"The tonic of wildness": religion and the environment at the YMCA of the Rockies
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Abstract
Americans in the 1920s and 30s were fascinated with the idea of a pure, untrammeled wilderness, particularly as an antidote to the perceived depravity and degeneracy of urban environments. Looking for sites of wilderness that might promote environmental engagement among children and adolescents, American educators and parents identified the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado, as a place that perfectly embodied the ideal wilderness. Summer programs at the YMCA of the Rockies encouraged participants to actively engage with the wilderness setting of the region while simultaneous reaching ...
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