Year of Award
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Science (MS)
Degree Name
Environmental Studies
Other Degree Name/Area of Focus
Environmental Writing
Department or School/College
Environmental Studies
Committee Chair
Phil Condon
Commitee Members
Judy Blunt, Dan Spencer
Keywords
Boy Scouts of America, New Mexico, Philmont Scout Ranch, Wildfire, Outdoor Education, Fire Ecology
Publisher
University of Montana
Subject Categories
Nonfiction
Abstract
Ground Fires is a collection of creative nonfiction probing the social and environmental complexities that marked the narrator’s long membership in the Boy Scouts of America. I grew up a Scout, part of a quirky, adventurous troop in a New England college town. After earning Eagle and graduating high school, I moved west, working for seven summers and a few more seasons at Philmont Scout Ranch in northern New Mexico. I led backpacking trips through the mountains and high desert, teaching teenagers about land I knew and loved, land that was changing fast. From bears to wildfire to challenging politics, these stories seek the colorful people and places behind a uniquely American institution, in hopes that Scouting might serve as a bright force in shaping the future of our diverse and wild country.
Recommended Citation
Hart, Matthew R., "GROUND FIRES: Essays on Land and Scouting" (2017). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 10994.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/10994
Included in
© Copyright 2017 Matthew R. Hart