Lieber Aims for the New Generations

For two classes in the month of December, our class of W350 was invited to visit the Lily Library. Our visit was geared towards researching some of the documents about Conservationist Richard Lieber. Some of the documents involved were speeches, journal entries, etc. This was to help us understand the purpose of our Public Awareness Projects. It was to help us find ideas and interests for our “Real” forms.

The piece of documentation that stood out the most to me was a speech that Lieber had given at Purdue about conserving our national parks. The reason I liked this speech was because it wasn’t him just speaking to a bunch of politicians or officials, but he was aiming the college students. I thought it was very appropriate. I had planned for my “Real” form to also address college students. So, the impact of Lieber’s speech had a lot on how I thought about my own project. It also reminded me a lot of the 11th Hour film we watched. I was able to be engaged about the issues of the environment with the film as I was with the speech. The similarities between the speech and the film would have to be the urgency to maintain the life that we have sustained on this planet for years and to not take it for granted. Like the film, Lieber dealt with critics who believed that environmental issues were a complete myth. He was somehow able to push past those critics and make a difference. Today, to help our planet, we should do the same.

I think it is important to express these issues more to college students or even high school students. When one comes to think about it, students ranging from the ages of 16-25 have a great impact on ongoing, current issues. It is probably easier to spark interest in younger minds because they are always evolving. I think that is what Lieber was aiming for when he chose to speak at Purdue. He talked about his journey with helping to conserve the national parks, and the gratification he feels with helping the planet. I think he wanted to speak to the hearts of students who felt the same way in hopes to keep the issue alive.