Preservationist is generally understood to mean historic preservationist: one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation usually refers to the preservation of the built environment, not to the preservation of, for instance, primeval forests or wilderness. [1]
Preservationist is, however, sometimes used descriptively in other contexts, notably with regards to language and the environment.
Persons who work to preserve ancient or endangered languages are called language preservationists. [2]
Preservationist is also sometimes used in the natural environmentalist field, but while the natural environment conservationist movements preserve ecosystems and the natural environment, this movement is widely known as conservation or environmentalism .
Preservationism has been defined by Richard Heinberg in his book Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World as distinguishing survivalist groups who wish merely to survive a collapse of civilization from preservationist communities who wish to preserve as much of human culture as is possible in the event of collapse.
Some of the notable historic preservationists who are or have been advocates for the protection of the built environment include:
The organized environmental movement is represented by a wide range of non-governmental organizations or NGOs that seek to address environmental issues in the United States. They operate on local, national, and international scales. Environmental NGOs vary widely in political views and in the ways they seek to influence the environmental policy of the United States and other governments.
An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities". An environmentalist is engaged in or believes in the philosophy of environmentalism or one of the related philosophies.
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the future. Conservationists are concerned with leaving the environment in a better state than the condition they found it in. Evidence-based conservation seeks to use high quality scientific evidence to make conservation efforts more effective.
Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values underlie conservation, which can be guided by biocentrism, anthropocentrism, ecocentrism, and sentientism, environmental ideologies that inform ecocultural practices and identities. There has recently been a movement towards evidence-based conservation which calls for greater use of scientific evidence to improve the effectiveness of conservation efforts. As of 2018 15% of land and 7.3% of the oceans were protected. Many environmentalists set a target of protecting 30% of land and marine territory by 2030. In 2021, 16.64% of land and 7.9% of the oceans were protected. The 2022 IPCC report on climate impacts and adaptation, underlines the need to conserve 30% to 50% of the Earth's land, freshwater and ocean areas – echoing the 30% goal of the U.N.'s Convention on Biodiversity.
Wilderness or wildlands are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally referred to terrestrial environments, though growing attention is being placed on marine wilderness. Recent maps of wilderness suggest it covers roughly one-quarter of Earth's terrestrial surface, but is being rapidly degraded by human activity. Even less wilderness remains in the ocean, with only 13.2% free from intense human activity.
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologism combines the ideology of social ecology and environmentalism. Ecologism is more commonly used in continental European languages, while environmentalism is more commonly used in English but the words have slightly different connotations.
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit organization of its kind in the world and has 100,000 member households as of 2021. In addition to land stewardship, the organization is also active in conservation partnerships, community supported agriculture (CSA), environmental and conservation education, community preservation and development, and green building. The Trustees owns title to 120 properties on 27,000 acres (11,000 ha) in Massachusetts, all of which are open to the public. In addition, it holds 393 conservation restrictions to protect an additional 20,000 acres (8,100 ha). Properties include historic mansions, estates, and gardens; woodland preserves; waterfalls; mountain peaks; wetlands and riverways; coastal bluffs, beaches, and barrier islands; farmland and CSA projects; and archaeological sites.
The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and 30 individuals working in any field who have shown "extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction" and are citizens or residents of the United States.
Historic preservation in New York is activity undertaken to conserve forests, buildings, ships, sacred burial grounds, water purity and other objects of cultural importance in New York in ways that allow them to communicate meaningfully about past practices, events, and people.
Margot McCoy Gayle was an American historic preservationist, activist, and writer. She led the effort to designate the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District, which preserved Victorian era cast-iron architecture in New York City.
The Jay Heritage Center (JHC) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization incorporated in 1990 and chartered by the New York State Board of Regents to act as stewards of the 23-acre Jay Estate, the National Historic Landmark home of American Founding Father John Jay. Jay's ancestral property in Rye, New York is considered the centerpiece of the Boston Post Road Historic District.
Conservation in the United States can be traced back to the 19th century with the formation of the first National Park. Conservation generally refers to the act of consciously and efficiently using land and/or its natural resources. This can be in the form of setting aside tracts of land for protection from hunting or urban development, or it can take the form of using less resources such as metal, water, or coal. Usually, this process of conservation occurs through or after legislation on local or national levels is passed.
Rosalie Barrow Edge was an American environmentalist and suffragist. In 1929, she established the Emergency Conservation Committee to expose the conservation establishment's ineffectiveness and advocate for species preservation. In 1934, Edge also founded the world's first preserve for birds of prey—Hawk Mountain Sanctuary near Kempton, Pennsylvania. Edge was considered the most militant conservationist of her time, and she clashed publicly for decades with leaders of the Audubon Society over approaches to wildlife preservation. An environmentalist colleague described her in 1948 as "the only honest, unselfish, indomitable hellcat in the history of conservation".
Bron Raymond Taylor is an American scholar and conservationist. He is professor of religion and nature at the University of Florida and has also been an affiliated scholar with the Center for Environment and Development at the University of Oslo. Taylor works principally in the areas of religion and ecology, environmental ethics and environmental philosophy. He is also a prominent historian and ethnographer of environmentalism and especially radical environmentalist movements, surfing culture and nature-based spiritualities. Taylor is also editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature and subsequently founded the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, serving as its president from 2006 to 2009. He also founded the society's affiliated Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, serving as its editor since 2007.
The Association Residence Nursing Home, also called the Association for the Relief of Respectable, Aged and Indigent Females, is a historic building in New York City built from 1881–1883 to the design of Richard Morris Hunt in the Victorian Gothic style. It is located on Amsterdam Avenue between 103rd and 104th Streets on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and is now a hostel run by Hostelling International. The Association was founded in 1814 to help the widows of soldiers of the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. An addition to the building was constructed on the south end of the property in 1907, with seven Tiffany windows that are now in the Morse Museum of American Art's collection. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The Rachel Carson Award is awarded each spring by the National Audubon Society's Women in Conservation to recognize "women whose immense talent, expertise, and energy greatly advance conservation and the environmental movement locally and globally". Honorees are drawn from diverse backgrounds, including the worlds of journalism, academics, business, science, entertainment, philanthropy and law.
Nancy (Boyd) Willey 1902–1998, was an American environmentalist and historic preservationist from Sag Harbor, New York. She was the founding president and historian for the Old Sagg-Harbour Committee.
Environmentalism of the poor is a set of social movements that arise from environmental conflicts when impoverished people struggle against powerful state or private interests that threaten their livelihood, health, sovereignty, and culture. Part of the global environmental justice movement, it differs from mainstream environmentalism by emphasizing social justice issues instead of emphasizing conservation and eco-efficiency. It is becoming an increasingly important force for global sustainability.