“Perhaps it is the imperceptibility of the process of loss.”
Nature requires a quieter sort of attention, the kind that struggles to compete with civilization. We are losing that quiet attention, and nuance of perception. Your reflections highlight well not only the loss of diversity in nature, but its interconnection with our own mental numbing.
"Nature requires a quieter sort of attention" totally agree with this Peco.
If I had more room and time I would have written here as well about how Nature Deficit Syndrome has contributed to all this. NDS is one of the main characteristic syndromes of the Modern Man.
This is indeed a sad essay, but you always manage to draw the gaze outward. I think as parents we can help to redirect focus on nature around us by re-learning to name things. I had forgotten many plant, tree, and bird names until I had to teach them to my children. I appreciate that you added some practical steps we can take. The more children spend time in nature and are able to identify what they see, the more they will care.
When we still lived in a more suburban setting, I would walk far distances with my kids, along roads that were not particularly pretty, but some were bordered by farm fields. There we would see some rare coyotes, hawks, or starlings clustering on a giant oak tree. The time came when they brought the bulldozers in to rape the land, and the kids were terribly saddened to see the field ripped up. My son (9 at the time) decided that he wanted to write a letter to the newspaper, and expressed his sadness that the remaining beauty around him was being built over with townhomes.
I hope readers will feel encouraged to spend more time outdoors with their children so that they will learn to name the natural beauty around them, and to care for its protection.
May 16, 2023·edited May 16, 2023Liked by Hadden Turner
Perhaps the sadness here is a bit of the appropriate "shame" we all may feel for collectively allowing things like this to happen. As you pointed out, at least for us Christians, we've been told to be good stewards of creation so it is right we lament when we've fallen short on our duty. Thank God that a bit of guilt can spur us to repentance. I don't see why repentance on the ecological front can't look exactly like the suggestions you've made here for changing our habits.
And thanks for adding yet another bullet to my list for reasons to stay away from the news. This practice has produced nothing but good things in my life and I encourage anyone who is willing to give it a go.
Gave the news up at the start of Lent and haven't returned to it. Apart from starting on the path to becoming Orthodox this is the best decision I've made this year so far.
I too gave up news at the beginning of Lent this year and have no intention of turning back now. It's done wonders for me personally and my family as a whole.
Thanks for this piece, melancholy as it is, and for the pointer to the tool. I think this - 'could scarcely name the species we saw each day let alone the rare and declining ones' - is the root of much of it, or worse: many (most?) people do not even really see the species that are there every day, especially in the city. Even the pigeons and crows and starlings and rats are all invisible to them.
I am slightly more cautious about the tool's accuracy than you, though I'm sure the big picture is broadly right. My (rural) area doesn't show the steep losses that yours does, but in addition some species recorded as lost - for example barn owls - are definitely present, and, I think, breeding.
I wouldn't be surprised if some of these species have gone and then returned since 2011. Some changes agricultural policy, the local work of a few clear-sighted people, and the near impossibility of actually making a profit on a hill farm unless you get creative have, I think, diversified the landscape around here again a little. Certainly, photos from the 70's and 80's look look more barren and 'industrial farmland' than the present.
Always enjoy getting thoughtful comments from you.
I think you are right, the inability to name the species around us is largely responsible for our collective apathy. As I argued in a previous essay seeing and knowing something is vital for cultivating affection which leads to preservation/protection. It is so sad, as once you learn the names of the creatures around you, a whole new world opens up. Gulls cease to be seagulls, but Herring, Black-backed, and Kittiwakes - all with their unique stories, behaviour and beauty.
And I share your scepticism as to the accuracy of the tool. There are at least two species on the list for my area that I am pretty sure still breed, and especially in agricultural areas farmers are pointing out species that are present and breeding that are included on their lists. Perhaps this is an issue with a lack of records/lack of access in certain areas.
Thank you Hadden. This is sad and necessary. What do we do in the face of loss? We bear witness. We remember. We grieve. This piece helps us do just that. It's small consolation, because these losses, unlike natural deaths or extinctions, are man-made. So we also must take responsibility, on behalf of our dim and addicted species. You do this for us here. Thank you.
increase in Wood Pigeons to plague level symptomatic of greed behind EU agric policy - not positive!; corvid menace increase to roadkill increase, doubtless.
“Perhaps it is the imperceptibility of the process of loss.”
Nature requires a quieter sort of attention, the kind that struggles to compete with civilization. We are losing that quiet attention, and nuance of perception. Your reflections highlight well not only the loss of diversity in nature, but its interconnection with our own mental numbing.
"Nature requires a quieter sort of attention" totally agree with this Peco.
If I had more room and time I would have written here as well about how Nature Deficit Syndrome has contributed to all this. NDS is one of the main characteristic syndromes of the Modern Man.
Yes! I’m just working on an article that touches on nature deficit syndrome, hence your thoughts and piece are especially fitting.
This is indeed a sad essay, but you always manage to draw the gaze outward. I think as parents we can help to redirect focus on nature around us by re-learning to name things. I had forgotten many plant, tree, and bird names until I had to teach them to my children. I appreciate that you added some practical steps we can take. The more children spend time in nature and are able to identify what they see, the more they will care.
When we still lived in a more suburban setting, I would walk far distances with my kids, along roads that were not particularly pretty, but some were bordered by farm fields. There we would see some rare coyotes, hawks, or starlings clustering on a giant oak tree. The time came when they brought the bulldozers in to rape the land, and the kids were terribly saddened to see the field ripped up. My son (9 at the time) decided that he wanted to write a letter to the newspaper, and expressed his sadness that the remaining beauty around him was being built over with townhomes.
I hope readers will feel encouraged to spend more time outdoors with their children so that they will learn to name the natural beauty around them, and to care for its protection.
Perhaps the sadness here is a bit of the appropriate "shame" we all may feel for collectively allowing things like this to happen. As you pointed out, at least for us Christians, we've been told to be good stewards of creation so it is right we lament when we've fallen short on our duty. Thank God that a bit of guilt can spur us to repentance. I don't see why repentance on the ecological front can't look exactly like the suggestions you've made here for changing our habits.
And thanks for adding yet another bullet to my list for reasons to stay away from the news. This practice has produced nothing but good things in my life and I encourage anyone who is willing to give it a go.
Gave the news up at the start of Lent and haven't returned to it. Apart from starting on the path to becoming Orthodox this is the best decision I've made this year so far.
I too gave up news at the beginning of Lent this year and have no intention of turning back now. It's done wonders for me personally and my family as a whole.
Thanks for this piece, melancholy as it is, and for the pointer to the tool. I think this - 'could scarcely name the species we saw each day let alone the rare and declining ones' - is the root of much of it, or worse: many (most?) people do not even really see the species that are there every day, especially in the city. Even the pigeons and crows and starlings and rats are all invisible to them.
I am slightly more cautious about the tool's accuracy than you, though I'm sure the big picture is broadly right. My (rural) area doesn't show the steep losses that yours does, but in addition some species recorded as lost - for example barn owls - are definitely present, and, I think, breeding.
I wouldn't be surprised if some of these species have gone and then returned since 2011. Some changes agricultural policy, the local work of a few clear-sighted people, and the near impossibility of actually making a profit on a hill farm unless you get creative have, I think, diversified the landscape around here again a little. Certainly, photos from the 70's and 80's look look more barren and 'industrial farmland' than the present.
Always enjoy getting thoughtful comments from you.
I think you are right, the inability to name the species around us is largely responsible for our collective apathy. As I argued in a previous essay seeing and knowing something is vital for cultivating affection which leads to preservation/protection. It is so sad, as once you learn the names of the creatures around you, a whole new world opens up. Gulls cease to be seagulls, but Herring, Black-backed, and Kittiwakes - all with their unique stories, behaviour and beauty.
And I share your scepticism as to the accuracy of the tool. There are at least two species on the list for my area that I am pretty sure still breed, and especially in agricultural areas farmers are pointing out species that are present and breeding that are included on their lists. Perhaps this is an issue with a lack of records/lack of access in certain areas.
Thank you Hadden. This is sad and necessary. What do we do in the face of loss? We bear witness. We remember. We grieve. This piece helps us do just that. It's small consolation, because these losses, unlike natural deaths or extinctions, are man-made. So we also must take responsibility, on behalf of our dim and addicted species. You do this for us here. Thank you.
Thanks Kenny for your kind words. And I like your three actions: Witness, Remember, and Grieve. They are correct and fitting responses.
It can be disheartening for sure. The clover is blooming in Virginia but I haven’t noticed Honey Bees yet.
increase in Wood Pigeons to plague level symptomatic of greed behind EU agric policy - not positive!; corvid menace increase to roadkill increase, doubtless.
In regards to pay more for your food, what’s your thoughts on Oddbox who aim to sell the food unwanted by mainstream retailers