Where Ethics Meet Earth

In Ojibwe tradition, Ajijaak (sandhill crane) represents wisdom and communication. All other clans look to Ajijaak for guidance. What does Ajijaak teach us? What can we learn from his connection to manoomin (wild rice), the Great Lakes, and his other relatives? Join us for an evening with Dr. Patty Loew as we learn from the stories of Ajijaak and celebrate the start of sandhill crane migration season!

Patty Loew, Ph.D., is professor emerita in the Medill School of Journalism and inaugural director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research at Northwestern University. She has written extensively about Ojibwe treaty rights, sovereignty, and the role of Native media in communicating Indigenous world views. A citizen of Mashkiiziibiig (the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe), Dr. Loew is the author of four books, including Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal, Native People of Wisconsin, and Guide to Native People of Wisconsin. Her book, Seventh Generation Earth Ethics, won the 2014 Midwest Book Award for Culture.

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The 75th Anniversary of Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac

featuring speakers:

CURT MEINE  Aldo Leopold Foundation
LESLI ALLISON  Western Landowners Alliance
KEN SHOCKLEY  Holmes Rolston Chair in Environmental Ethics & Philosophy, Colorado State University
ERIK GLENN  Partnership of Rangeland Trusts, Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust
ROBBIE LEVALLEY  LeValley Ranches

What do you think of when you hear the word "rancher?" Do you imagine a herd of buffalo in South Dakota? Does conservation come to mind?

Join us on October 10th for a conversation with Dan O’Brien, the founding owner of Wild Idea Buffalo Company, a family-owned and -run business focused on conservation and sustainability. Can't attend the live program? No worries! Register to have access to the replay.

Aldo Leopold is known best as a forester, wildlife ecologist, and author of A Sand County Almanac, who thought deeply about a land ethic. But have you ever thought of him as one who cared about citizenship? Susan Flader, professor emerita at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and first biographer of Aldo Leopold, will explore what citizenship meant to him during his life and career. Flader has lectured in nearly every state and on five continents. You’ll leave thinking anew about environmental citizenship—and action—at a time when it is so sorely needed in our country and the world. Can't join us for the live program? Register now to have access to the replay:

Leopold's land ethic is now 75 years old —does it stand the test of time? Using an approach grounded in environmental ethics and the history and philosophy of science, Roberta Millstein offers a new interpretation and defense of Leopold’s land ethic in light of contemporary ecology. Roberta L. Millstein is Professor Emerit in the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Davis, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"It is the part of wisdom never to revisit a wilderness, for the more golden the lily, the more certain that someone has gilded it. To return not only spoils a trip, but tarnishes a memory." –Aldo Leopold Struck by Leopold’s piece “The Green Lagoons," 2023-24 Future Leaders fellow Maia Buschman became obsessed with understanding just what, exactly, Leopold meant by this quote. Was it possible Leopold was expressing his own ecological grief? Through her long-form video project "Never to Revisit," Maia explores Leopold's wilderness experiences while inviting folks from different environmental careers to share their connections to wildness and feelings of eco-grief and anxiety. What can we make of Leopold's "never revisiting" wisdom? What role do our own personal experiences of eco-grief play when it comes to wilderness and wildness? And should we revisit —or leave our memories of wilderness untouched?

"A Voice for the Wild" captures the journey of Emily Ford and sled dog Diggins as they attempt to cross the secluded Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in winter. Facing subzero temperatures and miles of solitude, they forged ahead to raise awareness about copper mining threats and the power of wilderness areas. This endeavor is just one of several that Emily Ford has completed to advocate for wild spaces and inclusion in the outdoors. Register to join us for a showing of "A Voice for the Wild" and to have a Q&A with Emily.

The history of the Gila is a microcosm of a long-standing debate: what is wilderness? Does Wilderness–big W–even exist in the way that Aldo Leopold imagined? When additional voices are included, namely those of Indigenous cultures that have lived in the region for thousands of years, how is the conversation reframed? These are the questions at the center of the upcoming Gila Centennial speaker series in Silver City, New Mexico. Join us to learn from the diversity of wilderness perspectives and to challenge your own understanding of land and wild spaces. Click to learn more!