What you wrote about rewilding reminded me of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s words in Braiding Sweetgrass and how she emphasized that plants and people have always grown together. The hands off approach is swinging the pendulum of colonial extraction and relationship with the land to the opposite extreme. Like you mentioned, we should be actively participating in coaxing the land back to itself because it needs our help. To be a steward of the land requires active participation in its wellbeing.
Exactly, Ariel. Keystone species, including humans, have "managed" ecosystems for millennia. I don't think we can or should remove humans from the equation at this point. But we do need to fundamentally rethink our current relationship to the plants and wildlife around us.
great newsletter as always!
I’m always amazed to find so many common “weeds” in ancient Chinese brush paintings.
;)
What you wrote about rewilding reminded me of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s words in Braiding Sweetgrass and how she emphasized that plants and people have always grown together. The hands off approach is swinging the pendulum of colonial extraction and relationship with the land to the opposite extreme. Like you mentioned, we should be actively participating in coaxing the land back to itself because it needs our help. To be a steward of the land requires active participation in its wellbeing.
Exactly, Ariel. Keystone species, including humans, have "managed" ecosystems for millennia. I don't think we can or should remove humans from the equation at this point. But we do need to fundamentally rethink our current relationship to the plants and wildlife around us.
Excellent post…and you will LOVE the Chelsea Flower Show!