Savouring What Remains of the World’s Wildness: John Muir, Tree-Climbing, and Experiential, Outdoor Education

Abstract

SummaryThose who love the natural world have plenty to despair about in today’s world, as wildlands are carved into housing tracts and plumbed for oil and species after species are driven to extinction – a world in which we may well be warming ourselves to extinction. In the face of this daunting reality, I often find myself, as a teacher and scholar of environmental literature, turning to American author John Muir (1838-1914) for solace and inspiration. I also use Muir prominently in my teaching, especially when working with students in the Semester in the Wild Program of the University of Idaho – an experiential outdoor learning opportunity in the wildest region of the United States, apart from Alaska. One of the central texts of my course on environmental writing is John Muir’s “A Wind-Storm in the Forests”, which first appeared in Muir’s 1894 book The Mountains of California. Muir’s essay approaches botanical science in a full-bodied, emotionally engaged way, using a violent windstorm in the high mountains as a way to learn about trees – and also about the physical sensation of viewing and listening to wind, experiencing risk, and contemplating the meaning of wildness. The lessons of Muir’s passionate essay remain salutary, even necessary, in the twenty-first century.