Restoring Respect for Nature: How Mindset Shifts Can Solve the Biodiversity Crisis

Small actions, like learning about the ecological roles of species (such as bats or wolves), spending mindful time in nature, or exploring Indigenous perspectives, can help build this deeper philosophical connection. These inner shifts ripple outward, influencing how we view ourselves not as masters of the natural world, but as stewards and custodi... See more

We can’t expect people to take care of things they don’t care about

positive emotional connections to nature increase our affinity toward it which research has shown contributes to willingness to protect the environment, especially in adolescents.

There are some simple and impactful actions that organizations and individuals alike can take. These actions can be grouped into five types of human-nature connections, originally identified by Interdisciplinary Sustainability Scientist Christopher Ives and colleagues in their 2018 article Reconnecting with Nature for Sustainability. They are:

• Mate

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We have suffered an “extinction of experience”, a phrase coined over 20 years ago by naturalist Robert Pyle

Rebuilding our philosophical connection to nature has the largest potential to drive a societal transformation toward sustainability but it is also likely the most difficult connection to change. This is because it demands not only a shift in deeply entrenched and nuanced cultural narratives but also a fundamental transformation in individual minds... See more

Escaping our built environment and spending time in green spaces is a simple and effective way to enhance not only our experiential connections (i.e. physical interactions) with nature but our cognitive connections too. These are the mental processes involved in understanding, appreciating, and interacting with the natural world which can shape our... See more