I have 7 John Muir environmentalist facts and some fun teaching ideas. You’ll also love the John Muir Spring Unit Study (and Hands-on Geography Ideas).
The national park system’s development is largely due to John Muir environmentalist, naturalist, author, mountaineer, and political activist.
It is widely agreed that he is the “Founding Father of National Parks”.
And his contributions are celebrated through many landmarks named after him like hiking trails, glaciers, highways, and monuments.
National Park Service Founders Day is August 25th and I can’t think of a better way to learn about the National Parks than through the man who helped found and educate people about them.
John Muir helped create several of our national parks like Sequoia National Park in California, Mount Rainier in Washington, and The Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
John Muir Environmentalist Books, Resources, and Teaching Ideas
Too, these are some of the books we’ve used and love to help teach about him or create your own unit study.
11 John Muir Resources
The mountains are calling, and I must go -John Muir
In observance of National Park Service Founders Day and the care and work John Muir put into helping it become a reality, put together a unit study with a book or two, a video, a game, and a few hands-on activities like visiting the closest national park to you. There is plenty to choose from below.
A collection of John Muir’s best-selling writings and essays collected in 1 set.
Part of John Muir's appeal to modern readers is that he not only explored the American West and wrote about its beauties but also fought for their preservation. His successes dot the landscape and are evident in all the natural features that bear his name: forests, lakes, trails, and glaciers. Collected here in 1 set are some of Muir's finest wilderness essays, national park observations, travels throughout Alaska, and writings about working in the Yosemite Valley.
A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf by John Muir is the adventure that started it all.
Walk with John from Indiana through Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. A story that is sure to inspire your own adventures and love for nature and the off beaten path.
John Muir loved the land. Born in 1838, he was a writer, a scholar, an inventor, a shepherd, a farmer, and an explorer. But above all, he was a naturalist. John Muir was particularly devoted to the high cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient giant sequoia trees that, through his careful influence, were set aside as Yosemite, one of the first national parks in America. Here is the life story of the man who, moved by a commitment to wilderness everywhere, founded the Sierra Club in 1892, a conservation group that carries on his crucial work to this day. Back matter includes an epilogue, a bibliography, and information about the Sierra Club.
"I am hopelessly and forever a mountaineer," John Muir wrote. "Civilization and fever and all the morbidness that has been hooted at me has not dimmed my glacial eye, and I care to live only to entice people to look at Nature's loveliness. My own special self is nothing."In Donald Worster's magisterial biography, John Muir's "special self" is fully explored as is his extraordinary ability, then and now, to get others to see the sacred beauty of the natural world. A Passion for Nature is the most complete account of the great conservationist and founder of the Sierra Club ever written. It is the first to be based on Muir's full private correspondence and to meet modern scholarly standards. Yet it is also full of rich detail and personal anecdote, uncovering the complex inner life behind the legend of the solitary mountain man. It traces Muir from his boyhood in Scotland and frontier Wisconsin to his adult life in California right after the Civil War up to his death on the eve of World War I. It explores his marriage and family life, his relationship with his abusive father, his many friendships with the humble and famous (including Theodore Roosevelt and Ralph Waldo Emerson), and his role in founding the modern American conservation movement.
National Geographic’s wide-ranging travel guide to recreation areas, trails, historic sites, nature hikes, seashores, camping, and campgrounds is geared to everyone who loves outdoor recreation. This 544-page reference is the ultimate travel planner for all things national parks, filled with full-color photos, detailed maps, historical background, and practical facts on the location of the park system properties, as well as the best times to visit and top-rated activities.
ohn Muir (1838–1914) ranks among America's most important and influential environmentalists and nature writers. Devoted to the preservation of wilderness areas, Muir founded the Sierra Club and was active in the establishment of Yosemite National Park. Our National Parks, originally published in 1901, includes ten articles that previously appeared in The Atlantic Monthly. Muir wrote them in hopes of exciting interest in the parks, certain that visitors would fall in love with the scenic grandeur as he had—and that their enthusiasm would ensure the parks' preservation.
UNIQUE DESIGN…ARROWHEAD SHAPES: Scratch off each beautifully designed US National Park as you visit them, like Acadia, Zion, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Olympic, Grand Canyon, Arches and others!
Get to know America's 63 national parks with 390 wide-ranging trivia questions that cover their iconic geography, ecology, geology, history, wildlife, and botany—from the authors of Scenic Science of the National Parks.
- PLAY & LEARN: Professor Noggin’s series of educational card games encourages kids to learn interesting facts about their favorite subjects.
- FUN FACTS: Journey through the Wildlife of North America discovering facts about our continent’s most interesting animals. From Polar Bears to Pronghorns, from Alligators to Bald Eagles, this game is perfect for young nature lovers.
What you get – Our National Treasures Matching Card Game comes with 52 tiles (26 pairs) and instructions
Clear instructions – Easy to learn memory card game. Learn to play in less than five minutes!
Develops critical skills – card games for kids help preschoolers practice their focus, memory, & matching skills.
Wildly Popular National Parks Game - Winner Of The Mensa And Parent's Choice Award
Created By National Parks Enthusiasts - This couple traveled to every single national park and then worked with their son to make the game.
Fun + Educational - It’s the perfect recipe for a family game night! Appeals to a wide range of people: outdoor lovers, board game players, and gift givers. A great board games for kids!
Next, look at some facts about the life of John Muir.
7 John Muir Environmentalist Facts
- John Muir traveled to every continent except Antarctica.
- John founded the Sierra Club, an acclaimed American conservation organization.
- Muir temporarily lost his sight due to an accident at 29 due to a factory incident that pushed him to make a change and be a wilderness explorer.
- A 211-mile-long hiking trail in the Sierra Nevada was named John Muir Trail in his honor.
- In September of 1867, John walked 1000 miles from Indiana to Florida, this journey is retold in his book- A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf.
- Throughout his life, John Muir wrote 300 essays and 12 books.
- Because of Muir’s vision and work, you can now visit almost 400 National Park Service sites. What a legacy he left behind for so many generations to appreciate and enjoy.
Also, look at some videos..
Videos about John Muir
- John Muir- Father of National Parks
- For a quick birds eye view of 25 Best National Parks at once check out this YouTube video.
- Biography of John Muir
- John Muir Father of The National Parks- 1 Minute History
- How The National Park Service Got Started
More John Muir Activity Ideas
Finally, here are some more fun ideas when learning about the life of John Muir.
- Learn what an environmentalist is. An environmentalist is defined as one who is concerned with or advocates for the protection of the environment.
- Grab ideas from John Muir Spring Unit Study (and Hands-on Geography Ideas).
- Try using the John Muir Laws How to Teach Nature Journaling to improve sketching and watercolor skills combined with your nature walk. While this is not the same John Muir nor is he related to him, his appreciation for nature and its beauty reflects the same mindset. His mother was a lawyer for the Sierra Club, which the original John Muir was the founder of, and she insisted her sons middle name be Muir. Use the beautiful pictures for ideas for water coloring or nature journaling.
- Learn the 7 principles of Leave No Trace, especially if you enjoy camping and hiking. Writing them down would make for an excellent copy work assignment.
- Find ways that you can volunteer in your area to help the environment, beach clean-ups, park clean-up days, recycling, ways to reduce and reuse items, conserve water, etc.
- Play nature-themed games to focus on the flora and fauna that he studied.
