Author J.B. MacKinnon argues for ‘rewilding:’ helping nature revive
J.B. MacKinnon’s new book, The Once And Future World, makes the case for rewilding – creating conditions that will support wildlife so animals and plants can thrive there again.
Now we talked about J.B. Mackinnon’s book back when I was just intrigued – but I had no idea it would be such a readable, riveting, treatise that was such an obvious secret gift to the beaver advocate. You should pick up your copy right away and get ready to look at every patch of land around you, and ever creature that lives there, or might live there, differently.
J.B. MacKinnon wants to get wild from The Tyee on Vimeo.
One of the passages I was most gripped by described our uniquely human response to extinction. We first insist that it will never happen, that it couldn’t happen, and that it hasn’t happened. (In fact up into the 1800’s it was a religious affront to even imagine that man could undo God’s handiwork.) Extinction wasn’t possible. And then once it was obvious we moved almost seamlessly into believing the animal in question NEVER EXISTED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Just like beavers in the Sierras, or in coastal rivers, or Martinez for example.
The psychology of our understanding of the natural world has never made as much sense to me as it does after reading his book. I am incapable at looking at the urgency of the November 7, 2007 meeting as anything other than a community’sdesperate need to Rewild itself. Martinez should be a beacon on a hill for other cities to emulate, and our living, changing beaver ponds are a testament to renewal.
What can individuals in cities do to contribute to rewilding?
Rewilding really can be as straightforward as putting up a birdhouse. There are in all cities, and especially a place like Vancouver, organizations dedicated to ecological restoration. Also take some time to learn the history of nature and the historical ecology of this area because, when people do that, they almost always seem to find it absolutely fascinating to learn, for example, that there may have been California Condors flying over Burrard Inlet 250 years ago when the nearest California Condors are a thousand kilometres away in California today. The other thing individuals can do is actively reconnect with nature.
Or save some local beavers, for instance.
Speaking of saving beavers, Worth A Dam made a good impression at the 22 anniversary of Wild Birds Unlimited in Pleasant Hill. The awesome and retired Gary Bogue was there with his increasingly awesome replacement Joan Morris. There were displays from Mt. Diablo Audubon and Mike Marchiano the naturalist as well as a bald eagle from Native birds and those crazy beaver supporters from Martinez. Highlights of the day were conversations with very smart children who taught me what they knew about beavers. One scholarly boy of about 7 earnestly explained that he has seen in a nature program that beaver only eat the cambium layer underneath the bark. I was so impressed we high-fived loudly.
Another wistful little girl named Anna said that she had read in a book that beavers slap their tails when something is dangerous so that people will “come and help“.
To which I could only reply, “That’s right Anna, and sometimes people do.”
