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About this quote

What does it mean?
Nature communicates moral truth to those willing to listen, and exposure to wild places naturally leads people to support conservation.
In plain terms
Trees teach us lessons if we listen, and visiting forests makes people want to protect them.
What can you take from it?
Experience with nature drives support for its preservation.

Where it applies

  • policy debates
  • outdoor education
  • community advocacy

Putting it to work

  • host nature walks
  • teach environmental history
  • advocate for protected areas

Questions to consider

  • What natural places speak to you most strongly?
  • How can you share nature's voice with others?

Another view

Not everyone has equal access to forests or responds emotionally to natural settings.

More from John Muir

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  3. Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and c…

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