Elder Honored With Eco-Spirit Award

Author: Cara Lovell

The local environmental group Spirit in Nature presented Stewart Professor of English and Environmental Studies John Elder with their annual Eco-Spirit Award on Sunday, recognizing his strong sense of faith and longstanding commitment to environmental issues.

Visiting Scholar Bill McKibben, an expert on climate change and author of "The End of Nature," received the award last year and presented it to Elder at the ceremony last Sunday in the Kirk Alumni Center.

Elder has written almost a dozen books on the environment, including "Reading the Mountains of Home," "American Nature Writing," "Directive: The Poem of Eastern Wilderness" and his latest book, "Frog Run." He also serves on the board of Orion, a literary journal, and has played a crucial role in building the Bristol, Vt., Watershed Center and expanding Vermont's wilderness areas, especially with the assistance of organizations like Vermont Family Forests.

McKibben delved into what makes Elder so "universally revered." He explained what he called the "quiet and abiding grace [Elder] carries," and praised Elder's approach to the questions of how people can live in harmony with the land.

Elder's answer is to be humble towards both the earth and one's neighbors, but to find this humility he has had to learn to listen.

As Elder himself described in a section of "Frog Run" called "Reading From the Psalms," it was his faith that gave him this ability.

He grew up in the Baptist tradition and found that there was not as great a disparity between Christianity and environmentalism as is commonly thought. Rather, his faith nurtured his environmentalism.

Later in his life Elder focused more on listening — to God, to himself and to the community — through the Quaker and then the Zen Buddhist faiths.

Elder lightheartedly told the group at the awards ceremony, "My spiritual path is such that I need a flashlight … I can see the path looking over my shoulder but only a thicket ahead."

McKibben concluded, "John Elder has ears and John Elder has heard. This is why all of us are so delighted to be in his company, today and every day."

Rev. Paul Bortz, president and co-founder of Spirit in Nature and a local Unitarian Universalist minister, then opened the meeting to discussion.

Attendees asked Elder about his views on sustainability in Vermont, as well as state politics.

They said they recognized the role of young students and were reassured by the group's realization that this new generation seems interested in applying their environmental values to their everyday lives.

Spirit in Nature is a nonprofit organization that defines itself as "a place of interconnecting paths where people of diverse spiritual traditions may walk, worship, meet, meditate and promote education toward better stewardship of this sacred earth."

The trails are located on 70 acres of woodlands, including 9,000 feet of riverfront, are rented from the College and located near the Breadloaf campus.

Inspired by the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail, Spirit in Nature has built 10 interconnecting paths, each of which is less than two miles long and features quotations from a particular faith such as Zen Buddhism, Christianity, Hindu, Quaker (Friends), Pagan, Unitarian Universalist, Muslim and Ba'hai. The paths, which Bortz emphasized are for slowing down and thus are not trails in the conventional sense, converge in a "sacred circle" — a 60-foot-wide ring of white pines.

Elder, who helped to form the group, described Spirit in Nature's success by saying, "Townspeople and students have discussions and meals and facilitated conversations on that idealistic level: ethical and spiritual discussions in the context of nature."

Spirit in Nature provides lectures, workshops and courses about the environment which welcome College students. Four of its nine trustees are actually Middlebury students: Connie Hansen '03.5, Dane Springmeyer '02, Kaitlin Gregg '03 and Lila Buckley '04.

Currently, the group's "Soup and Bread" lecture series brings the community together to hear a guest speakers, who explain how their faith affects their environmental commitment.

On Feb. 17, a Pagan minister will speak at the Kirk Alumni Center at 5 p.m. and all attendees are encouraged to bring a bowl, spoon and mug.

Most recently, the organization supported the Yellow Bike program on campus, and now they are planning an Earth Day environmental fair on the green for April 21, which will hopefully include Senator Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) as the keynote speaker.