I am part of a group that advocates for residents, businesses, and government organizations in our community to use native plants to create habitat gardens throughout the city. We do outreach, give away seeds, host habitat garden tours, and get people and organizations to work toward certifying their bit of dirt--from planters on a porch, to a corner of a yard, to landscaping for businesses, to city parks--as wildlife habitats with the National Wildlife Federation.
First, many gardeners start with a plant or two in a pot and gain momentum from there. If we can get them started, many will build momentum. Using what resources we each have, ranging from a pot on a stoop to acres of land, planting for habitat where one is every day means that we get to interact with nature--flora AND the fauna that come along because of that flora--every day.
Interacting with nature does not need to mean something grand or pristine or removed from the grind of daily life. The only way to get new people on board is to, quite literally, meet them where they are and encourage and enable them to take the very next step. And once they are started, momentum can build.
That's so fantastic, Maria! Thanks for sharing. 100% agree. Small steps. Even getting swan plants in the back yard for kids to see Monarch's colonise and go through their life cycle. Our kids love witnessing this. You should be proud of what you're doing -- it sounds extremely meaningful.
I was contemplating how we may shift activities to the evening and nighttime, if days will become too hot. What I didn't think about is that this will limit our experiences in nature, because no one is going to enjoy a walk in the woods at 10pm. Now I clearly see this as a consequence
Indeed -- it's a totally different experience after dark. One of my earlier posts talked about the health benefits of even just looking at trees. So the visual element is key.
YES Step outside and dwell in forests, grasslands, wetlands, the full panoply of native plants. Its like the tale of the Emperor and his clothes. We denuded the land with our sprawling constructions festooned with glittering technologies. The child exclaims, but is not heard, the landscape has got no green. Nothing to sponge the water when it rains. Nothing to feed the soil with root exudate carbohydrates. Nothing to open stomata to release vapor that evaporates to cool the microclimate. Nothing that releases water vapor during the darkest hour before dawn to condense and warm with the morning dew. Nothing releasing fungi and bacteria into air that water vapor nucleates around to form cumulus clouds drawing moisture in from the ocean. Instead we huff and puff about the climate changing due to fossil fuel emissions, CO2 rising like a hockey stick, rush to manufacture more electric vehicles, and how artificial our intelligence has become. Yes, It’s time to get back to where we once belonged outdoors with nature! Put down the anxieties and breath deeply. You’ll be glad you did.
Well said, Rob! Indeed. Even forgetting about the benefits to the environment, the human health benefits of doing so are so widespread. It's great we're putting science to this now so people can clearly see the benefits. Even just looking at green (or blue) spaces can have clear benefits.
Yes Speak to peoples’ interest. Who does not like a family picnic in a clean natural park? With all the current raging anxieties we need nature for our mental well-being more than ever.
Yes another concern... I think there is some pushback already going in to some extent. In the UK for example forest school is hugely popular at the moment.
Were super lucky w our primary school which is lucky enough to be surrounded by trees, so it has much less problems than others w temperature control in hot weather, these kinds of things could make a bug difference.
But more needs to be done... That's partly why I am tentatively setting out w my new Substack on Nature Journalling, we need to do all we can to encourage Nature connectedness X
Recently I read the book What The Wild Sea Can Be by Helen Scales. As a reader I believe that even books about nature can increase the appreciation of the vastness and beauty of nature - especially the ocean and the life contained within that isn’t visible for most of us. It might not create immediate connection but maybe it’s a first step 💭
I agree but in some regards being urban animals did we ever have a connection in the first place? We had a piece of land in the country of mixed use bordering on national park so as children we had a chance to explore and create an engagement, not many people have this opportunity. I live on the northern edge of Sydney and clean three main creek systems leading down to a mangrove estuary and then out to Pittwater and the sea, The area is 10-15 km of deep valley and with some rocks as big as houses. In the decade of clearing this area of rubbish I have seen only one or two others walking off track and only a few more walking the poorly maintained trails. I was lucky to be offered the opportunity of orienteering as sport but what other engagement is ever offered? Out of sight out of mind? I do not think it is the weather that is putting people off but the fact they have never experienced this in the first place. Physical meditation and connection with the infinite, a form of physical fitness and therapy few people get to experience.
100% -- That's a massive problem in our generation. We've lost our connection with nature already in many cases. Kids home ranges have shrunk, because we're so much more aware of the risks these days through the media. Kids have shifted from playing outside to playing on devices (not ours, but most) etc. The risk with climate change is that these exposures are going to potentially become even scarcer. But yes, I hear you Theodore.
I've been wondering why we don't hear more about this topic - interesting to see it broken down in this way! It seems, though, that degradation of the positive aspects of experiencing nature (e.g. die-off of native species, increases in invasives, more extreme damage from fires - not just an increase in physical discomfort) would also be a big part of the motivation component? I guess this could be an aspect of opportunity and capability too, but I think it's fair to assume there's going to be a loss of interest in experiencing nature in general, especially for those who bring a knowledge of what certain environments used to look and feel like.
I read somewhere that we're already facing what could be called grief, over loss of the "nature we know." Even if that isn't particularly widespread yet (I admit I'm largely in denial about it myself) I'm surprised we don't hear more about it as a casualty of climate change - even if it is less immediate or material than other impacts.
Thanks for the thoughts, Darren. Yes, agree with everything you say. The increasing negative aspects of environmental change must be driving some further loss of connection. Certainly think we're experiencing this grief. The baselines continue to shift -- at rapid rates!
A couple of us will keep our community space open this summer for kids to grow a bucket garden and a pollinator patch. We are setting up tree identification walks through the neighbourhood with a tree enthusiast. Its not always possible for low income people to travel to "Nature". I encourage folk to create connections where they are.
I was fortunate to grow up on an acre of “old land” on a hillside with woods out back, just one neighbor across the lane, and acres of cow pastures in which to wander. We walked a half mile to catch the school bus.
Decades later, I find myself on similar terrain yet now with — climate change. Hurricane Helene turned west into my mountains last September. Seven months later, we are still rebuilding. I write Matters of Kinship— it’s about relationships in and between ecosystems. It’s difficult to write due to the trauma of the landslides at home and the flooding near work.
I have started a Nature Journal group for our neighborhood. If the weather and climate reporting is eliminated at the federal and state level, at least we will have our Thoreau-like Google docs:)🌱🌿💚
Thanks for sharing, Katharine! Sounds challenging -- I hope the rebuild comes together OK. So cool to start community initiatives like that -- shame the political environment requires such things!
We didn’t know how much we loved our home place and our neighbors until we (89 households) were stranded together for days. We were fortunate to have water and food delivered by helicopters. I think the community keeping the Nature Journal has the potential to keep us connected with our love for place.
That's lovely to hear. Community is so important and just like our disconnection with nature, we're also disconnecting with each other. Hope you manage to keep the momentum!
That feedback loop is scary but a good framing of what’s happening. As far as what to do about it, in our community, we’re trying to find those little easy ways for people to engage in a project little slices of nature so they can get hooked and then hopefully you get a positive feedback loop from there! For example, planting native plants that attract butterflies.
Fascinating read! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking. Dm me if interested in a recommendation swap — we’re growing fast!
I am part of a group that advocates for residents, businesses, and government organizations in our community to use native plants to create habitat gardens throughout the city. We do outreach, give away seeds, host habitat garden tours, and get people and organizations to work toward certifying their bit of dirt--from planters on a porch, to a corner of a yard, to landscaping for businesses, to city parks--as wildlife habitats with the National Wildlife Federation.
First, many gardeners start with a plant or two in a pot and gain momentum from there. If we can get them started, many will build momentum. Using what resources we each have, ranging from a pot on a stoop to acres of land, planting for habitat where one is every day means that we get to interact with nature--flora AND the fauna that come along because of that flora--every day.
Interacting with nature does not need to mean something grand or pristine or removed from the grind of daily life. The only way to get new people on board is to, quite literally, meet them where they are and encourage and enable them to take the very next step. And once they are started, momentum can build.
That's so fantastic, Maria! Thanks for sharing. 100% agree. Small steps. Even getting swan plants in the back yard for kids to see Monarch's colonise and go through their life cycle. Our kids love witnessing this. You should be proud of what you're doing -- it sounds extremely meaningful.
Thank you for introducing this research.
I was contemplating how we may shift activities to the evening and nighttime, if days will become too hot. What I didn't think about is that this will limit our experiences in nature, because no one is going to enjoy a walk in the woods at 10pm. Now I clearly see this as a consequence
Indeed -- it's a totally different experience after dark. One of my earlier posts talked about the health benefits of even just looking at trees. So the visual element is key.
YES Step outside and dwell in forests, grasslands, wetlands, the full panoply of native plants. Its like the tale of the Emperor and his clothes. We denuded the land with our sprawling constructions festooned with glittering technologies. The child exclaims, but is not heard, the landscape has got no green. Nothing to sponge the water when it rains. Nothing to feed the soil with root exudate carbohydrates. Nothing to open stomata to release vapor that evaporates to cool the microclimate. Nothing that releases water vapor during the darkest hour before dawn to condense and warm with the morning dew. Nothing releasing fungi and bacteria into air that water vapor nucleates around to form cumulus clouds drawing moisture in from the ocean. Instead we huff and puff about the climate changing due to fossil fuel emissions, CO2 rising like a hockey stick, rush to manufacture more electric vehicles, and how artificial our intelligence has become. Yes, It’s time to get back to where we once belonged outdoors with nature! Put down the anxieties and breath deeply. You’ll be glad you did.
Well said, Rob! Indeed. Even forgetting about the benefits to the environment, the human health benefits of doing so are so widespread. It's great we're putting science to this now so people can clearly see the benefits. Even just looking at green (or blue) spaces can have clear benefits.
Yes Speak to peoples’ interest. Who does not like a family picnic in a clean natural park? With all the current raging anxieties we need nature for our mental well-being more than ever.
Yes another concern... I think there is some pushback already going in to some extent. In the UK for example forest school is hugely popular at the moment.
Were super lucky w our primary school which is lucky enough to be surrounded by trees, so it has much less problems than others w temperature control in hot weather, these kinds of things could make a bug difference.
But more needs to be done... That's partly why I am tentatively setting out w my new Substack on Nature Journalling, we need to do all we can to encourage Nature connectedness X
Hi Catherine. Sorry I somehow missed this. That’s great to hear. Good luck with the new initiative!
Recently I read the book What The Wild Sea Can Be by Helen Scales. As a reader I believe that even books about nature can increase the appreciation of the vastness and beauty of nature - especially the ocean and the life contained within that isn’t visible for most of us. It might not create immediate connection but maybe it’s a first step 💭
Absolutely, Lenina! A good book can bring you so much closer to something than you'd imagine.
I agree but in some regards being urban animals did we ever have a connection in the first place? We had a piece of land in the country of mixed use bordering on national park so as children we had a chance to explore and create an engagement, not many people have this opportunity. I live on the northern edge of Sydney and clean three main creek systems leading down to a mangrove estuary and then out to Pittwater and the sea, The area is 10-15 km of deep valley and with some rocks as big as houses. In the decade of clearing this area of rubbish I have seen only one or two others walking off track and only a few more walking the poorly maintained trails. I was lucky to be offered the opportunity of orienteering as sport but what other engagement is ever offered? Out of sight out of mind? I do not think it is the weather that is putting people off but the fact they have never experienced this in the first place. Physical meditation and connection with the infinite, a form of physical fitness and therapy few people get to experience.
100% -- That's a massive problem in our generation. We've lost our connection with nature already in many cases. Kids home ranges have shrunk, because we're so much more aware of the risks these days through the media. Kids have shifted from playing outside to playing on devices (not ours, but most) etc. The risk with climate change is that these exposures are going to potentially become even scarcer. But yes, I hear you Theodore.
I've been wondering why we don't hear more about this topic - interesting to see it broken down in this way! It seems, though, that degradation of the positive aspects of experiencing nature (e.g. die-off of native species, increases in invasives, more extreme damage from fires - not just an increase in physical discomfort) would also be a big part of the motivation component? I guess this could be an aspect of opportunity and capability too, but I think it's fair to assume there's going to be a loss of interest in experiencing nature in general, especially for those who bring a knowledge of what certain environments used to look and feel like.
I read somewhere that we're already facing what could be called grief, over loss of the "nature we know." Even if that isn't particularly widespread yet (I admit I'm largely in denial about it myself) I'm surprised we don't hear more about it as a casualty of climate change - even if it is less immediate or material than other impacts.
Thanks for the thoughts, Darren. Yes, agree with everything you say. The increasing negative aspects of environmental change must be driving some further loss of connection. Certainly think we're experiencing this grief. The baselines continue to shift -- at rapid rates!
I’m an educator who works with students in the outdoors and your work sharing this is so important. Thank you!
My pleasure, Jonathan! Thanks for reading.
A couple of us will keep our community space open this summer for kids to grow a bucket garden and a pollinator patch. We are setting up tree identification walks through the neighbourhood with a tree enthusiast. Its not always possible for low income people to travel to "Nature". I encourage folk to create connections where they are.
Absolutely, Gail. Even growing some plants in pots on the doorstep is a good start! Sounds like you're doing great work! Thanks for sharing.
I was fortunate to grow up on an acre of “old land” on a hillside with woods out back, just one neighbor across the lane, and acres of cow pastures in which to wander. We walked a half mile to catch the school bus.
Decades later, I find myself on similar terrain yet now with — climate change. Hurricane Helene turned west into my mountains last September. Seven months later, we are still rebuilding. I write Matters of Kinship— it’s about relationships in and between ecosystems. It’s difficult to write due to the trauma of the landslides at home and the flooding near work.
I have started a Nature Journal group for our neighborhood. If the weather and climate reporting is eliminated at the federal and state level, at least we will have our Thoreau-like Google docs:)🌱🌿💚
Thanks for sharing, Katharine! Sounds challenging -- I hope the rebuild comes together OK. So cool to start community initiatives like that -- shame the political environment requires such things!
Thanks, Jonathan.
We didn’t know how much we loved our home place and our neighbors until we (89 households) were stranded together for days. We were fortunate to have water and food delivered by helicopters. I think the community keeping the Nature Journal has the potential to keep us connected with our love for place.
That's lovely to hear. Community is so important and just like our disconnection with nature, we're also disconnecting with each other. Hope you manage to keep the momentum!
That feedback loop is scary but a good framing of what’s happening. As far as what to do about it, in our community, we’re trying to find those little easy ways for people to engage in a project little slices of nature so they can get hooked and then hopefully you get a positive feedback loop from there! For example, planting native plants that attract butterflies.
That’s awesome! Little steps play a big role. All it takes is a taster and it can change someone’s life for the better. Keep up the good work!
So true: "It's not just biodiversity that's at risk—it's our relationship with the natural world itself." 🌿🌿🌿
💯 — on top of already diminished connections.
Fascinating read! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking. Dm me if interested in a recommendation swap — we’re growing fast!
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com