The Norfolk Library has received a grant from the Aldo Leopold Foundation to host a community reading of selections from “A Sand County Almanac” on March 8 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. The reading will be followed by a moderated discussion.
Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) was an American author, philosopher, scientist and forester recognized as the father of wildlife ecology and a founder of modern environmental ethics. He is best known for his influential book, “A Sand County Almanac,” and for championing his “land ethic,” which advocates for a moral, caring relationship between people and nature.
Community readings take place in various locations across the country during the first weekend of Leopold Week (the first full week of March). Norfolk’s grant has paid for many copies of “A Sand County Almanac” to distribute during the event. Readers will receive a copy in advance.
Aldo Leopold Week celebrations began in 2000, in Lodi, Wisc., the brainchild of resident Tom Heberlein, who wanted to encourage the community to connect with Leopold’s environmental philosophy.
Lodi’s event led to a 2004 proclamation by then-Governor James Doyle, officially designating the first weekend in March each year as Aldo Leopold Weekend in Wisconsin. Iowa followed suit in 2014.
Some community reading events have read the entire book (10 hours) or the entire almanac portion (three hours). Norfolk’s two-hour event calls for members of the community to read selections from “A Sand County Almanac.”
“Norfolk has always had a strong sense of place,” says library director Ann Havemeyer. “This is in part because of the town’s unique moniker ‘Icebox of Connecticut’; in part because of the families who have lived here for generations and invested in the natural and cultural resources of the town, and in no small part to the town’s abundance of conserved land. Norfolk Reads Leopold will enhance the town’s awareness of the land ethic and the transformative power a community has in living with and caring for the land.”