John Muir Background

John Muir was a Scottish born naturalist, ecologist, author, and botanist and is often referred to as The Father of Conservation or The Father of the National Parks. Born in 1838 in Dunbar, Scotland, he was somewhat ahead of his time in the advocacy of preservation of wilderness and the conservation movement. He emigrated to The United States early in his life. Much of his literature was written about his life in the wilderness in Sierra Nevada and Yosemite National park.

Many years ago I became aware of the inspirational figure of John Muir, and in 2012 I became involved with The John Muir Trust here in Scotland which serves to preserve wild places. My interest initially was to help prevent The Stronelairg Windfarm in the Monadhliath Mountains in the Scottish Highlands. While that battle was lost, I had learnt of the Trust’s fervent passion, and the lengths they would go to in order to preserve wild places. As someone who goes the extra mile myself, with the experiential knowledge of the courage and dedication required, particularly to stand alone, I was mightily impressed by their work and have remained a strong supporter of their work ever since.

I read John Muir’s A Journey In The Wilderness: A John Muir Reader and I discovered the depth of this man’s passion and understanding of Nature and our Connection to it, as it. His sentiment

‘Going out into the mountains, is really going In’

resonated with me deeply. These early forays into John Muir and his life’s explorations began to form the beginning of a deep spiritual journey for me over the coming decade, which together with my musical life, ultimately found me as a meditation and spiritual teacher.

Journeys In The Wilderness: A John Muir Reader

Going out in Nature is so often the easiest way for us to become in touch with our True Self. Children are especially able to tap into this innate sense of joy and freedom on offer in the natural world.

Please see our Taster Days in Nature which are a forerunner to our John Muir Awards here at Awakened Learning Space.