Start Date
2022
Description
Our present age is often called the Anthropocene, an era dominated by human activities that erode biodiversity and ecological functions, altering natural systems and cycles. As a result, we are causing climate and mass extinction crises and undermining the ecosystem services that enable human flourishing. Thus, humans have moral and existential obligations to reverse this trend by realigning our relationships with nature. We are advocating for refugia gardening to build places of renewal in our own yards and in our communities. Refugia are pockets of life where species can survive and adapt during ecological crises. Refugia become “seeds” for repopulating the landscape with ecological communities that are adapted to new environmental conditions. We propose that refugia gardening can lay the foundations for a “good Anthropocene” defined by relational care7 between humans and the biosphere in a way that safeguards ecological functions and biodiversity. This will ensure that humans and other species can fittingly adapt to new realities with sufficient resiliency.
Recommended Citation
Kollar, Robin and Koetje, David S., "Refugia Gardening: A Good Anthropocene Begins at Home" (2022). Summer Research. 18.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/summer_research/2022/Posters/18
Included in
Refugia Gardening: A Good Anthropocene Begins at Home
Our present age is often called the Anthropocene, an era dominated by human activities that erode biodiversity and ecological functions, altering natural systems and cycles. As a result, we are causing climate and mass extinction crises and undermining the ecosystem services that enable human flourishing. Thus, humans have moral and existential obligations to reverse this trend by realigning our relationships with nature. We are advocating for refugia gardening to build places of renewal in our own yards and in our communities. Refugia are pockets of life where species can survive and adapt during ecological crises. Refugia become “seeds” for repopulating the landscape with ecological communities that are adapted to new environmental conditions. We propose that refugia gardening can lay the foundations for a “good Anthropocene” defined by relational care7 between humans and the biosphere in a way that safeguards ecological functions and biodiversity. This will ensure that humans and other species can fittingly adapt to new realities with sufficient resiliency.