10 TH Ee *A‘U DUB ON “Bib Eee 
their hands and knees and search the ground for as many different kinds 
of ‘bugs and things’ that they could find. The teacher reported that the 
children were amazed at what they found and that they became acutely 
AWARE of what life there was about them.” 
Still another example from the same program: “In the early spring 
the children were taken out to the same marked-off area and were told 
to look for previously planted tooth-picks. Some were yellow, others red 
and still others green. Now, naturally, the red and yellow were found in 
greater proportion than the green. This same procedure was repeated in 
the early fall when the leaves were falling, and the grass turning brown 
This time the green and red were found in greater proportion than the 
yellow. This simple experiment was important in explaining the ‘abstract’ 
term, protective coloration.” 
The struggle to place conservationist-thought in the minds of people 
is not an impossible one. It can and must be accomplished. The solution 
lies in education: awareness first, love second, concern third. 
—53 E. Green, Champaign, II] 
ARE YOU A LAND ADVOCATE? 
“Development is not inherently bad. The President's Com- 
mission on Urban Housing calls for 26 million homes to be built 
in the next ten years to replace our aging housing stock. Industrial 
and commercial development provide jobs and indirectly support 
the local school budget through their tax payments. Even highways, 
the scourge of conservaiionists (including the author), facilitate both 
economic and recreational mobility. 
“But while development frequently serves the public need for 
homes and jobs, nondevelopment sometimes serves the needs of 
the spirit. Man-made facilities can be placed almost anywhere; 
Unusual natural phenomena must be enjoyed where found. The 
former are transient; the latter eternal, if left alone. To obliterate 
a unique natural area for the sake of an artificial thing therefore 
is utterly senseless. 
“The land advocate is a citizen who recognizes this senseless- 
ness and takes action to prevent it. Rallying others to the cause, 
the land advocate is the prime mover in any conservation effort.” 
From “For Land’s Sake,” a forthcoming 
publication by Rutherford H. Platt, 
Attorney, Open Lands Project, soon io 
be published by Northern Illinois University Press 
rae TLIO Te rn 
Bold, raucous Blue Jay 
swooping down—Spring’s azure sky 
colors feeding tray. 
—Joe Dvorak 
