This is a repeat from a diary I did in November 2018. In honor of Women’s History Month, and wanting to celebrate the beauty of our natural world to soothe our nerves, I thought it was fitting to rerun this diary.
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Recently we had the opportunity to walk the Lady Bird Johnson Grove at Redwood National Park. It was beautiful and just what we needed after weeks of unpacking. As we were walking I realized that I had the inspiration for a diary.
Bold.
Visionary.
Compassionate.
These are the words that you first see when you visit LadyBirdJohnson.org. The words hover over a beautiful picture of her as she sits among some boulders and cactus. She’s wearing pants, and cowboy boots — kind of a bold look for it’s time.
Claudia Alta Taylor was born in 1912 in east Texas. She was nicknamed “Lady Bird” as a child, and the name stuck. Lady Bird was a nature lover early in her life saying,
People always look back at it now and assume it was lonely, she once said about her childhood. To me it definitely was not. [...] I spent a lot of time just walking and fishing and swimming.
Lady Bird Johnson had a vision of America that encompassed the wild beauty of nature. She understood that native plants, including wildflowers, could not only beautify the country, but were important for our future. And as First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969, she focused her efforts on the environment and the beautification of the countryside.
One notable achievement for her was the 1965 Highway Beautification Act signed into law by President Johnson, and nicknamed the “Lady Bird bill.” She was even present at the signing of this broad ranging piece of legislation. The bill had three main focuses - controlling signs along the interstates, required screening of junkyards, and highway landscaping. I’ve done a lot of road trips and I’m so thankful for this act. Some communities and cities really do incredible jobs with their landscaping along highways and streets; and it provides a glimpse into plants that thrive in these places.
However, Lady Bird’s influence was not limited to the “Lady Bird bill.” According to the LadyBirdJohnson.org website,
More than 200 laws related to the environment were passed during the Johnson Administration, many of which were influenced by Mrs. Johnson's work. Among the major legislative initiatives were the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Program, the 1965 Highway Beautification Act and many additions to the National Park system.
Additionally she also rallied support to clean up and beautify parts of Washington D.C. while she was still First Lady. One thing I learned while researching her was that she worked with Sargeant Shriver to found Head Start. That made me even more impressed with her role as First Lady.
Lady Bird’s time in the White House was not the extent of her efforts to beautify America. After leaving the White House she worked to rally support for a variety of environmental projects, primarily in Texas.
The culmination of her environmental efforts was the creation of the National Wildflower Research Center, with actress Helen Hayes. Lady Bird donated funding and 60 acres of land for its creation. It eventually became the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and shortly before her death became part of the University of Texas at Austin. Being part of the University allows it to flourish and be protected.
Their work is amazing and inspiring,
The University of Texas at Austin Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is the State Botanic Garden and Arboretum of Texas dedicated to inspiring the conservation of native plants. The Center’s gardens and arboretum display native plants from across Texas and serve as a model for creating beautiful, sustainable landscapes. The Center has guided the development of urban and rural landscapes across the U.S. that incorporate native prairies, green roofs, rainwater harvesting and other sustainable features. It operates Native Plants of North America, the most comprehensive online native plant resource, and has set aside millions of seeds from Texas native plants for future generations and restoration activities. In addition to educating children and adults about native plants and training citizen scientists to identify and report invasive species, the Center led the development of SITES®, a sustainable landscape rating system now used worldwide.
www.wildflower.org/...