“I have read many definitions of what is a conservationist, and written not a few myself, but I suspect that the best one is written not with a pen but with an axe.”
I rediscovered this quote during my third reading of Aldo Leopold’s renowned book on conservation and land ethics, “A Sand County Almanac.” Besides being one of my favorite books, it’s also a part of the curriculum for Environment 207 at the University of Michigan, and many introductory sustainability courses at other institutions as well. Leopold, a former professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, knows better than anyone that conservation and land management are not concepts that can be learned exclusively from the comfort of a seat in a lecture hall.
As a Program in the Environment major at the University of Michigan, I find Leopold’s approach to be lacking in the curriculum, and only present in sparse, non-compounding courses. Learning sustainability through the integration of active land management for restoration and sustainable resource acquisition purposes provides a depth of understanding that classroom-based analysis alone cannot achieve. If PitE were complemented by more clearly defined undergraduate pathways — such as forestry, agriculture, wildlife management and other natural-resource-based majors — it would better prepare students for specific career trajectories while grounding interdisciplinary education in practical experience…