Print PageWe are naturalists because our survival as a species and cohabitant of this planet depends upon it - without observing, synthesizing and communicating our non-human environment and our place in time, our world becomes chaotic, unpredictable and limited. For as long as we have historical accounts, humans have been orienting themselves, building knowledge and connecting through the practice and communication of natural history (i.e. Lascaux cave and Lass Gaal). Unfortunately today’s trends of doing, building and communicating natural history knowledge suggests that it is a impoverished practice. In an effort to strengthen the place of natural history in our society, in our disciplines, and in our lives, we have initiated a dialog. We are connecting people across habitats, cultures, disciplines, and practices through a shared passion for natural history, using recordings, photos, and a dynamic web-based framework as a virtual Chautauqua to initiate conversation.
Results/Conclusions
We have launched a national conversation asking why we are naturalists? Our first 100+ conversations come from the four workshops described in the preceding talks, and our intent is to walk the talk - to combine art and science, story and study, through broadside images, audio clips, and a dynamic interface that encourages the continuation of conversations begun in the recording booth. These conversations are available at http://declinetorebirth.org. This anthology of statements from Ecologists, Managers, Policy Makers, Educators, Artists, Parents……Naturalists, is our first step to inspire others to revisit their connection to the non-human world and start to communicate about it.
