Joseph Bharat Cornell

From his earliest years, Joseph (Bharat) Cornell felt a sensitive attunement with the mysteries and beauties of nature. As a boy, he spent much time exploring the marshes, orchards, and mountains near his home in northern California. During the early 1970s, he designed his own Bachelor of Science degree program in nature awareness at California State University at Chico.

The nature awareness methods featured in Cornell’s Sharing Nature Book Series are used by millions of parents, educators, naturalists, and youth and religious leaders all over the world. Mr. Cornell’s second book, Listening to Nature, has inspired thousands of adults to deepen their relationship with nature.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service selected his first book, Sharing Nature with Children®, as one of the 15 most influential books—published from 1890 to today—that has connected children to nature. Other authors honored in the exhibit include Rachel Carson and Ernest Thompson Seton.

Joseph Cornell is the founder and president of Sharing Nature Worldwide, one of the planet’s most popular and influential environmental education programs. He is the honorary president of Japan Nature Game Association that has 10,000 trained Sharing Nature leaders and 224 regional associations. Japan’s national elementary science curriculum promotes Sharing Nature experiences as a way to help students “get close to nature” and “love nature.”