PSN curated resource sets Online collections Online exhibitions Primary Source Learning: Conservation & Environment Spotlights, features & special presentation Stories from America’s Library Resources outside the Library
Civilian Conservation Corps images Civilian Conservation Corps reports & other texts Olmsted Associates Records related to the Civilian Conservation Corps Civilian Conservation Corps historical newspaper coverage 1933-1942 Modern U.S. legislation related to the Civilian Conservation Corps PBS American Experience: Civilian Conservation Corps Roosevelt’s Tree Army: The Civilian Conservation Corps Digital Public Library of America exhibition…
Library lessons Conservation Movement at a Crossroads: The Hetch Hetchy Controversy Explorations in American Environmental History Natural Disasters: Nature’s Fury Collection Connections Evolution of the Conservation Movement Mapping the National Parks Conservation & environment lessons from the Citizen U Multidisciplinary Civics Lesson Library Carbon Footprints, Climate, and Civic Causes Civic Actions to Impact the Future…
The Picture This blog from the Library of Congress shines a spotlight on landscape photographs. Micah Messenheimer, Curator of Photography, and a photographer himself, writes: When many people think of landscape photographs they think of wide-open spaces, empty of people. Yet, landscape photographs, by their nature, tell stories deeply tied to human interactions with the…
Originally established as Mt. McKinley National Park in 1917, today Denali National Park encompasses 600 million acres of land from low lying taiga forests to the summit of America’s tallest peak Denali (20, 310 feet). Learn more about this magical place by clicking the links below. Alaska’s High Point from America’s Library Mt. McKinley National Park…
Rachel Carson was a trained biologist and a best-selling author. In her writing, Carson presented scientific facts from an ecological perspective in a poetic writing style. She made science interesting and understandable to regular people. She was best known for her books Silent Spring and The Sea Around Us. Her writing about ecology and the…
Today in History–May 13–the Library of Congress features the opening day of the Governors’ Conference on the Conservation of Natural Resources on this day in 1908. President Theodore Roosevelt delivered the stirring opening address but the conference was spearheaded by Chief Forester of the United States Gifford Pinchot. The conference helped put the spotlight on conservationism. Pinchot later went on to…
Today in History–February 26–the Library of Congress features Acadia National Park in Maine. On this day in 1919, Congress approved an Act to Establish the Lafayette National Park at Mt. Desert Island. Ten years later this coastal Maine park expanded and was renamed Acadia National Park. Learn more by visiting the Today in History section then discovering the primary source linked to below. Acadia National Park…
Today in History–October 29–the Library of Congress features journalist and politician Carl Schurz. On this date in 1855, the recent German immigrant wrote his wife, Margarethe Meyer Schurz, about his hope for their future in America. Exactly five years later Schurz sent his wife another letter, this time from Abraham Lincoln’s presidential campaign trail. Schurz served as a U.S. senator and worked with…
Today in History–April 22–the Library of Congress features Earth Day, first celebrated on this day in 1970. Earth Day was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin who wanted to raise public consciousness about air and water pollution. It is estimated that 20 million people nationwide attended events on the first Earth Day. Learn…
Have students use the primary sources in this set to tell a story about the period 1900-1929. The Progressive Era was one of economic growth and prosperity but also one in which many worked to make American society a better and safer place through environmental, business and government reforms. The story about this time of…
Today in History–February 26–the Library of Congress features the Grand Canyon. On this date in 1919 Congress established Grand Canyon National Park in the state of Arizona. Learn more about this magnificent place, considered by many to be one of the earth’s most spectacular natural wonders, by visiting the Today in History section and then clicking the links below. Primary sources The physical geology…