Greenwood Lake Camp
April 9, 2010 Print
Thank you for joining us today to address an issue fundamental to the future of our parks, natural areas and wildlife; and more importantly, to the future of Ohio's children.
In 1780, John Adams, in a letter to his wife Abigail, wrote:
"I must study politics and war so that our children can study mathematics, history, commerce and agriculture...and they will study those things so that their children can study painting, poetry, architecture and music."
I especially love this quote because it shows Adams' optimism for the progress of society. Through learning, we will progress from what is necessary to what is possible. Through learning, our children's lives can be better than our own.
In President Obama's new educational budget, $265 million dollars has been included to support a curriculum that includes history, arts, language and 'environmental literacy.'
When I read that part: 'history, arts, language, and environmental literacy,' I thought of Adam's quote. It is easy to imagine that environmental literacy would be part of the progress Adams dreamed for the generations. As education is key to a child's promise, environmental education is key to a sustainable future.
The idea of a sustainable future brings forth a host of different images; wind farms on the horizon, cars plugged in in our garages, recharging from solar panels on the rooftops; recycled materials, rain gardens, re-forestation, re-investment in parks, preserves and wetlands; the list goes on.
None of these things are science fiction, and all of them are available today. What is missing is the broader readiness to change, or, more specifically, our willingness to embrace the need to change.
Again, we come back to education, and our young people. The most encouraging thing I've discovered at the Dept. of Natural Resources is how strong the connection is between access to nature and respect for nature.
When we can get people out into their natural world, especially young people, we create in them the wish to protect their natural world.
There is a sign on the wall of our communications office that reads: no one will fight to protect what they do not know. Our job is to make sure they know.
Maybe it's that simple. If we want folks to fight for a sustainable world, we start by making sure they learn what they are fighting for.
So that's the job we are asked to do, why these programs for the young are so important, and why I'm proud to be here to represent Governor Strickland in support of the work you are doing.
Thank you for making sure that Ohioans start early to learn what they're fighting for. And thank you for being part of the progress that Adams imagined, and for helping Ohio progress from what is necessary to what is possible.