The philosophy that I have worked under most of my life is that the serious study of natural history is an activity which has far-reaching effects in every aspect of a person's life. It ultimately makes people protective of the environment in a very committed way. It is my opinion that the study of natural history should be the primary avenue for creating environmentalists.
Interpretation
Studying natural history deeply influences one's commitment to environmental protection.
Roger Tory Peterson emphasizes that engaging seriously with natural history profoundly impacts individuals, fostering a strong commitment to environmental conservation. He argues that this study not only enriches personal knowledge but also cultivates a sense of responsibility towards nature, suggesting that understanding the intricacies of the natural world is essential for developing dedicated environmentalists.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech at an environmental conference to emphasize the importance of education in fostering environmentalists.
Birds ... are sensitive indicators of the environment, a sort of "ecological litmus paper," ... The observation and recording of bird populations over time lead inevitably to environmental awareness and can signal impending changes.
The truth of the matter is, the birds could very well live without us, but many -- perhaps all -- of us would find life incomplete, indeed almost intolerable without the birds.
Birds are indicators of the environment. If they are in trouble, we know we'll soon be in trouble.
Birding, after all, is just a game. Going beyond that is what is important.
The fertility cycle is a cycle entirely of living creatures passing again and again through birth, growth, maturity, death, and decay.
Only to the white man was nature a 'wilderness'.
Nature does have manure and she does have roots as well as blossoms, and you can't hate the manure and blame the roots for not being blossoms.
When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known.
Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.
I never met a man who was shaken by a field of identical blades of grass. An acre of poppies and a forest of spruce boggle no one's mind.
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