aldo Leopold, there's good reading to be found on the land,
first-hand reading, involving no words or symbols that we associate with
reading. The records are made by sun and shade; by wind, rain and fire; by
time; and by animals. The records are written in forests, in fence-rows, in
bogs, in playgrounds, in pastures, in gardens, in canyons, in brooks, in tree
rings, in backyards.
Much of the 92 million acres of developed land in the United States is in the
care of homeowners. There's good reading - and opportunity for conservation
and habitat protection - in the backyards of America. There's good reading,
too, in a free 28-page Backyard Conservation booklet available by calling
1-888-LANDCARE or American PIE at 1-800-320-APIE. The booklet is the result
of work conducted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the National
Association of Conservation Districts, and the Wildlife Habitat Council.
The booklet can help teach you to read your own backyard. It outlines 10
conservation practices backyard conservationists can put to work on their own
property and in their neighborhoods. Subjects include tree planting,
composting, mulching, wildlife habitat, wetlands, ponds, water conservation,
terracing, nutrients for the soil, and dealing with pests. Valuable
background information and tips are included.
Scientists and conservationists have worked hard in recent years to inform
policymakers and citizens about the alarming rates at which species and
habitats are being lost and the impacts of those loses. Meaningful
conservation policies may come too late for many imperiled ecosystems,
habitats and species out of reach and sight of ordinary citizens. The
backyards of America, however, are close at hand. We only need to learn to
read.
Act today on this EcoAlert, and thank you for your environmental responsibility.
American P.I.E.
Public Information on the Environment
124 High Street, P.O. Box 340
South Glastonbury, CT 06073-0340
Telephone: 1-800-320-APIE(2743)
E-Mail: Info@AmericanPIE.org
EcoAlert subscribe/unsubscribe at our web site: http://www.AmericanPIE.org
Go to American PIE
http://www.AmericanPIE.org
Return to American PIE Index on EHN's site
http://ehnca.org/www/ampie/ampieind.htm
EHN pages of possible interest --
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