Recent Articles from FoBR Newsletters

Aesthetic Necessity

Building appreciation for the natural beauty that surrounds us is the deepest goal of a naturalist. Since the birth of ecology, many extremely talented scientists have spent their careers proving the importance of all life and how everything in the natural world is connected. Why save the earth's biological diversity? If one part of an ecosystem is altered, the effect reverberates through the whole web of life.

Sometimes the arguments and studies scientists have used to prove the necessity of preserving natural communities or the negative effects of pollution and habitat destruction have become difficult for the average non-scientist to understand. Could it be that conservation advocates and enthusiasts have become so determined to scientifically demonstrate the importance of nature that an important argument for preserving the natural world has been forgotten? In the simplest terms, a conscious creature requires beauty for emotional and mental well being. Is there anything more beautiful than nature, more inspirational, or more universally appreciated in all cultures, in all races, and in all human history?

We surround ourselves with plants in our homes. When we take a family photo, how many of us choose the mountain, or the sky, or one of many scenic natural backdrops? Cities can be extremely exciting with the bustle of human activity, but how many young lovers would be prompted by the sight of a street corner to ask a stranger to take their photo, compared to the park's duck-filled pond? We spend thousands of hours and thousands of dollars, as a nation, landscaping our yards in an effort to dwell in the most beautiful garden human art can contrive, but our endeavors always seem inferior to what nature gives us for free.

Art was spawned from our early human ancestors' connection with their environment. Music had similar roots. Surrounding oneself with nature seems a simple recipe for happiness.

In today's world, many individuals in our country, especially the less fortunate, may never find their way to the natural settings of forests, preserves, or woodlands. If you provide an outdoor opportunity to an adult or child who has never hiked a nature trail or been out of city streets, you may encounter an initial fear. But with patience, encouragement, and support, this individual could easily become the most enthusiastic hiker. It is as if the longer the human soul is starved of nature's rawness, the greater the thirst, and the more wholly receptive one becomes to its powers.

In light of our intrinsic aesthetic needs, is it right that private, common human beings must fight for what is the underpinning of life and of living? The wheels of progress threaten to overwhelm nature's silence, beauty, diversity, and abundance. May it be asked that the few who profit from the destruction of natural communities prove their activities are not detrimental to greater humanity, rather than that greater humanity prove nature's importance? Change begins with appreciation. If we wait until we have time to receive nature's bounty, it may no longer exist.