The Grandmother of Conservation: A Living History Performance with Mardy Murie

Posted on: April 10, 2024

In this performance, Coral Conant Gilles will come to you as Mardy Murie, the Grandmother of Conservation. From the year 1977, Mardy will share her story, speaking about her life and her work, then answer your questions. After Mardy has answered your questions, Coral will “return” and answer additional questions.

Mardy Murie (1902-2003) has been called the “Grandmother of Conservation.” She was instrumental in the passage of the Wilderness Act and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILC) in 1980. She continued to speak and write on behalf of conservation through the 1980s and 90s.

Mardy Murie grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, the first boomtown of the Alaska gold rush. Always up for an adventure, Olaus Murie, field biologist for the Biological Survey (now Fish and Wildlife), caught her attention with his knowledge and passion for wild places and the animals that inhabit them. The two married and began a lifetime of adventure, exploration, research, and activism.

Come along as Mardy shares stories of their adventures through the Alaskan wilderness studying caribou and waterfowl. Watch her assert her place beside Olaus as his field assistant where she gains vast skills and knowledge. Find awe in how she continues exploring as a mother with children in tow.

Then notice the transition from field studies to activism, taking more adventures into interior Alaska to make recommendations about which areas should be preserved into Wilderness. When Olaus dies, mourn with Mardy and marvel at her strength as she chooses to continue their activism, moving from secretary to testifier at congressional hearings.

Mardy often hosted small gatherings of learners at her home in Moose, WY. People of all ages came to discuss conservation with her, to hear her stories, and to learn from her. For this performance, you are a small group of adults at one such gathering. The year is 1977.

Coral Conant Gilles, Storytelling Naturalist, accidentally became a storyteller while teaching environmental education in the Pacific Northwest in 2008. She now lives on land known to most as Madison, WI, but known to the Ho-Chunk people, from whom it was taken, as Teejop.

Coral uses storytelling and hands-on nature activities to inspire curiosity, empathy, and connection with ourselves, each other, and the natural world. Coral believes these are at the heart of healing within, in relationships, in our communities, and in the greater global community of human and non-human beings. Her work allows her to bring both subtlety and power to that which must be explored.