On International Biodiversity Day 2024
from challenge to celebrate and cherish
Welcome to Regen/Notes for International Biodiversity Day 2024
Sat outside, early morning as I write these notes, I hear a pair of curlews wonderful bubbling call as they fly over the dark rain-laden sky. I am aware of the vast range of shades and hues of green present around the small area at the back of our house, illustrating the huge tapestry and patterns of nature's diversity. Each tree and each plant has its own and often unique means of increasing diversity, growth, replenishment and abundance.
Against this awe of nature's tapestry, what a shame that on today, International Biodiversity Day we feel the pain of loss rather than cause to celebrate and cherish the abundance of diversity that we too are part of.
From the micro-organism biome of our gut to the vast ecosystems across the globe, biological diversity illustrates the complex and interconnected web of life. Recognising our role within this web underscores the importance of preserving and protecting the natural world, not only for ecological health but also for our survival and well-being. By living regeneratively and valuing biodiversity, we acknowledge that we are part of, not apart from, nature.
IBD should also note that here in the UK, we have one of the worst records of biodiversity loss of all the world’s countries. This is despite us proclaiming, in our millions, our love and respect for nature through membership of organisations such as the RSPB, National Trust and Wildlife Trusts. Where are we going wrong?
And how sad that Biodiversity Net Gain (BnG) for new built environment projects, now a mandatory 10% net gain, is at risk of being reduced to a planning and design challenge, a chore, something to avoid, work around and minimise, rather than an asset and celebration of reconnecting us and our buildings with the ecosystems on which we depend.
Illustrative that it is who we are rather than what systems, standards, guides and regulations we follow that will bend the curve on biodiversity loss.
“The most remarkable feature of this historical moment on Earth is not that we are on the way to destroying the world—we’ve actually been on the way for quite a while. It is that we are beginning to wake up, as from a millennia-long sleep, to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves and each other.” World as Lover, World as Self - Joanna Macy
Refelection
International Biodiversity Day then presents a good opportunity to reflect on our own ecological- self (Ness, Macy, Wilson) and to reassess our kinship with biodiversity so we can celebrate what we have.
Biodiversity is at the core of ecological writing and thinking of the last century and more. Just look at selected quotes below that beautifully illustrate the depth of wisdom and interconnectedness inherent in our relationship with nature, urging us to awaken to our responsibilities and possibilities as stewards of the Earth.
We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. Aldo Leopold - A Sand County Almanac
In nature nothing exists alone. Rachel Carson - Silent Spring
When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe. John Muir - My First Summer in the Sierra
Biodiversity as a whole forms a shield protecting each of the species that together compose it, ourselves included. E.O. Wilson - The Diversity of Life*
The Earth is what we all have in common. Wendell Berry - The Art of the Commonplace
What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” Henry David Thoreau - Familiar Letters*
Kinship
How then can we make the switch from biological diversity as a challenge, as just another market tradable credit or token, to something that we cherish, something we feel a kinship with, something we can celebrate?
We can and should work on our understanding, developing our inner ecological self, our regenerative self and our biophilic self. Who we are in kinship with nature. We can find time and space in nature, walking, just being out of doors, noticing, meditating, increasing awareness, being active or inactive in place, just sitting, absorbing the biodiversity of places, being in the present moment, yet aware of the past and future.
Reconnecting with Nature will Save our Society
We are slowly awakening and rediscovering that interconnectivity, relationship and kinship with nature are essential to the well-being of both ourselves and the ecosystems upon which we depend. As the awareness deepens, the question now is:
How do we develop and grow from this place of awareness of the interdependence and connection of all living systems, ecological and social?
Our Living Future Europe Biophilia Summit weaves the exploration, celebration and awareness of the tapestry of biophilia from around the globe. Join us on the 6th of June, online.
Thank for reading Regen/Notes …