๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ
Written by Alys Morgan Pearce
Rewilding is a process of recovering ecosystems by reinstating elements of nature back to their original place or introducing new elements so that nature can take care of itself. For it to overtake the importance and normality of urbanisation would be a great task. Is it possible? Or even, must it be possible in our cities?
You could say Urbanisation came about like a disease; concrete spread through the veins of our cities, pavements became our paths and traffic lights became our pace. All a โnaturalโ progression of the industrial era. Climate is becoming more extreme, flooding our constructed caves.
Humans were not meant to live in concrete jungles, nor in such close proximity to one another. This way of life has resulted in worsened mental health which is often associated with a disconnect from nature and lack of purpose. The concrete jungle is cracking, nature creeps through. In our minds as well as in our world, it's making itself known. So why don't we listen? Hear what it has to say[Hear what nature has to tell us]? Why not allow nature and concrete to get to know each other, become friends and perhaps lovers? In the wake of masses of people working from home, buildings have been left abandoned, what will happen to these spaces? To become homes, to be demolished or repatriation of peace through becoming wild again?
Susan Baker, a professor at Cardiff University [among many other accolades], describes two forms of rewilding. โSpontaneous / Passive'' rewilding (2019, Baker) involves abandoned farms, nuclear plant sites, etc. where we can find new assemblages of species, โnovel ecosystemsโ (2019, Baker) yet the original state does not return. Human agency characterisation has taken place.
Then there is โActive rewildingโ (2019, Baker), which means ecological restoration and assisting the recovery of ecosystems. A source of considerable profit and business, it often involves removing invasive alien species from the habitat. Both of these involve human intervention and domination. The issue here is disparate worlds between humans and nature, which stems from a patriarchal system of our history. Separately, nature's forces are working against us, leaving us in quite a volatile position, as weโre finding out.
Yet the attitude to rewild is positive, just the way to go about it needs to have a better understanding of how nature works. If we intend to work together, we need to communicate. Not only with nature but with each other. According to Baker, we โneed an ethics of tolerance, of project conception and to embrace uncertainty.โ (2019, Baker). She suggests a refreshing way to move forwards to better understand the context in which we live. To reflect critically on historical ideals potentially resulting in a vision of the future where we reimagine old dualisms to live unified with nature and each other.
We need to act now, to rebuild the future as we want to see it. With cities becoming toxic, dangerous, and deadly places to live. The World Health Organization (2020) reckons 7 million people die each year from the effects of air pollution. Locally, there's a buzz around Cardiffโs bus stops. Wales Online (2020) reports that the council has put in plans to clean the cityโs air and promote environmentally friendly ways of travelling such as walking and cycling. Plans include the introduction of โBee Bus Stopsโ. Many other cities are participating in urban rewilding, famously in Singapore, whose tree canopy now covers a pleasant 50% of the city.
You might be thinking, where do the arts come into all this? Well a word that has been popular in the rewilding discussion, is โutopianโ esque imagery. Upon attending the UK LCOY (Local Conference of Youth) which is one of many โspin offโ conferences to the COP, I encountered speakers who kept coming back to the importance of โNarrativeโ around our cause against climate change. Developing a convincing narrative, as you may or may not know, is essentially how politicians get elected. Through the arts, science and the government,we can pool our resources to create narratives towards a rewilded version of the future. Imagine a future where people believe and connect with humans living together with nature. We can create the utopia in which governments fight for nature as their voters understand how we are one and the same.
World Health Organization (2020) Air Pollution. World Health Organisation. [11.06.2020] Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_1
Wales Online (2020) Wild flowers will be planted on top of Cardiff bus stops to help attract bees. Wales Online. [11.06.2020] Available from: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/โฆ/cardiff-bus-stops-station-fโฆ
Baker, Susan (2019) Ecofeminist Thought & Rewilding: The Rewilding Series, Episode 6. Spotify. [14.06.2020] Available from: https://open.spotify.com/episode/02g2GxO2L5ensYtILzHyfV
Today's entry is by Alys Morgan Pearce, a performer and writer working between Spain, Wales and England. She is the director of ActionMovementPeace, an environmental arts project which has held a live music and arts event in the center of Cardiff. Also AMPโs โDifferent Fruitres' play that inspires the wonder of fruit has been performed at festivals and community arts events, both events and plays are on hold for now, but there are plans for many more, keep in touch with her socials for updates!
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