What did I already know about activism?
I began my capstone research off with trying to get an understanding of how much I know already about environmental activism. To do this, I reread A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. In his writings, Leopold outlies his idea for a "Land Ethic" in which he explains his belief that humans should have an inherit respect for their surroundings, and that there are some given rights to the environment that shouldn't be infringed upon. I also researched many of the activists involved in establishing the National Parks and the Wilderness Act here in the United States. If it hadn't been for the dedication of figures like John Muir and Howard Zahnheiser, two of the most important land protection acts in U.S. history may have never happened.
Though important, the successes of Muir, Leopold, and Zahnheiser were all over 50 years ago. I wanted to investigate someone who is following in the footsteps of those men today. This led me to investigate Julia Butterfly Hill, who is mentioned on the home page, and an activist I actually had the chance to meet, Will Steger. Steger is a fairly well-known arctic explorer, who has written a few books and traveled to both the northern and southern poles. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Steger while working on his homestead in northern Minnesota when I worked for Conservation Corps Minnesota. Through his work as a polar explorer, Steger has dedicated his life to climate action and working together to raise awareness and create solutions to the global threat of climate change. At his homestead he is huilding the Steger Wilderness Center, which he hopes will serve as a conference center for world leaders regarding solutions to climate change. Meeting Mr. Steger, a modern day activist, served as a good starting point for my continuation into environmental activism and I began to grasp the idea of what kind of people dedicate their lives to activism.