Giving Makes Earth Sacred

Sacrifice often feels like loss. But what if it’s actually a way of making meaning—and even joy—more possible?

In 2019, while visiting Jaipur’s Jhalana Leopard Reserve, I learned a lesson about sacrifice that stayed with me long after the leopards failed to appear. A local conservationist explained that offerings to the divine are not about what is given up, but about what is released—so it can return with greater purpose. “Sacrifices,” he told me, “are given so that we can enjoy them more fully.”

Years later, working with Lakota partners while planning the 12th World Wilderness Congress, I encountered a similar belief: we lose what we keep, but we keep what we give freely.

The word sacrifice comes from the Latin sacrificium—to make sacred. That understanding shaped WILD’s 2024 end-of-year theme:

Giving makes Earth sacred.

When we give freely—our resources, our energy, our care—we release their potential to serve a greater purpose. In doing so, we honor the living world and our responsibility to protect it.

In the weeks ahead, we’ll share stories of what WILD, with the support of our donors, gave freely in 2024—and how those gifts helped safeguard wild places and the life they sustain. You can explore these stories in our 2024 Annual Report and through this ongoing blog series.

We also invite you to reflect: What did you give freely this year? How did it deepen your connection to our shared planet?

As we enter a time that may call for greater sacrifice from us all, let us remember—our gifts do not diminish us. They help make the Earth sacred.

If this message resonates with you, please consider supporting WILD’s work with a donation. Our impact belongs to all of us.