NonA Weekly: RE-WILD
Image by @natgeochannel
Hi there!
Nature knows best when it comes to survival and self-governance.
Ecosystem restoration means assisting in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed, as well as conserving the ecosystems that are still intact. Healthier ecosystems, with richer biodiversity, yield greater benefits such as more fertile soils, bigger yields of timber and fish, and larger stores of greenhouse gases.
Rewilding is a progressive approach to conservation. It’s about letting nature take care of itself, enabling natural processes to shape land and sea, repair damaged ecosystems and restore degraded landscapes. Through rewilding, wildlife’s natural rhythms create wilder, more biodiverse habitats.
This week we are going through themes like Ecosystem restoration, and Re-wilding & natural reservoirs.
1. WHAT IS ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION?
Restoration can happen in many ways – for example through actively planting or by removing pressures so that NATURE can recover on its own. It is not always possible – or desirable – to return an ecosystem to its original state.
2. THE PANDEMIC OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RE-WILD OUR COMMUNITIES
Engaging with NATURE and green space is an innate instinct for city dwellers during times of illness. While those using parks and streets today are not expecting a nature cure, they do experience a renewed comfort in these spaces.
3. HOW CAN PEOPLE RESTORE A DAMAGED ECOSYSTEM?
There are few ecosystems in the world that have not been impacted by humans. Humans can eliminate species and disrupt natural processes, degrading or even destroying complex local webs of LIFE. Ecological restoration is human facilitation of the repair of a damaged or destroyed ecosystem.
4. HUMANS USED TO BE GOOD FOR THE PLANET, AND WE CAN BE AGAIN
As we grapple with climate change, an extinction CRISIS, and the legacy of extractive land use, many now assume that humans and the Earth are an inherently bad mix. But this wasn’t always the case, according to new research.
5. WHAT IS REWILDING?
There is no defined end point for REWILDING. The aim is to support nature-driven processes, which in turn will bring about wilder nature. This takes time and space. Rewilding is about moving up a scale of wildness, where every step moving up this scale is seen as progress.
6. RUN REWILD: REINSTATING NATURE
Plant and animal life on Earth is orchestrated to preserve humanity’s ideal of NATURE. We need to step back. But to rewild a place in order for it to become self-willed is a strange contradiction in terms.
7. REWILDING CITIES FOR RESILIENCE
Since the dawn of civilisation, settlements and their growth have directly related to the natural world and its resources. By integrating the restoration of ecosystem functions or ‘rewilding’ within an urban context there is an opportunity to reverse the destruction of the natural world and reconnect people with the wonder of NATURE.
8. REWILDING ARCHITECTURE
Architecture is a very anthropocentric discipline, mostly aimed at separating humans and NATURE by creating buildings and cities in which nature is either banned or strictly designed and controlled, and in the best cases included only as an ornamental feature for humans’ recreational purposes.
Stay creative and see you all next week!
Daniela
