'Democracy is Dependent Upon Conservation' talk   Save
Friends of the Land Collection
Description: Speech by Friends of the Land General Secretary and Ohio conservation education leader Ollie E. Fink, on the connection between conservation, natural resource management, and democracy in America. Given before the National Farm Chemurgic Council -- an organization devoted to finding on-farm uses for industrial and chemical waste productions, Fink's speech uses population science and the dwindling availability of land in America to argue for the importance of conservation to city-dwellers. In keeping with the mission of the Friends of the Land at the time, the speech also draws links between soil health and human nutrition; and considers the role of governmental and civic organizations in spreading the mission of soil conservation. The Friends of the Land Collection (1930-1960) contains the papers of the Friends of the Land (1940-1959), a prominent national soil conservation education organization headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. FOTL produced an international literary arts quarterly, THE LAND (edited by New Deal agriculture writer Russell Lord) in addition to several members' only publications (LAND LETTER) and informational pamphlets. They also hosted annual conferences; ran conservation tours, teacher training labs, and workshops; and operated as a national clearinghouse for conservation information. Ohio farmer and novelist Louis Bromfield was active in the organization. Much of the collection reflects the career and interests of FOTL Executive Secretary Ollie Fink, who was a prominent conservation education pioneer in Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS364_B01F12_01_01
Subjects: Conservation; Agricultural education; Soil Science; Nutrition; Ecology
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)