The Boyhood of John Muir Study Guide Introduction When I was a boy in Scotland I was fond of everything that was wild, and all my life I've been growing fonder and fonder of wild places and wild creatures.

Introduction   Studying the Natural World  The Young Inventor  Resources  Home

Wilderness in America is not simply the empty spot on the landscape. It is an idea, and one that we treasure. In the past century people have debated the wisdom of setting aside certain places as parks, forests, or wilderness areas, but in these debates no one ever says that we should do away with wild land entirely.

This popular respect for wilderness is a somewhat modern idea; it did not come about until early in this century, when Americans began to believe that the true American character could be found in wilderness rather than in the nation's growing cities. Many outdoor clubs, including the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts and the Campfire Girls became very popular early in the 20th Century.

If there is one person who can be credited with creating this love of nature in America, it is John Muir. He is known today as a founder of Yosemite National Park, the Sierra Club, and as this nationâs first environmentalist. John was born in Dunbar, Scotland in 1838. As an old man he wrote about his childhood there. "When I was a boy in Scotland I was fond of everything that was wild, and all my life I've been growing fonder and fonder of wild places and wild creatures."

As an adult, he wrote, lectured, traveled, and campaigned ceaselessly for the protection of wild lands.

In John's early life we can study this idea of love of nature. He lived near the North Sea in Scotland, and spent many happy hours on the rocky beaches there. He was fond of flowers, particularly the lilies he saw in his aunt's garden. Like any young boy, he loved adventure, particularly adventures that took place out of doors. When his family moved to America, John, just eleven years old, was put to work full time on the family's farm on the Wisconsin frontier. By his teens, he was working eighteen hours a day, clearing land, tending the crops and the farm animals. But even though his father was a strict and demanding task-master, John found time to explore the woods and prairies of central Wisconsin. He became a careful observer of the creatures there: butterflies, wasps, beetles and snapping turtles. He was, without knowing it, teaching himself to be a naturalist.

Watch the film, THE BOYHOOD OF JOHN MUIR, to learn the full story of the farm boy who became America's first great spokesman for wilderness. Then check out the following discussion and activity units, including nature studies and and inventions.