ENHS Nature Trails April 2000 Article 2

Natural History and You - The President's Forum
by Nathan Tublitz

The role of the ENHS in the 21st Century

The phrase "Natural History" seems to be all around us these days. It is bandied frequently in the media and in a myriad of publications. For example, popular magazines use it as their title, the print media headlines it almost daily, environmental conferences have it in their name, and it is all over new books. Everyone is jumping on the Natural History bandwagon. But what exactly is "Natural History"?

"Natural History" is formally defined in one modern dictionary as the study of zoology, botany, geology, mineralogy and other subjects dealing with the animal, vegetable and mineral worlds. But that definition is too narrow; it excludes specific subjects like astronomy, psychology, physics, and many others. I prefer the antiquated yet more inclusive definition found in the first true dictionary written by Samuel Johnson. In 1819 Johnson wrote: "Natural history is the state or operation of material world". Through this definition Johnson implied that natural history is about investigating the natural world. Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, "Natural History" was the phrase used for the acquisition of knowledge grounded in demonstration and/or built on testable principles. In those days, Natural History was science and vice versa. And from this albeit biased vantage point, it still is.

Natural History is in all of us. It is the baby in the crib staring at its own image in a mirror, a toddler's endless enjoyment of the household pet, a child's fascination with the unique shape of each snow flake. It is found in the fearlessness of an adolescent, the never-ending search for perfection by an athlete, the joy of parenting, the sadness of illness, a star -filled sky. I find it difficult to believe that there is a single person on this planet who hasn't been inexorably perhaps even mystically drawn to some aspect of Natural History. The whys of a solar eclipse, a butterfly wing, the whorls on a log, the scent of lavender, a mountain range, a fossil.

The Eugene Natural History Society is no more or no less than a collection of people interested in Natural History as defined by Samuel Johnson. Our group has a long and honored past. Born in the pre-war years --for those of you too young to give an owl's hoot about life insurance, I don't mean the gulf war, Vietnam or even Korean wars, but World War II or WWII- the ENHS has survived and thrived through the ensuing decades. Interestingly, our mission has remained nearly unchanged since our founding: to provide a public conduit for the sharing of knowledge of our natural world. In more recent years we have taken a more activist role to try, in our small way, to reverse the human induced ills that threaten our earth, our Gaia.

The ENHS acts in a variety of ways, big and small. Our most noticeable venture is our monthly meetings, filled with fascinating tales from interesting speakers. But our efforts don't end there. We have a web site filled with interesting information (biology.uoregon.edu/enhs/). We publish an excellent monthly newsletter, Nature Trails, that receives widespread praise from our members. Some of our members go to local public schools to teach schoolchildren about the joys of nature through the University Science Outreach Program. In addition, we work on our own or with other groups on many environmental issues of local, regional national and even international significance. For example, this past week our local representative Peter DeFazio, agreed to support the creation of the Warner Creek Research Natural Area to study the effects of fire on forest habitats and our group was instrumental in getting his support. We have sponsored nature walks, field trips, overnight excursions, and those always wonderful ivy-pulls in Alton Baker Park. We testify at local hearings on pressing issues of environmental import. We are here, there, and nearly everywhere helping our community.

But, we need your help to continue these good deeds into the 21st Century. The ENHS Board needs 4-5 new Board members to replace those who have retired or moved away. The Board meets once each month from September through June. Our meetings are scheduled for the first Wednesday night of the month and last for about 90 minutes. You need no special knowledge, only enthusiasm and energy to help the world. All age groups from teenagers to seniors are warmly invited to participate. We have a wonderfully delightful and supportive board - you will enjoy working with us. The future role of the ENHS will be strongly shaped by our Board. I strongly urge you, especially those who have not be active in other environmental groups, to consider taking an active role in the ENHS. If interested, please contact me (N. Tublitz) at 346-4510 (w), 342-4510 (h) or via e-mail at tublitz@uoneuro.uoregon.edu by May 1. Today is a good day to live up to the ideal so succinctly stated in that famous bumper sticker, "Think global, act local"

Nathan Tublitz
Professor of Biology
Institute of Neuroscience
University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403
Phone: 1-541-346-4510 FAX: 1-541-346-4548

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