The Teddy Roosevelt Dinner Launch

While we pride ourselves on our thought-provoking writing and keynote speaker events, we firmly believe in the power of bringing people together. Our members belong to both sides of the aisle — we know there is no better way to understand one another than by fostering informed discussion.

This year, a theme running through much of our work has been — quite understandably — conservation and climate change. While our leaders are failing to uphold the Paris Agreement, our planet is dying: half of the Great Barrier Reef is dead, marine populations are half of what they were in 1970, and the Amazon Rainforest and Southeast Asian forests are being felled to make room for beef and palm oil, pushing species toward extinction in the process.

We must look to President Theodore Roosevelt, a pivotal figure in starting the United States’ National Parks. Ever-increasing digitisation and urbanisation have made people more detached from nature than ever before. In turning toward the more social aspect of our work, we want to inspire people to enjoy and care for the Great Outdoors. 

In December we hosted the launch party for our upcoming Teddy Roosevelt Dinner. An intimate affair between thirty of our Members, Associates, and friends, the launch party helped raise funds for the Dinner, set to take place in the spring and benefit the John Muir trust.

Like Theodore, John Muir was a keen conservationist who aided the development of the National Park system. His work helped preserve Yosemite, Sequoia National Park, the eponymous Muir Woods; he also co-found the Sierra Club. Biographer Donald Worster summed up John’s mission as ‘saving the American soul from total surrender to materialism’ — a message we would do well to heed today. While the United States were the main beneficiary of his work, he was born and raised only 25 miles from St Andrews. 

The Teddy Roosevelt Dinner will host 150 students in support of the John Muir Trust.