"I believe it is essential to teach children about the plight of nature. It won't be long before nature and wildlife will be part of their stewardship."
This timely statement from Lincoln Allen, renowned wildlife photographer and conservationist, will be one of the topics of his audio/visual presentation, "Earth Future," a key event in Salt Lake City's "Earth Day" activities.Allen's program - from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 19, in Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah - will celebrate nature and the different ecosystems of our planet. The presentation creatively mixes the native Utahn's wildlife photographs with music, animal sounds and a lecture emphasizing preservation, making for a program that is not only entertaining but also educational.
"I'm going to focus on the rain forest region of the Amazon with its fascinating creatures, many of which people don't even realize exist," he says. "The forests are going up in flames, and very few of the animals inhabiting them now exist outside of zoos."
The Allen family's involvement in wildlife conservation spans three generations. His father, George Allen Jr., eminent aviculturist and authority on birds, was founder and first director of the American Bird Federation and is currently director of the Bird Preservation and Research Center in Salt Lake City. Allen's grandfather, George Allen, was the first zoological president of Hogle Zoo.
As founder and president of the World Environment Society - a scientific and educational association that stresses new, progressive and effective solutions to environmental problems - Lincoln Allen works hard at educating communities through positive, common-sense approaches to solving conservation problems. During Saturday evening's "Earth Future" presentation, he will recognize local companies and individuals helpful in completing the Decker Lake Restoration and Beautification Project.
Allen currently is photographing and coordinating a National Geographic article on the Great Salt Lake's unique and important hemispheric habitat for migratory birds. The article will cover the juggling act between man's needs for development and recreation and the impact these have on our sensitive environment.
Optimistic about the future of our environment, Allen has deep convictions that humankind CAN find a way to coexist with nature and its fragile ecosystems. "But education is the key," Allen says.
"Earth Future" is being sponsored by the Utah Museum of Natural History and Kodak and is free to the public.
For more information about Saturday's Earth Day activities, call the museum at 581-6928.