On Sunday, I read with great interest, an article in the New York Times magazine about the emerging science of social contagion. You may have heard about some of this research in the last year that attempts to scientifically determining whether happiness is catching or if your friends are making you fat. The article by Clive Thompson is at the following link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/magazine/13contagion-t.html
For me, it evoked many questions we ask around here about the power and cumulative impact of community. The Center has spent substantive resources investing in the concept that Leave No Trace can be a social movement of people working in their communities to spread environmental education that directly impacts their own city parks, their rivers, their trails, their personal health.
Our actions speak to it. We give our support locally, to people and projects that effect single communities. We support state-by-state volunteer coordinators. Our Traveling Trainers move, community-to-community, teaching Leave No Trace in elementary schools, city parks and youth centers.
We like to think of Leave No Trace as a grassroots education as much as a nationally mandated environmental campaign.
Is it working?
What else could we be doing to influence and inspire people in their communities to Leave No Trace?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment