# Presentation: 470329

## Rachel Carson  Instilling a Sense of Wonder 

**Rachel Carson****  ****Instilling a Sense of Wonder**** **

**Notes:**
FWS recognizes Rachel Carson centennial birthday on May 27, 2007 with numerous events and activities.

## Rachel Carson: Role Model 

**Rachel Carson: Role Model**** **

- Yale Collection of American Literature
- Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

**Notes:**
Rachel was a biologist and writer who made a significant difference in the lives of American people.
Her book, “Silent Spring” brought attention to the widespread use of pesticides and their effects on the environment.
DDT was causing the bird population to noticeably decline.
Her book, “The Sense of Wonder” made important connections with children and nature.
She valued education, supported her family, respected wildlife, and instilled a love of nature in others.

## Meager Beginnings

- Yale Collection of American Literature
- Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

**Notes:**
Rachel Louise Carson was born on a farm in Springdale, PA, near Pittsburgh on May 27, 1907. 
Youngest of three children born in family.
The family had little money.
More than anything, Rachel wanted to be a writer. 
Her first story was published at the age of 10.
Her mother greatly influenced her.

## The Love of Nature Instilled

- Yale Collection of American Literature
- Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

-    “I can remember no time when I wasn’t interested in the out-of-doors.”

**Notes:**
Rachel’s mother taught her to love and respect nature from an early age that lasted Rachel a lifetime.
When speaking to a group of women in 1954, she said, “I can remember no time when I wasn’t interested in the out-of-doors and the whole world of nature.  Those interests, I know, I inherited from my mother and have always shared with her.”  Rachel Carson,  1954

## A Good Family Life 

**A Good Family Life**

- Yale Collection of American Literature
- Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

**Notes:**
(Far left) Sister Marian, Rachel (center) and brother Robert enjoying the "beach" along the Allegheny River, near their home, circa 1914. 
(Top, right)   "Mamma" holding horse with Rachel, Marian and Robert.
(Bottom , right) Sister Marian (on left), Rachel, and three family dogs.

## Rachel Carson: A Role Model

**Rachel Carson: A Role Model**

- Yale Collection of American Literature
- Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

**Notes:**
After high school, Rachel went to Pennsylvania College for Women in Pittsburgh 1925. (now Chatham College) 
First majored in English, but when a junior switched to biology.
Scholarships were helpful,  but needed additional money for room and board.  
Her father took a second job. 
Her mother gave piano lessons to additional students.
Rachel’s mother would not her allow her to work.  She wanted Rachel to devote her time to studying.
No one thought of combining Rachel’s love of writing with her love of the sea.

## She Dreamed of the Sea

**She Dreamed of the Sea**

**Notes:**
In May 1929, Rachel graduated from college with high honors.
At the age of 22, her dream to see the sea came true
Received a summer internship  at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts.

## “Those who dwell...among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone...”

**“****Those who dwell...among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone...”**

**Notes:**
Rachel had a few close friends.  She came from a close-knit family.
The stock market crashed a few weeks after Rachel started graduate school.
Concentrated on marine zoology, the study of sea animals.
In 1930, her parents and sister Maria with her two daughters, came to live with Rachel in Baltimore while she attended school.
While a student, she worked part-time as a  biology lab assistant at John Hopkins University.
During the summer, taught zoology at the University.
In 1932, Rachel earned a master’s degree.

## Beginning Her Career

**Beginning Her Career**

- Yale Collection of American Literature
- Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

**Notes:**
Financial responsibilities forced Rachel to drop out as a doctorial candidate from Johns Hopkins Univ. in 1934.
Worked half-time as a teacher at the Dental and Pharmacy School at the University of Maryland.
Rachel’s father died in 1935.
She took a part-time job with U.S. Bureau of Fisheries 
She wrote radio scripts on marine life that were easy to understand.
In 1936, Rachel accepted a full-time position of junior aquatic biologist at the Bureau.
(In 1940, the Bureau of Fisheries became the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.)
She was the second woman hired in a professional position. 
To supplement her income, Rachel wrote for newspapers and magazines and began working on her first book.
In 1937, her sister Marian died, leaving two girls (ages 11 & 12) for Rachel and her mother to raise.

## “There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature...”

- “There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature...”

**Notes:**
Rachel’s love of nature kept her going despite all the family burdens she shouldered.
Rachel worked full-time during the day and at night worked on writing her first book.
She averaged writing two pages a night; on a good night, she could write six pages.

## A Bounty from the Sea

**Notes:**
1st book - published in 1941, “Under the Sea-Wind,” was dedicated to her mother.
Five weeks later, World War II was declared and the public quickly forgot her book.
Although sales were low, reviews were good.
Rachel continued to write at night after work.
Late 1940s, Rachel decided to publish 12 FWS booklets called, “Conservation in Action” 
Booklets were about protecting animal and plant habitat and the National Wildlife Refuge system.
2nd book -  released July 2,  1951, was “The Sea Around Us.” 
The book was so popular, hard for bookstores to keep it in stock. 
At the age of 44, Rachel was becoming an international celebrity.
It remained on the best-seller list for 86 weeks.
Her first book was reprinted and this time was successful.
Because of the success of her books, on June 3, 1952, she retired as editor-in-chief of publications at FWS after 15 years.
Rachel purchased land and built a cabin in West Southport, Maine.
3rd book -  “The Edge of  the Sea” was selected as book of the year in 1955.
Rachel built a home in Silver Spring, Md.

## “The more I learned about the use of pesticides, the more appalled I became.”

**Notes:**
Rachel began research on her next book, “Silent Spring,” in 1958.
Concerned about birds dying from pesticides -- sprayed from the air to kill mosquitoes.  
More than 200 chemicals were being used to kill insects and weeds.  
Because of DDT, egg shells of eagles and other birds were too brittle and broke before hatching.  
Advertisements promoted pesticide use.  Examples: “War on Insects” and “Bad News for Bugs.” 
In December, 1958, Rachel’s mother (Maria Carson) died.
Rachel adopted grandnephew, Roger.
In 1960, Rachel was told she had breast cancer.

## Silent Spring Roared

**Notes:**
In 1962, “Silent Spring” was published. 
Almost immediately Rachel was attacked by the pesticide industry.
She had documented her scientific research and withstood their criticism.
In 1963, CBS television network broadcasted an hour-long documentary about her book.  
TV showed calm, petite Rachel in her Silver Spring home vs. spokesman for American Cyanimid in dark-rimmed glasses and stark white lab coat. 

## “...when any living thing has come to the end of its cycle weaccept that end as natural...”

**Notes:**
By 1963, cancer had spread to Rachel’s bones, making her movements difficult.
On April 14, 1964, at age 56, Rachel died of cancer at her home in Silver Spring, Md.

## The Amazing Sense of Wonder

**The Amazing ****Sense of Wonder**

**Notes:**
Her last book, “The Sense of Wonder” was published in 1965, a year after Rachel Carson’s death.
Rachel knew the importance of keeping our environment safe for future generations.
She urged adults to help children discover the sense of wonder that nature has to offer.

## Rachel’s Legacy Lives On

**Notes:**
Populations of bald eagles, brown pelicans and other birds are increasing.
A world-wide “environmental conscience” has grown.
In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency was formed, as a direct result of  the environmental movement caused by “Silent Spring.”
In 1972, the government banned nearly all uses of DDT in the U.S.
Rachel’s work saved our children’s natural inheritance.
She outlined a path for us to devote our lives to conservation in action.

## Step in Her Shoes

**Step in Her Shoes**

**Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Elizabeth, Maine**

**Notes:**
Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is located from Kittery to Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
Rachel’s childhood home in Springdale, Pa. is on the National Register of Historic Places and is open to the public.
Chatham College (formerly Pa. College for Women), has organized the Rachel Carson Institute and celebrates annually with a Rachel Carson Day.
The state of Pennsylvania has designated May 27 as Rachel Carson Day.
The Rachel Carson Conservation Park is located in Montgomery County, Md. 

## Seeds to Grow

-    **“****And with your child you can ponder the mystery of a growing seed...”**

**Notes:**
The importance of children and nature are instilled in Carson’s book, “The Sense of Wonder.”
Rachel wrote, “And with your child you can ponder the mystery of a growing seed, even if it be only planted in a pot of earth in the kitchen window.”
What outside activities can you do with a child to discover nature?
Plant a garden; go hiking and explore the newness of what you see; take pictures of nature, go birding.

## Children—Our Most Precious Resource

**Notes:**
Like Rachel, most adults with positive connection to nature can link it back to their childhood.
Children today are increasingly disconnected with nature.
Playing outside increases endurance and promotes healthy lifestyles.
Visit a refuge, fish hatchery, park, or beach.
Most national wildlife refuges are located within an hour’s drive of major cities, opening a gateway to experience wildlife. 

## Instill a Sense of Wonder

**Instill a Sense of Wonder**

**Notes:**
Take Rachel Carson’s advice, instill a sense of wonder in our most precious resource – our children.
Rachel Carson made a huge impact on the world of conservation and drawing attention to children and nature.  
“If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.”

## “For all at last returns to the sea...like the ever flowing stream of time, the beginning and the end.”   Rachel Carson

**“****For all at last returns to the sea...like the ever flowing stream of time, the beginning and the end.”   Rachel Carson**

**Notes:**
Rachel struggled to get an education when money was limited.
She helped her family financially and gave them a home.
She made time to write, even after working full-time.
She felt her destiny was connected to the sea.
When faced with opposition from the pesticide industry, she used gentle persuasion, backed by scientific knowledge and research.
Her writings and conservation efforts will ever flow with the stream of time.

Designed by: Kathy Sholl, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
National Conservation Training Center, 698 Conservation Blvd., MS19
Shepherdstown, WV  25443   kathy_sholl@fws.gov

Photos used in this presentation are solely for the purposes of educating the public about the life and legacy of Rachel Carson. Photos are not to be duplicated, replicated, copied or used in any other format.

Special thanks to:
Yale Collection of American Literature
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Resources:
Rachel Carson: The Life of the Author of Silent Spring by Linda Lear, Henry Holt & Co., 1997
Rachel Carson: Voice for the Earth by Ginger Wadsworth, Lerner Publications Co., 1992
Numerous Internet searches.