Leopold Education Project

About LEP

The Leopold Education Project (LEP) is an innovative, interdisciplinary, critical thinking, conservation and environmental education curriculum based on the classic writings of the renowned conservationist, Aldo Leopold.
The Leopold Education Project teaches the public about humanity’s ties to the natural environment in the effort to conserve and protect the earth’s natural resources.

“The problem, then, is how to bring about a striving for harmony with land among a people many of whom have forgotten there is any such thing as land, among whom education and culture have become almost synonymous with landlessness. This is the problem of conservation education.”

Aldo Leopold

Introduction

Aldo Leopold foresaw and articulated one of the largest problems facing humankind – how do we maintain a sense of connection to the natural systems that support us?

The pace and magnitude of urbanization and other changes in our society are increasingly disconnecting us from the land.

Our population is not only losing contact, but also losing the realization that we are dependent upon ecosystems. Aldo Leopold described this attitude as “landlessness.”

The Leopold Education Project strives to counteract this landless feeling and to instill a land ethic among tomorrow’s stewards. LEP does this through an interdisciplinary approach of reading about Leopold’s recorded discoveries and participating in meaningful “hands on” activities, which provide students an opportunity to increase their appreciation for the land and to expand their ecological awareness.

LEP curriculum materials and workshops are supported by Pheasants Forever in partnership with conservation and environmental organizations, individuals and governmental agencies at the local, county, state, and federal levels.