Birkley Leander Heynen’s life unexpectedly came to an end on March 4th, 2024, just ten days before his 21st birthday and two months shy of graduating from the University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology with a Sustainability Certificate.
Understanding the way that Birkley lived begins with how he loved the planet and all its creatures. It begins by understanding the truth that we are all interconnected. How to use this simple truth to harness good was part of Birkley’s greatest education in his life. He saw how people could care about issues of sustainability and the environment when they felt more integrated in the system, when they were educated about their important role in the web. Of course, grasping the foundational truth that the earth is an ecosystem and a passion for sustainability go hand in hand. Birkley lived his life in this truth and in his death would ask us all to do the same.
Birkley saw moments in his life as snapshots he wanted to remember, often rooted in an idea he was inspired by at the time. Leading up to his death, Birkley was drawn to the happening of a whale fall. At death, the life and body of a whale returns to the ocean floor to house and nourish an ecosystem for the next 50 years. What if we all set out to live in a manner that would sustain our greater or novel ecosystem this way? Life fosters life but death also fosters life. And when you live your life like Birkley did, making an impact on the people and the planet around you, it has the power to ripple outward.
With that, we would like to announce the creation of the Birkley Heynen Environmental Foundation. Over the coming weeks, months, and years we will build a foundation that maintains an environmental grants program focused on issues Birkley was passionate about. Please watch this space for updates about the foundation’s activities and partnerships, as well as ways to contribute to our mission.
