Festival honors the world’s original ecologist

Long before Earth Day was a thing and before conservationism was a word, Aldo Leopold was studying and journaling about it.

Born in Iowa in 1887, Leopold was a “conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer, and outdoor enthusiast,” according to https://www.aldoleopold.org.

In 1924, the Gila National Forest became the country’s first official wilderness area, thanks in large part to Leopold’s work on a proposal to manage it as such.

In 1933, Leopold published the first textbook in the field of wildlife management. In 1935, he and his family initiated an ecological restoration experiment on an old farm in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

They planted thousands of pine trees to restore prairies, and documented the changes in flora and fauna, according to the website.

Leopold’s collection of essays, “A Sand County Almanac,” was published posthumously in 1949 and has gone on to sell more than 2 million copies. In it, Leopold’s essay on the land ethic proposed a moral responsibility to the natural world.

Today, Leopold’s legacy is celebrated with Aldo Leopold Week & Weekend, held March 1-9; the first full weekend in March is Aldo Leopold Weekend in Wisconsin and the first full week of March is designated as Leopold Week in Iowa.

Organizers say communities come together “to demonstrate their individual and combined commitment to the ‘Land Ethic’ put forth by Leopold in this book. The events include outdoor activities, readings and a public screening of an Emmy award-winning documentary on Leopold’s life.

For more information, visit the website at www.aldoleopold.org.