With Nina Leopold Bradley's passing at age 93 on May 25, 2011, we, at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, salute her and the Leopold Legacy she shared with us! Nina, as a founding member and Honorary Chairman, guided us with her wisdom and inspired us with her commitment to connecting children with nature. Nina's legacy, for the Aldo Leopold Nature Center lives on in the young lives we touch every day. The next time you see a young child marvel at a butterfly, get excited about turning over a log, or help pull a younger sibling, dripping wet, out of the pond, think of Nina. We know we will.
Nina Leopold Bradley said in November, 2006,
| "What is important is that children have an opportunity to bond with the natural world, to learn to love it, before being asked to heal its wounds. In our urban society, this function is fundamental to an ecologically literate society. It is my conviction that we cannot survive as a civilization without an ecologically literate public. Each of us needs to understand some aspects of how the world works, rediscovering our relationship to the natural world, and our dependence on it. How can we make major decisions -- about global climate change, or flooding in New Orleans -- or water pollution -- without a basic understanding of the interconnectedness of the natural system? I have read that the most important discoveries of the 20th century exist not in the realm of science, medicine or technology, but in the dawning awareness of the earth's limits and how these limits will affect human survival and evolution. Let us dedicate our sense of philanthropy to the joy that can be earned in belonging to the land, and the happiness of bringing children to direct experience with the land." |
With Nina's words of wisdom and hope we pledge to continue to foster a love and respect of the environment to all who seek a connection with nature, in Nina's honor.Click here to view a video photomontage of Nina's work at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center.
Click here to view Foxfires & Fireflies, a video narrated by Nina.
Videos cannot be reproduced without expressed permission of the Aldo Leopold Nature Center.
To start, hold your longest stem in your left hand. With your right hand, bend a second stem around the first as shown.
Loop the end of the second stem up and around itself, as shown, so it ends up parallel to the first stem.
Pinching these two stems together with your left hand, repeat the process with a third stem. This will anchor the second stem to the first. Continue adding stems in this manner until the venok is long enough to fit around your child's head, then weave or tie the two ends together.
