Saturday, November 23, 2024
More

    Nature-directed stewardship is good for cities and living things

    Date:

    By David Suzuki

    For too long we’ve clung to the Western concept of nature as something outside cities — far away and disconnected from most people’s daily lives.

    Yet people need to spend time in nature because it improves physical and mental health. Without nature in their daily lives, people suffer more from depression and disease, reduced productivity and shorter lives. Children face the cognitive and behavioural consequences of living apart from natural surroundings. Without ecosystems to disperse, store and clean water, cities are saddled with crumbling pipes and sewers that municipal governments can’t afford to maintain and repair. Nature also provides clean air and water and healthy food. Urbanites removed from nature’s distress signals are slow to notice a planet in crisis.

    So how do we invite nature into a city without pushing people out of the way?

    It starts with the premise that both nature and people belong in cities, as intertwined co-creators of the urban landscape. Nature belongs where we are, and we belong in nature. From that premise flows an invitation that enhances cities, restores our connection with nature and rebuilds our relationships with each other.

    I recently had the honour of co-authoring the foreword to a new book, Nature-First Cities: Restoring Relationships with Ecosystems and with Each Other. It promotes “nature-directed stewardship” in urban areas. This concept was developed by renowned ecological planner Herb Hammond and co-authors Cam Brewer and Sean Markey to address the non-urban challenge of protecting ecosystems and the rural communities that depend on them in the face of relentless resource extraction.

    As an alternative to activities such as clearcut logging, nature-directed stewardship focuses on what to protect: ecological integrity, biological diversity, healthy watershed ecosystems, community employment and diverse, stable communities — not on what to use (commercially valuable timber). It shows that by prioritizing ecosystem protection, long-term economic and natural stability follow.

    Nature-directed stewardship has not yet been fully applied to urban areas. In Nature-First Cities, Hammond and his co-authors outline a comprehensive rationale for why we should pursue it. It includes a detailed methodology, supported with case studies from Vancouver and Vancouver Island, with international comparisons.

    Restoration is neither a quick fix nor a primarily human endeavour. Returning ecological integrity to degraded ecosystems in urban areas, or anywhere, is a slow process. Humans can help to reactivate natural processes and sometimes catalyze positive change, but recovery is up to nature. Of course, the more ubiquitous the urban development, the fewer the opportunities for restoration. New developments offer more ecological restoration options, whereas older, established cities impose constraints on restoration of their more thoroughly degraded ecological conditions. In either case, nature-directed stewardship can help.

    Accompanying the commitment to restoration is a commitment to stop doing the things that create the need for it to begin with. To achieve this obvious but often ignored goal, new designs and developments must protect ecological integrity, occur within ecological limits and fit people into ecosystems.

    Nature-directed stewardship in cities starts by understanding the natural character of the ecosystems that existed before the cities. This is contrasted with existing conditions, and the gap in ecological integrity between the two is the restoration target.

    Nature-directed stewardship aims to re-establish natural ecosystem character (composition, structure and function) over an entire watershed.

    Instead of creating a network of primarily existing ecological integrity — as would be the case when applying nature-directed stewardship in forests, grasslands and other landscapes — in urban areas it starts with establishing a network where restoration activities will lead to future ecological integrity.

    As these components emerge, the shape of a restoration network appears. Linking the components at multiple spatial scales will establish and strengthen a restoration network across the watershed. With enough time and effort, this will mature into a protected network of ecosystems with ecological integrity, from small sites to the focal watershed within which the city is located.

    I love cities and I love nature. But we need to reconcile the two by dispelling the lie that humans are separate from nature. The practical outcome is restoration of an urban environment that reinforces our place in nature.

    Nature belongs in cities. For this reason, we need to redesign cities so they include biodiversity and intact ecosystems. More importantly, we need a fundamental shift in our relationship with urban green spaces, one that recognizes we are part of nature.

    David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation.

    Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.

    REFERENCES:

    Improves physical and mental health:

    https://davidsuzuki.org/story/ignorance-of-nature-will-push-us-over-the-edge

    https://www.naturefirstcities.com

    Herb Hammond:

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Please Support SickKids Hospital

    Popular

    More Good Stuff!
    Related

    Town of Collingwood Announces 2024 Shipyards Amphitheatre Concert Line-Up

    Collingwood, ON – The Town of Collingwood’s Parks, Recreation...

    OJHL HALL OF FAME OPENS NOMINATIONS FOR CLASS OF 2025

    Up to five people to be inducted during spring...

    Rosie’s Smokehouse Deluxe | Jazz and Blues LIVE at the Station

    South Georgian Bay Music Foundation is delighted to present...

    Collingwood Pride Festival: Star-Studded Lineup and Exciting Events THIS July 12-13!

    Emma Nichol Photography Hello and Happy Friday from Pride Collingwood...

    The buzz on wild bees versus honeybees

    By David Suzuki For many people “bees” means “honeybees” —...

    Praise Fest | FREE fun family Sunday in the Park

    Praise Fest - September 10, 2023 - 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm Bring...

    Telling Our Stories: Jewish Heritage Month

    Collingwood, ON – In 2018 the federal government introduced...

    VIDEO | BEST PICKLEBALL POINTS from the Sacramento Open

    These are the BEST points from the PPA Tour's...

    Ally Vitally | Staying Safe from Internet and Phone Scams

    In today's digital age, internet and phone scams are...

    Rest and restore by spending time in nature

    We’re inundated with consumer solutions to every problem. There’s a...

    The Town of The Blue Mountains | Public Meeting – July 9, 2024

    Council, Public Meeting - July 9, 2024 The Town of...

    This Blue Angels Cockpit Video is Terrifying and Amazing

    The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron demonstrates...

    The Hidden Cost of Innovation: How Generative AI is Straining Our Power Grids

    By Ally Vitally - Ai ChatBot Agent in learning...

    The 2nd Annual Hope Haven Hoedown

    Please join us at Hope Haven Therapeutic Riding Centre...

    The Sex Expert: “Casual Sex Is Almost Always Dangerous For Women!” – Louise Perry

    Louise Perry is a British journalist and host of...

    A New Course: Supporting Our Children with Anxiety | Wendy Hunter, RP

    The prevalence of anxiety in our children and teens...

    Ontario Police Kick Off Festive R.I.D.E. Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug-Impaired Driving

    (Oakville, ON) - The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police...

    Why China and the US are so obsessed with Taiwan | Mapped Out

    The US-China superpower rivalry is on full display in...

    Twas The Night Before Pride | Friday, May 31st | Collingwood

    Twas The Night Before Pride Get ready to kick...

    Celebrating Unity: The History of Canada Day

    On July 1, 1867, the British North America Act...

    Collingwood seeks public input on the development of a Stormwater Management Master Plan

    Collingwood, ON – The Town of Collingwood has commenced...

    Malloy | The Maple Leaf Forever: Celebrating Canada Day

    On July 1st each year, a sea of red...

    Help discover how water levels are changing in Cranberry Marsh

    Collingwood, ON  – The Town of Collingwood and Nottawasaga Valley...

    Nicholas Campbell and The Two Metre Cheaters | Studio 79

    19 year old sensation Nicholas Campbell and his band...

    Top 10 Points from the Veolia LA Open Presented by Deep Eddy Vodka

    Watch the Top 10 Points from the Veolia LA...

    THE HOGTOWN ALLSTARS | June 20th | John Saunders Centre

    Built with some of the most experienced players in...

    LawnShare helps create vibrant, biodiverse havens

    Rooted in colonial history, these barren, thirsty, high-maintenance landscapes...

    It’s time to ditch the lawn and go natural!

    By David Suzuki Massive fields of non-native turfgrass that suck...

    Wasaga Beach Hootenanny | October 12th, 2024

    By October, summer may be done, but the party...

    The Very Popular Collingwood Downtown Farmers’ Market Opens This Saturday

    Local vendors feature a wide range of organic vegetables...

    The Shift to Cleaner Energy is Unstoppable

    By David Suzuki The renewable energy transformation is accelerating —...

    Collingwood welcomes Dr. Matthew Ladda to Town

    Collingwood, ON  – Collingwood now has a new family...

    Fracked LNG is a washed-out bridge to nowhere

    By David Suzuki In 2011, the David Suzuki Foundation and...

    ARTSBURG IN CLARKSBURG | ART FAIRE | SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14TH

    Going to be a gorgeous fall day this Saturday,...

    Amazing Way China Builds Ultra-Modern Capsule Houses

    In this episode on Tekniq, we delve into the...