FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 21, 2010
Contact: David Willett, 202-675-6698
Celebrating Environmental Pioneer John Muir’s 172nd Birthday
Sierra Club Unveils Revamped Muir Historical Website
San Francisco, CA – "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike."- John Muir
On the eve of the 40th Earth Day, the Sierra Club welcomes everyone to celebrate the 172nd birthday of founder and conservation pioneer John Muir by visiting the updated and redesigned online John Muir Exhibit.
Prominently featured in Ken Burns’ recent hit documentary series "National Parks: America’s Best Idea", John Muir was born on April 21, 1838, and his interests took him many places – including time spent as a farmer, inventor, sheepherder, naturalist, explorer, writer, and conservationist.
He was perhaps this country's most famous and influential naturalist and conservationist, having taught the people of his time and ours the importance of experiencing and protecting our natural heritage. Muir's personal and determined involvement in the great conservation questions of the day was and remains an inspiration for environmental activists everywhere.
To help celebrate Muir's birthday, the Club has begun a project to update and redesign our well-known John Muir Exhibit. This site has more than 1,000 pages of information about Muir's life and writings; rare archival photos; a Google Earth feature of Muir's travels; tributes to Muir -- including music composed in his honor -- and much more. Curated by longtime Sierra Club volunteer and Muir expert Harold Wood, the Exhibit is the web's premier resource for information about the Scottish-born conservationist.
Especially popular with students of all ages and teachers, the John Muir Exhibit is one of the most-visited sections of the Sierra Club's website.
Whether you consider yourself an environmentalist or not, whether you’ve taken a 10-minute hike or 1,000 mile walk to the Gulf as Muir did (among many other long walks around our country), or if you’ve ever enjoyed America's National Parks, you can thank John Muir.
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