Back in January I wrote about interesting and different biographies that can be found in the library. One person I highlighted was John Muir, America’s environmentalist. Last week the latest copy of Appleseed Magazine was delivered to the library and low and behold it was all about John Muir. In case you didn’t know, Appleseed Magazine is a social sciences magazine for children ages 8-11. Like most classroom magazines each monthly edition focuses on a specific topic. For April 2011 it is Earth Day and John Muir. After reading the magazine from cover to cover here are some things I learned about John Muir.

1. One of America’s most famous environmentalists, John Muir is also known as the “Father of Our National Parks”. 
2. Muir was an inventor. Some of his inventions include a self-setting sawmill, an automatic feeding machine for horsed and an early rising machine that tipped the sleeper out of bed when an alarm went off. 
3. President Theodore Roosevelt known to be a nature lover himself, requested that Muir take him on a tour of Yosemite Valley to see first hand the destruction humans have on nature.
4. After their trip together Roosevelt was convinced Yosemite Valley had to be preserved and with Congress passed a bill in 1906 making it a national park. 
5. In 1892 John Muir helped found the Sierra Club, named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The club helps people explore nature and teaches about plants, animals and landforms. They have a special program for inner city kids to help expose them to environmentalism. 
6. John Muir was an author and poet. His words inspired many people to learn to love and care for nature.