Mona Hederich
@themona
Mona Hederich
What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together. All flourishing is mutual.
Robin Wall Kimmerer • Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
If one tree fruits, they all fruit—there are no soloists. Not one tree in a grove, but the whole grove; not one grove in the forest, but every grove; all across the county and all across the state. The trees act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What
... See moreRobin Wall Kimmerer • Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
“Why go through all of that to save one species?”
- There’s a simple answer to that. Today, species going extinct is just a symptom - a symptom of an already dying ecosystem. When we work to save one species, we help restore the entire ecosystem, setting off a ripple effect that benefits many others.
The forest is not a collection of entities joined by such networks; it is a place entirely made from strands of relationship.
David George Haskell • The Songs of Trees: Stories from Nature's Great Connectors
In the forest, every living thing – seen and unseen – gives and takes in ways essential to the ecosystem's survival, connected by invisible channels that run deep underground. Amidst the chaos of countless species, bacteria, and intertwined habitats, a delicate but historic balance exists, each part playing a crucial role in sustaining the whole.
... See morean ecosystem isn’t just a list of living things (squirrel, tree, bee, flower); it’s the set of relationships between those living things (the squirrel lives in the tree, the bee pollinates the flower).
adrienne maree brown • Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds
The patterns of reciprocity by which mosses bind together a forest community offer us a vision of what could be. They take only the little that they need and give back in abundance. Their presence supports the lives of rivers and clouds, trees, birds, algae, and salamanders, while ours puts them at risk. Human-designed systems are a far cry from
... See moreRobin Wall Kimmerer • Gathering Moss
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... See more
Jonathan Aronson • Restoring Respect for Nature: How Mindset Shifts Can Solve the Biodiversity Crisis
The key point to understand about ecosystems is that they are systems. The different parts don’t exist in isolation; they interact and interconnect in myriad ways. If we intervene in them, we can’t expect the outcomes to be predictable. We need to look at them as a whole and respect that it’s sometimes better to leave them alone than to try
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