John Muir "World's Greatest Conservationlist"

John Muir

      John Muir is an influential Scottish naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, and glaciologist. He was born on April 21,1838 in Dunbar, Scotland, and later immigrated to America when he was 11. As a child, he always had a knack for learning and would begin inventing tools for his family farm at a young age. These inventions were things like a table saw, horse feeders, and wooden thermostats. One day during a fair, John Muir was recruited by the University of Wisconsin after seeing one of his inventions. But in 1863 he eventually left the University of Wisconsin and pursued his dream to study botany and explore the world on foot.     John went on to travel places like all over the world by foot and during every exploration, he would make detailed sketches of the terrain he traveled and write ecology-oriented articles. But as he went from place to place he took on different jobs to support himself. There’s even a story about when he was working at a factory in 1867. He was involved in an accident in which caused him to be blinded for some time. But once he regained his sight, he focused back on his devotion to nature and walked from Indiana to Florida.     In the 1870s he went to the California Yosemite Valley, while there Muir began having his articles published in newspapers. His first printed essay appeared in the New York Tribune and In the paper he offered groundbreaking theories about Yosemite’s geological structures being formed by glacial activity, countering previous scientific ideas. Along with that he also published many other essays pushing for nature conservation. Muir went on to do this for other places like Sequoia, California, Mt. Rainer, Washington, and Grand Canyon, Arizona wherein his articles he pushed for the government to conserve these places so the wildlife and attractions there can be protected. Which then lead to those places all becoming national parks under the US Government, and John Muir was given the nickname ‘father of national parks’.     In 1892 Muir co-founded the Sierra Club and was president of the environmental-advocacy organization for more than 20 years. With the Sierra Club, he made history in 1903 and hosted a three-night camping trip with Theodore Roosevelt. This helped the president make conservationist policies and protect wildlife in the country. Even after Muir’s death on December 24, 1914, in Los Angeles, California, the Sierra Club has played an important role in many environmental projects and government policies. Today the Sierra Club still advocates for nature and has made it their job to educate people about nature and how to take care of it. Also, John Muir is remembered with the metal John Muir Statue which is located in Dunbar, Scotland, and a wooden statue in Sequoia National Park where he is labeled one of the world’s greatest conservationists. Thank you John Muir for your service to nature!