One of the most powerful lessons we have from nature is nature’s ability to heal, bounce back, and thrive despite adversity. You see evidence of it every day–a forest is logged, and immediately the fungus begins to take root and … The post Resilience in Nature first appeared on The Druids Garden.
One of the most powerful lessons we have from nature is nature’s ability to heal, bounce back, and thrive despite adversity. You see evidence of it every day–a forest is logged, and immediately the fungus begins to take root and break down the old. Small birch trees, sumac, devil’s walking sticks, and other quick-growing first responder species grow back in. Many smaller trees wait there for decades, until an opening is created so they can grow tall. Or perhaps new construction is done and the land is stripped to bare earth–the bare earth doesn’t last long, and in a few short weeks, there are dandelions, docks, thistles, and more growing up–again, first responder plants. You can see the same thing when a tree is knocked over by the wind and keeps on sending up new branches–and still grows to hundreds of years old. I like to take time to observe and interact with these powerful places in nature, places of resiliency. These are important lessons in an age where we are seeing tremendous disruption in all aspects of our lives. So today, I want to focus in on the concept of resilience from the perspective of the living earth, and talk about some of the features of resilience in our ecosystem. Why? Because we are part of nature too, and learning from nature is learning about what makes us resilient. And from that discussion, take these lessons from the book of nature to help explore resiliency in our own lives. Today, we look at some very resilient features of ecosystems and consider how to connect those ecosystem features to our own lives: our minds, bodies, spirits, communities, and spiritual practices.
As I’ve been doing with the lead up to my new book, Ecospirituality for the 21st Century, I am going to be writing a series of posts on themes tied to the book, but that are different than the actual content of the book. Thus, this post offers a discussion of resilience–which is one of the chapters in the book. Other posts on resilience I’ve shared before include cultivating resilience as a spiritual and physical practice and a post on thriving in this age, which includes links to information on resilience!
What is resiliency and why does it matter?
Resilience is the capacity to bounce back after adversity and continue to thrive despite difficulty–to keep persisting, to try new things, and to be flexible. it is a critical skill for all parts of nature, including humans, in this age. In my earlier post on resilience, I identified four qualities that are useful to consider:
- Recovery. The ability to recover after a serious setback or challenge. This may mean different things in different circumstances, but the overall idea is that we can bounce back and continue on, despite a setback.
- Adaptability. Being able to adapt to changing circumstances, reduced capacity, and continue to persist.
- Accepting Change. A necessary part of recovery and adaptability is being willing to accept change. It seems like a simple thing, but it is truly a difficult thing to do for human beings.
- Opportunistic. Seeking opportunities and engaging in some risk-taking is also part of resilience.
I am a learning researcher in my day job, and one of the things I’ve studied is what the human development researcher Uri Bronfenbrenner calls “dispositions.” Dispositions are human qualities–like the four listed above–that are critical to how we develop and grow as humans, particularly over time. These qualities are often learned and ingrained at an early age, and then they may be changed as we develop new experiences. The most important part of this research is that in modern Western societies, we are often socialized through the education system to be risk-adverse, to be rigid and less adaptable, and to avoid failure and difficulty. The good news is that dispositions can be changed with effort. Part of it is knowing yourself, how you react in various circumstances, and working to be mindful of reacting differently. So to deepen that discussion, let’s turn to some more nature wisdom to expand this list.
Ecosystems and Resilience: What makes nature resilient?
There’s a lot of really interesting science out there on ecosystem change, resilience, and how species are adapting to planetary climate change. I’ve been reading this stuff for a while now in an attempt to deepen my own understanding of resiliency and how nature does this, and it’s useful to consider. I combine this reading by deep observation and interaction with the land where I live–where are things being disrupted? How are species thriving despite that disruption? For this discussion, I’ll be drawing on the work of Casin and Matthews (2021) to talk about ecosystem resilience and what these concepts teach us about cultivating resiliency in our lives and communities.
Diversity. Diversity is resilience, and we are all stronger for it. In ecosystems, diversity is the king of resiliency. You can think about the diversity of a forest and its capacity to endure and bounce back, vs. the diversity of a monocrop field. Which one houses more species? Which one holds soil fertility, stays cool in the heat, and produces food for many different beings? There are many ways to think about diversity in the ecosystem, and Casin and Matthews talk about a few core principles, including “spatial variation” and “genetic diversity.” Spatial variation refers to how diverse ecosystems and habitats are connected, and all benefit from the health and strength of those ecosystems, which in turn strengthen diversity and ecological processes. For example, a river that is allowed to naturally flood into natural floodplains creates not only rich soil, purifies the water, better recharges the groundwater, and results in less flooding. That river creates a diversity of different spaces and niche environments, which in turn, strengthens the ecosystem. Compare this to a river that has dams and channels–there’s a lot less support for the entire system, and when it floods, it floods badly and the floods are damaging rather than nourishing. This healthy ecosystem, in turn, supports a wider diversity of organisms and life–which brings us to genetic diversity. The more different beings in the gene pool and the more diverse individuals in an ecosystem = the stronger the ecosystem is, especially when those beings are in balance. When one species dominates the ecosystem and brings things out of balance, all suffer.
We can, likewise, think about this in terms of our human ecosystems. Finding ways of bringing in diversity of thought, bodies, beliefs, ways of living and being, values, and so on is critical work for building a better world. Modern culture does not value diversity; it wants everyone in a little box doing the same thing, thinking the same thing, and buying the same things. It can be very hard to be different–and there’s a lot of stares, skepticism and ostracism that you might suffer if you choose to be weird, or if you are a diverse person in a sea of monoculture. Which is really a shame, because resilient ecosystems are diverse ecosystems, and we are all better in a polyculture than a monoculture. So—embrace the polyculture however you can! Support others who are diverse. This is a very tall order in this age, but one worth working toward.
I point to the Ancient Order of Druids in America as an example of this–we have embraced diversity as a central principle of our order, not only welcoming in diverse people with diverse beliefs, but cultivating flexible practices that can be widely adapted to people’s ecosystems, cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and interests. We have worked hard to do this, recognizing that this is ongoing work. And we have to protect our order from individuals who think their way of believing or doing is better than others, and set clear ground rules to protect our order as a diverse space. I think there are a lot of groups out there in the nature-focused communities that are doing this kind of work intentionally with good policies, good protections for those who are in minority positions, having responsive leaders who listen, bringing in diverse voices, and really protecting and nourishing that human ecosystem. And, as it is pretty obvious, work is more important now than ever before.
Another way to think about it is to keep it weird. Embrace your own weirdness. Embrace the weirdness of your friends and family, and create safe spaces for them to be their full weird, diverse selves!
Connectivity. Connectivity from an ecosystem resilience perspective means having diverse spaces where beings can live and inhabit, and that they are all connected to each other. It also means recognizing that the spaces that a species inhabits may change both as they go through their lives or as some spaces are disturbed and they have to find new places to live. In the best case, this means lots of wild spaces for beings to migrate and move as necessary, including increasing disruptions due to humans and climate change. Part of what is happening to reduce ecosystem resilience is that wild spaces are growing more and more fragmented, making ecosystems more fragile. Connectivity of all kinds is important as a broader principle here, too: we are all interconnected. We all depend on a healthy, whole, and non-fragmented ecosystem to address our needs and to thrive. This is true of the smallest insect as it is true of apes who have evolved to create civilizations. Recognizing that connection between all things helps us become more resilient and more interdependent.
As humans are part of nature, what is true in the ecosystem is true in human communities. One of the things that has happened with increasing issues is the loss of real and meaningful local community and gathering spaces. We have replaced communities with online interactions, and they aren’t the same. And this is why people are lonelier, more isolated, and more depressed than ever before in most modern countries. Digital spaces claim connection, but there’s nothing that replaces real, living human connection in nature. We might think about the loss of many community gathering spaces and safe spaces for people, especially in the last few decades. Part of why rebuilding communities matters right now is due to this principle of connectivity: just like other species, we humans need diverse spaces to thrive. Spaces for ourselves and our communities that we can flow in and out of (I am thinking of things like parks, maker spaces, nature spiritual centers, community spaces, etc). Finding ways of bringing people together around the fire, breaking bread together, and just nourishing each other in these times. I see so many people doing good work in this on so many levels, and it is exciting to witness. Keep up the good work, everyone!
Time and cycles. Another aspect that Casin and Matthews discuss is recognizing and working with the cycles of nature and the passage of time, which they call “temporal variability.” This refers to aligning with nature’s rhythms and seasonal patterns, recognizing the broader patterns, and moving with them. Species that do this, that understand the patterns and align with them, and adapt to deviations, are more resilient. This is becoming harder with climate change, and one of the things that scientists are now observing is which species are able to adapt to less stability in terms of seasonal rains, temperature, snowfall, and so on.
Again, we can see the problems present in modern culture, which expects us to be 100% on 100% of the time, which is beyond exhausting. This is not natural, and recognizing that is an important part of resisting it. I don’t know any single being in my ecosystem that acts like humans do–all of the rest of the species align with the cycles as part of their living and thriving. We can apply the wheel of the year here easily: we have times of high energy (summer solstice), times of harvest (right now, fall equinox), times of dying back (Samhain) and times of deep quiet and darkness (winter solstice, Imbolc). I think we druids do a good job in aligning ourselves in celebrating the seasons. For me, the real test is whether or not I can align the rest of my life in that direction–and I think for many of us, this is ongoing work. Rest is a particular challenge for those of us who have full-time jobs and careers, and I point to my writings on druid retreats (parts I and part II) as well as going dark week for some ideas.
Death, Regeneration, Cycles and Fire. A final thing I want to talk about, one that is present in other scientific studies of ecosystem resilience, is the role of fire. Fire is the great transformer, and prior to the modern age, fire was an important part of many ecosystems. Here in North America, we are seeing increasing wildfires, but these are often very violent and on a much larger scale than would have been traditionally happening when fires were a regular part of the ecosystem. This is because modern humans have stopped using fire in most parts of the world–which increases the likelihood of more violent fires.
So let’s talk about lower-intensity fires, which were used by many indigenous peoples in different parts of the world to help manage ecosystems. These were beneficial in many ways. We know that there are many trees, mushrooms and plants that have adapted to and depend on fire as part of their life cycle–and when fires are suppressed, this can change the very nature of forests and what is growing, what trees take root, and so on. Regular fires in most ecosystems reduce the woody debris that piles up on the forest floor–if there is too much debris, it can prevent new growth from forming. I’ve seen this firsthand on our own land–when we bought our current property, the forest had been logged, and there was so much debris. Building hugelkultur beds in our gardens, greenhouse, and even in the edges of the forest allowed us to remove the woody debris, which opened up the forest floor to regrowth. We basically did, by hand, some of the work of fire. Now, ten years later, the forest floor is walkable in most areas again. As this woody debris burns, fire clears this and releases many of the nutrients back into the soil, which allows for more growth. It may also clear out disease and reduce certain populations of trees or plants, allowing the fire-adapted trees (like pines or oaks with thick bark ) to thrive.
Fire is not fun, and the fires of transformation are often brutal for a time. I think a lot of us feel that the world is on fire right now–and there’s no denying it. Perhaps the fire has reached personally into your own life, radically disrupting everything that came before. I know this is happening to more and more people due to the ongoing political, social, and ecological crisis that is unfolding. A lot of us find ourselves displaced, homeless, jobless, feeling afraid, not knowing where we are going to be in a few days, weeks,or months, and not being able to see a path forward.
It is a very hard place to be in. As the world is on fire, I try to think about what happens after things burn. There is a new opportunity for growth, for strengthening the health of the forest, and even for things (like fire-adapted mushrooms) that would normally not grow and have been laying dormant waiting for the right opportunity. Maybe that’s us, friends. Maybe we can be the spores of the new age.
Conclusion
The post Resilience in Nature first appeared on The Druids Garden.
