A Sand County Almanac

In A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold describes nature as a source of knowledge and wisdom that rivals any of the world’s libraries due to the breadth and complexity of the information: “It is fortunate, perhaps, that no matter how intently one studies the hundred little dramas of the woods and meadows, one can never learn all of the salient facts about any one of them” (34). The highlighting of this capacity is bittersweet because many of the species and ecosystems that provide this knowledge are at risk of disappearing, meaning this storehouse of information could be lost just as humanity is coming to appreciate its value.

At several points throughout the book, Leopold highlights the role of observation in facilitating learning from nature; this is the case both in his own experience and in his descriptions of the insights made by others. In his own experience, Leopold’s time spent in nature—for instance, “in the muck of a muskrat house” in Clandeboye marsh in Manitoba (170)—or on his farm, watching mating dances of woodcock and the transit of deer, teaches him not only about the behavior of these species, but also about the arc of evolution and the interlocking webs that make up ecosystems.