A Tribute
When you think about the word “steward,” what comes to mind?
For me, steward evokes imagery of service, guidance, and guardianship. Someone who keeps, protects, and guides that which they are stewarding. Most everyone will be a steward of something at some point in their life, whether it’s of a career, a pet, a property, a family, a secret, or something as simple as another person’s trust. But there’s a certain kind of steward I want to highlight and celebrate this month—land stewards, especially those dedicated to stewarding the natural world.
What does it mean to be a land steward? To guide, guard, and keep the natural world? There are many different answers to this, and many interpretations across times, places, and cultures. Aldo Leopold championed the idea of land stewardship often cited in habitat restoration today, that caring for the land cannot be separated from caring for the human community. Other definitions of land stewardship focus on increasing biodiversity, or managing resources sustainably, or guarding ancestral land. Without presuming to understand them all, I’d wager that most interpretations of ‘land steward’ have one thing in common–individuals who harbor a passion and appreciation for the natural world.
In that sense, land stewards could be farmers caring for soils to support their livelihood. Or land stewards could be families planting butterfly flowers in their urban yard to support pollinators. Or the hunters who invest in wildlife habitat. Or individuals who volunteer one day a year to clean up trash in a park, or pull invasive weeds along the river. Land stewards could be the commuters who bike to work rather than drive. Or the couple that donates a little savings each year to protect natural areas. There are many different types of stewardship, and many actions, big and small, that help sustain natural resources.
I have met many land stewards over the years, none of whom are quite the same. An eighteen year old who spent his weekends cutting buckthorn in a volunteer Adopt-a-Forest plot. An elderly woman who requested donations to environmental non-profits rather than flowers upon her husband’s passing. An outdoor enthusiast who has spent decades working on habitat management projects. A biology school teacher taking ecology Master’s classes online to learn more so they can foster environmentalism in their classroom. A career journalist who decided to become a botanist. A young man who left behind a promising stem career to work in ecological restoration so he could leave behind a better future. Every client and project partner I have ever worked with who invested in improving the natural environment on their property. My crew members who spend all day in the elements to remove acres of invasive species, or maintain patches of prairie. I would argue all of these people are land stewards, in their own unique ways, and all are deserving of recognition.
A common pitfall is thinking that you have to do something big and grandiose to do something good for the environment. That is simply not true. Some people, even with the best of intentions, like to call for massive world changes, but land stewardship and care for the natural world isn’t sustained through massive international change. It is sustained by the small, everyday actions of individuals who dedicate a piece of their time, talent, wealth, or energy toward caring for the environment. Even a few people doing a lot won’t hold a flame against a million people doing a little bit each.
So thank you, to all stewards of the land, in whatever form you serve and guard our natural world. Thank you to all our crew, all our partners, all our clients, and all those we haven’t met yet who are investing in our natural resources and world. Thank you to everyone who works to leave the natural world a little better than how we found it. Thank you to everyone stewarding and safeguarding our natural resources for future inhabitants. For all land stewards who have come before, all current stewards, and all future stewards, this is a tribute to you.
NRP is honored to work alongside all of you to serve, guard, and keep our natural areas.
In memoriam
Sam Sylvester
May 2023