Aldo Leopold, renowned conservationist, is focus of film, discussion on March 19
Aldo Leopold, born in 1887, developed the concept for the country’s rst o cial wilderness area in the 1920s and is now considered the father of wildlife conservation. His vision — explored in a film to be screened and discussed at the RAAC Theatre in Washington, March 19 at 2 p.m.— centers on a “land ethic” where communities care about both people and land.
Leopold’s core concepts carry pressing urgency today, as communities like Rappahannock and its neighboring counties struggle to balance concerns about habitat loss and land conservation with the need for housing and job creation. The film, “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time” – a production of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the U. S. Forest Service, and the Center for Humans and Nature – is the first feature length documentary film ever made about the famed conservationist.
“Aldo Leopold’s legacy lives on today in the work of people and organizations across the nation and around the world,” said Aldo Leopold Foundation Executive Director Buddy Huffaker. “What is exciting about Green Fire is that it is more than just a documentary about Aldo Leopold; it also explores the influence his ideas have had in shaping the conservation movement as we know it today by highlighting some really inspiring people and organizations doing great work to connect people and the natural world in ways that even Leopold might not have imagined.”
Green Fire highlights Leopold’s continuing influence:
► Children in Chicago learn about local foods and ecological restoration;
► Ranchers in Arizona and New Mexico conserve healthy landscapes by working on their own properties and with their neighbors;
► Wildlife biologists are bringing back threatened and endangered species, from cranes to Mexican wolves, to the landscapes where they once thrived.
The free a ernoon program is sponsored by the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection (RLEP) and the Rappahannock Association for Arts and Community (RAAC).
Following the film, Jean Mansavage, who leads training programs on Leopold’s land ethic, will lead a discussion. The program will conclude with a raffle for copies of Aldo Leopold’s book, “A Sand County Almanac,” including a special edition of the publication.