We Are the ARK
Returning Our Gardens to Their True Nature Through Acts of Restorative Kindness
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
“Reynolds gives us a much-needed reason for hope. The gardener, the conservationist, the city planner, and the nature lover will all be inspired for this wonderful book shows how thousands of even small wildlife friendly gardens can provide habitat for embattled wildlife around the world.” —Jane Goodall, Phd, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
Individuals can’t save the world alone. But if millions of us work together to save our own patch of earth—then we really have a shot. How do we do it? With Acts of Restorative Kindness (ARK). An ARK is a restored, native ecosystem. It’s a thriving patch of native plants and creatures that have been allowed and supported to re-establish in the earth's intelligent, successional process of natural restoration. Over time, this becomes a pantry and a habitat for our pollinators and wild creatures who are in desperate need of support.
These ARKs will become the seeding grounds for our planet’s new story. They will be sanctuaries for our shared kin—the rooted and unrooted—and safe havens for the magic and abundance of the natural world. Most importantly, the ARK-building actions are within our control and laid out here in We Are the ARK. In these inspiring pages, discover how one person’s actions can effect big change in this world. Even the tiniest postage stamp patch of land matters! Together we are building a patchwork quilt of life that will wrap its way around this planet.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this impassioned plea to restore native ecosystems, landscape designer Reynolds (The Garden Awakening) sets out to recruit green "warriors" to build ARKs, or "Acts of Restorative Kindness," on their land. Reynolds sees monocultural lawns as "a symbol of disconnection from and suppression of our wild nature," and suggests that many of the best-intentioned gardens are actually "green deserts" filled with nonnative plants that "monopolize the attention of pollinators" and "sever the food web." Those looking to turn their gardens into ARKs should overcome "the shame of having a messy garden"; abstain from using fungicides, pesticides, and herbicides; cut back on concrete usage in lanscaping so as to "let the earth breathe as much as possible"; and plant native flora. Reynolds emphasizes the importance of having a variety of plants (seeds, trees, and weeds all play a role in a healthy ecosystem), and fostering "different layers of ecosystem maturity" (including short grass, long grass, and scrubs). New gardeners might have a hard time getting on board with ideas such as ditching all nonnative plants, but for those passionate about having their backyards be "part of the solution," Reynolds's message will ring loud and clear. Gardeners intrigued by rewilding practices will find this worth a look.
