Presenter:  Michael Russo
Faculty Advisor:  Wil Rivers
Phone # 6316, meruss01@stlawu.edu

Poster Presentation

This study was a research project into the life and legacy of John Muir.  Muir’s is best known as a famous naturalist and especially in establishing Yosemite National Park in California.  John Muir also established the Sierra Club.  He founded the Sierra Club in1892 and became its first president.  He heavily influenced such political figures as Theodore Roosevelt who during his presidency created many national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.  The importance of Muir today is evident in the fact that he continues to influence people well after his death.  None of this would have been possible if Muir had not become the man he did.  Two factors shaped him into the person he became.  As a young man Muir had a love for nature but had no intentions of becoming a writer and naturalist, until a tragic accident in his machine shop almost blinded him.  He lost his vision for quite some time and when it returned he believed he had been given a second chance.  With this second chance he pursued a higher calling.  From that point on he knew what he wanted to do.  The second factor that shaped his life was his father.  John’s father was a strict religious man who had little compassion for man or nature.  John rebelled against this way of life and formed a new one where nature played a large role.