What with the constitutional referendum, Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup, 2014 promises to be a busy year indeed for Scotland. 2014 is also the centenary of John Muir’s death, and Scotland is already gearing up to mark the passing of one the nation’s most revered environmentalists.
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An aerial view of the coast between Belhaven and Dunbar. John Muir was born in Dunbar.
The New York Times described John Muir as “one of the greatest thinkers of America” and added “Some inkling of the man’s greatness and versatility can be gleaned from a glance at the names of the lasting friends he made among the great men of the country. The most intimate of these included several Presidents, among them Taft, Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.”
Muir was noted for writings which became a personal guide into nature for countless individuals. He was also a mountaineer, a geologist, a naturalist, an explorer, an inventor, a glaciologist and of course a conservationist but he said of himself, “I could have become a millionaire but chose instead to become a tramp.”
His activism helped save the
Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. In 1892 he founded the Sierra Club and became its first President, a position he held until his death. The Sierra Club now enjoys a membership of some 750,000 and has spawned similar bodies such as Friends of the Earth.
His death coincided with the early months of the First World War and for obvious reasons his passing largely went unnoticed in his native country. As a result Scotland was slow to recognise his achievements; indeed as late as 1978 the National Library had none of his books nor any of Muir’s biographies on its shelves. Thankfully due to the efforts of East Lothian Council, the John Muir Trust and a handful of dedicated individuals who understood Muir’s legacy, his name and works have been kept alive and more Scots now understand his
www.snh.gov.uk
importance. The excellent John Muir Birthplace Trust Museum in Dunbar has just welcomed its 100,000th visitor and the John Muir Country Park established in 1976 continues to attract large numbers of visitors.
Plans are now being developed to ensure that the opportunity of the centenary of his death is maximised. East Lothian Council and their partners are developing proposals that include establishing a John Muir Day to take place on his birthday April 21st; California already celebrates their own John Muir Day on that date. And the Central Scotland Green Network, supported by Scottish Natural Heritage, is developing proposals to extend the existing John Muir Way which currently runs from Dunbar to Fisherrow in Musselburgh through to Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park – Scotland’s first national park – and over to Helensburgh. Studies have shown that such a route would prove attractive not only to native Scots but to many abroad, in the United States and around the globe where Muir’s name resonates loudly. Economic benefit studies have shown that with appropriate marketing some 700 jobs could be created over the first five years of the route’s existence with an estimated extra 9,000 end to end walkers in the first year.
His legacy lives on in his adopted land in many forms; Muir Woods, Muir Beach, Muir Glacier, Mount Muir, John Muir Wilderness, some 30 schools named after him and no less than three John Muir Trails including the 211 mile trail that winds its way through the Sierras from Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney. In the century since Muir’s death Scotland has been slow to recognise a Scot who was feted by US Presidents and who became known as the father of the United States National Park system. 2014 provides us with an opportunity to right that wrong and develop the growing recognition of Muir in his homeland whilst reminding ourselves that his inspirational work is as relevant today as it was during his lifetime.
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