Thanks to those of you who tuned in to our March Nature Night, Restoration and Reciprocity. It was an inspiring and engaging presentation from Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer. You can read some key takeaways from her talk below.
Restoration and Reciprocity Takeaways and Resources:
During her presentation, Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer shared her perspective on restoration and reciprocity. She began by exploring our relationship to the land which is often one of taking, and encouraged us all to consider how we might reciprocate the gifts of mother nature. Robin considers restoration as one of the ways we can give back to the land.
With great challenges ahead and a climate that continues to change, Dr. Kimmerer stressed how important it will be to consider both Indigenous and Western scientific perspectives when looking for restoration solutions. In the process, we can renew cultural and natural systems. Robin left us with the idea and hope that as we heal the land, we will also continue healing ourselves. She also suggested the following ways we can all give back in return for all that we've been given: raise a family, raise a garden, and raise a ruckus.
Please also consider contributing to the Chúush Fund to support The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in their ongoing water crisis.
Reading to dive deeper:
- "Braiding Sweetgrass," "Gathering Moss," or the short essay "Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance" all by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer.
- "Legends of the Northern Paiute: As Told by Wilson Wewa," for a local perspective.
- Check out the poetry by previous Nature Night presenter, Elizabeth Woody.
- Read more about Dr. Kimmer's research on sweetgrass discussing the integration of traditional and scientific ecological knowledge.
- Or, if you don't feel like reading, check out Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer's TED Talk.
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing, and her other work has appeared in Orion, Whole Terrain, and numerous scientific journals. She tours widely and has been featured on NPR’s On Being with Krista Tippett and in 2015 addressed the general assembly of the United Nations on the topic of “Healing Our Relationship with Nature.” Kimmerer lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, whose mission is to create programs which draw on the wisdom of both indigenous and scientific knowledge for our shared goals of sustainability.
As a writer and a scientist, her interests in restoration include not only restoration of ecological communities, but restoration of our relationships to land. She holds a BS in Botany from SUNY ESF, an MS and PhD in Botany from the University of Wisconsin and is the author of numerous scientific papers on plant ecology, bryophyte ecology, traditional knowledge and restoration ecology. She lives on an old farm in upstate New York, tending gardens both cultivated and wild.
Pick up a copy of Robin Wall Kimmerer's "Braiding Sweetgrass" at Dudley's Bookshop Cafe, through their online store, or at another local bookstore near you!
Learn more:
- Indigenous Peoples of Central Oregon
- Native American Stewards of the Land
- An Interview with Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer
- About Traditional Ecological Knowledge
- About stream restoration at Land Trust protected lands
- The Land Trust's strategy for adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change.