Never to Revisit: Aldo Leopold, Eco-Grief, and the Value of Wilderness with Maia Buschman

“It is the part of wisdom never to revisit a wilderness, for the more golden the lily, the more certain that someone has gilded it. To return not only spoils a trip, but tarnishes a memory.” –Aldo Leopold

Struck by Leopold’s piece “The Green Lagoons,” 2023-24 Future Leaders fellow Maia Buschman became obsessed with understanding just what, exactly, Leopold meant by this quote. Was it possible Leopold was expressing his own ecological grief? Through her long-form video project “Never to Revisit,” Maia explores Leopold’s wilderness experiences while inviting folks from different environmental careers to share their connections to wildness and feelings of eco-grief and anxiety. What can we make of Leopold’s “never revisiting” wisdom? What role do our own personal experiences of eco-grief play when it comes to wilderness and wildness? And should we revisit – or leave our memories of wilderness untouched?

Join us virtually on July 11th for an interview with Maia and a 25-minute premiere of her video project.