Embracing The Nature of Wild

By Guest Contributor Kris Wood 

Spending time in nature is one of my most favorite things to do and places to be. I am a dendrophile through and through (someone who loves trees and forests). 

I feel I’m my best Self there while slowing down, becoming mindful, and Be-ing.  The inner peace I gain in those sacred spaces carries me through my day-to-day life and helps me focus, feel happy, and be grounded. 

Sadly, a lack of care or concern for those spaces results in litter/damage which I often find on my hikes.  This injury to Mother Earth infuriates me and makes me wonder how people who choose to immerse themselves in such an uplifting and miraculous environment can be so disrespectful as to leave trash and scars behind when they leave.  It’s a sentiment echoed throughout the world and it must be addressed.  

Gratefully, people like Dr. Enric Sala are finding ways to bring attention to the many facets of the damaged relationship the human race has with Gaia.

With climate change being such a critical area of focus now more than ever, I felt digging into our ecosystem and the supporting and detrimental elements affecting it was necessary.  Dr. Sala’s book, “The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild” was the perfect book to pursue such an education on the illumination of the path leading us out of this devastating decline. According to Dr. Sala:

“Without the natural world, there is no good food to eat, no safe water to drink, no oxygen to breathe, not even rain in many places.  Everything humanity worries about, everything we count on, is built upon a healthy natural world.  A degraded environment is a hotbed of all the problems affecting humanity.”

Enric Sala is the Director of the National Geographic’s Pristine Seas project, a world-renowned conservationist who has been studying natural ecosystems for 30 years.  He founded the Pristine Seas project, a global organization that brings research, exploration, and storytelling together to preserve the last of the wild marine spaces on our planet.  

His book, however, delves into how the same ideology of sea preservation applies to the land we call home.  As the book was about to be published, the global pandemic hit brought a spotlight on the absolute importance of biodiversity in providing balance to our lives and the Earth’s support system.  He even added an epilogue that speaks to “The Nature of Coronavirus” which is very enlightening.  

Dr. Sala’s goal, which is well-researched and proven on a smaller scale, is to set aside 30% of the planet, land, and sea, to allow nature to rejuvenate and, subsequently, have a positive global economic impact. 

“A healthy mature ecosystem is not like a picture of a single color, but a multicolor quilt that evolves and responds to changes in the environment, and to changes within itself.”

It seemed to me that the best place to start my education about our climate crisis was a refresher on Ecology to ensure that I recalled the “basics” correctly.  In “The Nature of Nature”, Dr. Sala speaks plainly and gives wonderful insights on a complex, morally and fiscally-encumbered field of study while teaching us what we need to know in order to understand how straightforward the solutions to many of our environmental crises can be.  He calls it “ecology for people in a hurry”.  

Dr. Sala provides a foundation of knowledge to establish the next phase which is understanding how we can take significant steps forward by addressing a few fundamental issues…

1. We need to recognize the misconception that we cannot feed our current global population which is constantly growing.  Globally, we already produce enough food for 10 billion people; it’s just that we’re wasting 1/3 of it between the field and the table.  The economic value of this loss equates to the ability to feed 2 billion more people each year!

2. We can eliminate a significant amount of waste by not over-purchasing, by reducing oversized portions, and ordering even just one fewer takeout meal per week.

3. We can find many ways to produce food more efficiently; partially by shifting to regenerative agriculture, which is a conservation and restoration approach to food production.

4. We must address the loss of biodiversity in oceans caused by the over-extraction of its living biomass.

To address these key factors is no small feat. However, with the mindset of we MUST versus the mindset of past decades of we SHOULD, tremendous progress can be made and in an extremely fiscal manner.  

The cost of such action is estimated to be $140 billion/year which sounds like a HUGE amount but get this…it is actually LESS than what we spend on video games each year!  The ratio of return on such a profound investment in the regeneration of our ecosystem is 5:1!!  For every one dollar spent, the return is $5!  

Of course, it’s the financial aspects that have to be acknowledged/addressed first but truly, benefits besides the monetary ones, are equally important and vital to our survival. As noted in the book: 

“Forests with a diversity of microbial, plant, and animal species harbor less disease.  Biodiversity dilutes any viruses that emerge, whether from bat feces or any other sources.  Same thing we found on coral reefs.  Biodiversity provides a natural shield that absorbs the fallout from pathogens, and all this happens without our interference.  A healthy natural world is our best antivirus…Still, harmful viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens are not going away.  We can reduce the spread of diseases and promote the abundance of healthful microbes in many ways, but killing bats – or any wild animals that are viral hosts – is not one of them. Clamping down on the trade and consumption of wildlife, ending deforestation, protecting intact ecosystems, changing the way we produce food, phasing off fossil fuels, and transitioning to a circular economy: these are the things we can and must do.”  

To read about the importance of the wild to the Earth and all its inhabitants is one thing. But to immerse yourself in nature…whether it be a large field, a park near your home, your backyard garden, or a nearby forest, brings the information HOME, to the center of your very being.  Listening to the birds, the rustle of the leaves in the breeze, the smell of pine in the air, the lap of waves on the shores…feel the resonance in your heart, releasing any judgments or expectations that the mind has created and you will KNOW the importance of preserving these sacred spaces.  

This is our home after all and we’ve ignored the issues long enough! NOW is the only time we have left to turn this tide and rebuild what we have been destroying. Mother Nature will cooperate as she always does and seek balance and restoration.