Posts Tagged ‘environmental history’
A Child of the Forest – Heinrich Cotta’s Legacy
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 30, 1763 It was on this day that Heinrich Cotta [HINE-rick COT-ah] was born beneath the open sky of Kleine Zillbach [KLINE-eh TSIL-bock], Germany. His personal account of his origin story reads…
Read MorePlanting hope for the future: Julius Sterling Morton and the birth of Arbor Day
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 22, 1832 Dearest reader, On this day, we remember Julius Sterling Morton, whose passion for trees birthed a movement that would grow worldwide—Arbor Day. Moving west from Detroit to Nebraska in 1867,…
Read MoreEarth Day: Celebrating 55 years of environmental awakening
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 22, 2022 Dearest reader, On this day, we honor Earth Day, a momentous celebration that blossomed from a seed planted in 1970, igniting the modern environmental movement. Before Earth Day, pollution ran…
Read MoreJohn Muir and Charles Sprague Sargent: Contrasting Spirits in Nature’s Majesty
John of the Mountains April 21, 1838 Today is the birthday of the Scottish-American naturalist, conservationist, and author John Muir. Muir was known by many names: “John of the Mountains,” “Father of Yosemite,” and “Father of the National Parks.” In particular, John’s work to preserve Yosemite resulted in a famous picture of Muir posing with…
Read MoreJohn Ruskin’s Garden Wisdom: Beauty, Weeds, and the Lessons of Nature
“Nature is Painting” February 8, 1819 Today is the birthday of the leading Victorian-era English art critic, watercolorist, thinker, and philanthropist John Ruskin. John is responsible for some beautiful thoughts and quotes about the natural world. With regard to gardening, John wrote: “The highest reward for man’s toil is not what he gets for it,…
Read MoreRachel Carson’s Maine Awakening: How One Summer Led to Silent Spring
A Summer in Maine On this day, the environmentalist Rachel Carson arrived in Maine and she promptly fell in love with the state. That summer, she rented a cabin on the Sheepscot River. She wrote: “The only reason I will ever come back is that I don’t have brains enough to figure out a way…
Read MoreWangari Maathai: Planting Trees, Peace, and Hope
Founder of the Green Belt Movement Today is the birthday of the Kenyan ecologist and first female Kenyan Ph.D. and professor Wangari Maathai (“One-Garry” – rhymes with starry – “Ma-TH-EYE”) Wangari was the founder of the Green Belt Movement. She fought for environmental protection and women’s empowerment by working with communities to plant “green belts”…
Read MorePatrick Geddes: The Botanist Planner Who Planted Nature into Cities
The Father of Town Planning Today is the 165th birthday of the Father of Town Planning and a botanist, Patrick Geddes, who was born on this day in 1854. Geddes accomplished much during his lifetime, despite being notoriously disorganized and easily distracted. In addition to his work in planning, Geddes was an ardent botanist and…
Read MoreA life woven with science: Ruth Patrick and the diatoms that shaped ecology
First Female President of the American Society of Naturalists Today is the anniversary of the death of the botanist Ruth Patrick who died on this day in 2013 at the age of 105. Patrick was known for a little saying that went like this: you can’t live a day without diatoms. Diatoms are single-celled algae;…
Read MoreThe President’s Tree: Harry Truman’s Sugar Maple Moment
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 25, 1958 On this day, dear readers, we witness a most presidential act of arboreal affection. Picture, if you will, the scene in New York as former President Harry Truman, his tenure…
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