Humans Of Nature

The USA may have one of world’s biggest ‘carbon footprints’ but it also has some of the most dedicated environmental leaders. Meet two incredible, inspirational Americans, born over 100 years apart.

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JOHN MUIR (1838 – 1914)

The United States of America, and the world, owes much to John Muir, who reawakened human beings to the astounding beauty of nature. With an inborn love of the wild, he was an environmentalist and a fine writer whose teachings and writings greatly influenced the U.S. to embrace forest conservation. Muir was responsible for the creation of the Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.

Born in Dunbar, Scotland, Muir moved with his family to the U.S. when he was 11 years old. Even as a young boy, he showed creativity and an aptitude for invention! He enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in the early 1860s, but soon left to study botany. He developed a love for travelling through forests and wildernesses on foot and explored a lot of places.

A turning point came when he was left temporarily blinded in 1867, in an accident at the factory he was working in. After that he devoted himself to nature with a renewed vigour and walked long distances making detailed drawings and sketches of the terrain.