In their article, “Conservation Writing: An Emerging Field in Technical Communication,” Richard Johnson-Sheehan and Lawrence Morgan provide a historical survey of conservation literature, a discussion of the most common forms of conservation writing, and make the case for integrating conservation writing into technical communication programs, as well as science programs related to conservation. Johnson-Sheehan and Morgan explain that conservation writing sandwiches itself somewhere in between nature writing and science writing. It explores the great outdoors and ecology, but without personal reflection. It places science evidence above personal experience. It also has political and bureaucratic dimensions, but maintains a pragmatic voice. It is useful, practical, and proactive, but without much attention on developing reflective, descriptive, or practical elements to the text. Most prominently, conservation writing differs from science or nature writing through its use of “advocacy in action.” The overarching theme of conservation writing suggests that the outdoors is not only to be admired and used, but also to be preserved, protected, and made sustainable (10-11).
In North America, conservation writing is most likely rooted in the works of the Transcendentalist writers of the early nineteenth century, especially Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. But these are early examples of nature writing. Not until George Perking Marsh’s book, The Earth Modified by Human Action, first published in 1868, did we see what today would be called conservation writing. For example, Johnson-Sheehan and Morgan excerpt the first paragraph of that book (12).
The object of the present volume is: to indicate the character and, approximately, the extent of the changes produced by human action in physical conditions of the globe we inhabit; to point out the dangers of imprudence and the necessity of caution in all operations which, on a large scale, interfere with the spontaneous arrangements of the organic or inorganic world; to suggest the possibility and the importance of the restoration of disturbed harmonies and the material improvement of waste and exhausted regions; and, incidentally, to illustrate the doctrine that man is, in both kind and degree, a power of higher order than any of the other forms of animated life, which, like him, are nourished at the table of bounteous nature. (p. vii)
Personally, I find it striking how this 144-year-old text is so similar to much of the conservation rhetoric that can be found today. Johnson-Sheehan and Morgan also name John Burroghs, Sierra Club founder John Muir, and our 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, as fathers of conservation writing style (12-13). More contemporary conservation writers include Rachel Carson, famous for her 1962 work, Silent Spring, which exposed the ecological damage of synthetic pesticides like DDT, and another political figure, former vice president Al Gore, famous for his book, Earth in Balance (1992), and the book and documentary film An Inconvenient Truth (2006). Gore’s work focuses on concerns with global climate change (15-17).
Johnson-Sheehan and Morgan follow their historical survey with a discussion of the various genres of conservation writing. They note how several of these genres are influenced by government policy and conventions. They claim student will benefit from learning how to write for each genre, such as analytical reports, feature essays, environmental impact statements, and grants, among others (17-19).
Finally, Johnson-Sheehan and Morgan describe pedagogical strategies to help with teaching conservation writing. They explain that technical writing courses and programs tend to be centered on the needs of engineers, so, unfortunately, students interested in conservation issues have trouble finding classes that reflect their interests. Teachers who would like to cover conservation writing should focus on the expository or narrative aspects of its form. Students will need to practice conservation writing across all of its genres, too. They will also need a solid understanding of current and emerging conservation issues. Most importantly, students must learn how to make ecological information clear and easy to understand for a variety of audiences and stakeholders (23-26).
I recommend this article for anyone interested in environmental rhetoric. Johnson-Sheehan and Morgan do an excellent job of succinctly chronicling the evolution of conservation writing while discussing its uses and many pedagogical approaches.
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