Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time
Thomas Dean is trained as a Land Ethic Leader through the Aldo Leopold Foundation, a program with the goal to both introduce Leopold’s land ethic to a wider audience and also to deepen understanding and engagement through dialogue about the meaning and value of conservation. This program includes a screening of the Emmy Award-winning Aldo Leopold documentary, “Green Fire,” and a discussion of the film and Leopold’s land ethic. “Green Fire” is the first full-length documentary film ever made about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold, author of A Sand County Almanac, who was born and raised in Burlington, Iowa. “Green Fire” highlights Leopold’s extraordinary career, tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement. The film was produced in partnership with the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the Center for Humans and Nature and the US Forest Service, and it was supported by funding from Humanities Iowa. “Green Fire” provocatively examines Leopold’s thinking, renewing his idea of a land ethic for a population facing 21st-century ecological challenges. The film describes the formation of Leopold’s idea through his life and experiences, exploring how it changed one man and later permeated through all arenas of conservation today. Through these examples, the film and discussion challenge viewers to contemplate their own relationship with the land community.