Chapter 1 History Earth’s Land Environmentalism is a big word But its meaning is simple Practicing environmentalism means being a friend of Earth and all its creatures Environmentalists want to keep our air healthy our land clean and our water fresh They want to take care of our plants and animals by making sure our planet remains a safe place to live Some environmentalists focus on encouraging people to stop polluting Others encourage people to recycle One of the most important environmental jobs is to protect and save our land for national parks and wildlife preserves Organizations that work to preserve these lands are called land trusts
Carrick-a-Rede in Ireland is protected by a land trust
Arches National Park in Utah was established in 1929
The Story of National Parks Open undeveloped land filled with countless plants animals and other creatures can be found all over the world Conservationists work to protect this land They protect land from being overrun by buildings roads railroads and farms They prevent people from chopping down forests Conservationists protect plants and animals living in marshes grasslands beaches ponds rivers and oceans This protection allows the creatures to continue to live safely in their own natural habitats or homes The first national park established was Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and parts of Montana and Idaho It was established in 1872 Yellowstone is 3,472 square miles 8,992 square kilometers of land that includes lakes canyons rivers and mountains The US government wanted to protect the wildlife living there They also wanted to protect the geothermal activity Geothermal activity is caused by a volcano underneath Yellowstone Lake Because of the volcano scientists say there are more than 300 geysers throughout the park As time went on more and more national parks were established in the United States and all over the world In 1885
