Notable Quotes

Table of Contents

On this page we have gathered some memorable quotes from people of the past, expressing their own words about our beautiful natural world and it's relationship to our own well being, with their words crafted to paint a picture of profound beauty for all of us to share. We are in fact, part of our collective natural world and it is something we must never lose our feeling for.

If you have a notable quote let us know and we will add it here to our collection. Enjoy.

Following Quotes are From: John Muir (21 April 1838 – 24 December 1914) was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of U.S. wilderness. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, have been read by millions and are still popular today. His direct activism helped to save the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States. His writings and philosophy strongly influenced the formation of the modern environmental movement.

"The Air was perfectly delicious, sweet enough for the breath of angels. Every draught of it gave a separate and distinct piece of pleasure. I do not believe that Adam and Eve tasted better in their balmiest nook."

John Muir (Letters to a Friend)

"A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease."


"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings."


"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul."


"God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools."


"How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains! "


"I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do."


"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. "


"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. "


"One may as well dam for water tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man. "


"Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you. "


"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."


"The gross heathenism of civilization has generally destroyed nature, and poetry, and all that is spiritual."


"The mountains are calling and I must go."


"The power of imagination makes us infinite. "


"There is that in the glance of a flower which may at times control the greatest of creation's braggart lords."


"To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world."


"Trees go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!"


"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."


John Muir

"There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Three Tetons; and our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children's children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred."

Theodore Roosevelt

My own Observations:

"Being outdoors brings an exhilaration that I cannot explain fresh air, grand forest, wildlife busy scurrying about not just surviving but being alive and enjoying the struggle of life. Ever since man gained consciousness he has longed to return to were he began the land the sea and most of all the struggle of living were true joy is found!"

Awakening to the continual roiling of the stream nearby, my eyes open from nights sleep in this outdoor paradise, pulling my boots on and stepping into a new day.
Cool inviting and fraught with opportunity, I am ready for todays adventure and the sun as yet to touch the ground.

"The trail seemed to disappear before our very eyes, as we walked into the unknown wilderness, fearful, excited and yet comforted in the thought we are with our mother earth"

"Returning to base camp, I find myself wanting again to leave to explore one more corner of the world, my body says I have had my fill for today and I must rest my tired bones, but my mind burns with hunger for more"

D. Howe