When it comes making the case for a particular way of thinking, there are a number of ways to go about it. One might be the debate, where two sides of a point of view are hammered out between teams, or between politicians on the floor of parliament. Then there is case making as in courts of law, where there is a prosecutor and a defendant, with each side presenting their case for or against with a moderator – such as a magistrate, jury and / or judge – weighing up the merits of each, before arriving at a judgement. Another way might be the case put forward in a book or article, with the author setting out the case for or against an idea with the judgement left up to the reader to decide its merits one way or the other. So here we present the case for narrative as a way to present the case for nature being worth protecting and conserving for generations to come.
Everything in nature has a story. by Karen Jin , July 31, 2018 — As we stopped in front of a broad-leaved taro-like plant with blooming white flowers at the gate of the reserve, I know our journey of natural history was about to start. Mark let us smell the flower, touch the rough leaves which feel like sand-paper as he explained the plant’s (common name elephant’s ear) relationship with its specialized pollinators-beetles. From the very beginning, Mark kept emphasizing one thing about nature, that is, “everything has a story”. https://dukeengage.duke.edu/everything-in-nature-has-a-story/
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The Case For Nature. Dinyar Godrej, New Internationalist … 8 February 2021 — We have brought the natural world and its diversity to a breaking point. Dinyar Godrej surveys the damage and explores how we need to act to repair it.
Conservation Blues … It need not be all doom and gloom. Nature, if given the space, protection and opportunity, can bounce back with surprising resilience. It tends to abundance. But turning this particular corner requires Herculean action on many interlinked fronts: on ongoing habitat destruction, unsustainable exploitation of wildlife (including the illegal international wildlife trade), the climate emergency, pollution and invasive species and diseases. And all those actions become much harder in an unequal world where the richest exert great extractivist pressure even on the most remote corners of the planet.
Change Gears … To ease this relentless – and often needless – pressure on the natural world will require a gear change from the continual pursuit of growth and the exponential increases in consumption it requires. A critique of capitalist consumption is now finally being voiced from establishment environmental figures, not just fringe Lefties. Earnest pleas are also being made that it is time for the West to stop taking and meaningfully aid recovery. Institutions like the IPBES are writing out prescriptions that make it seem like the technocratic scales have finally fallen from their eyes, calling for transformative change. Including: ‘Embrace diverse visions of a good life; Reduce total consumption and waste; Unleash values and action; Reduce inequalities; Practice justice and inclusion in conservation…’ etc.
https://newint.org/features/2020/12/07/big-story-biodiversity-case-nature
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The three most dangerous narratives in conservation, by Chris Sandbrook* (Thinking Like A Human, Conservation for the 21st Century , June 12, 2018), writes —
Emery Roe, an American policy scholar, first developed the idea that ‘narratives’ – stories about the world and how it works – are used in policy making processes to cut through complexity and justify a particular course of action.
We are a storytelling species, and people find it easy to understand and get behind a compelling story with strong internal logic and a beginning, middle and end. Once a narrative has taken hold they can be very difficult to shake off, at least until an even more compelling ‘counter-narrative’ arrives on the scene.
A classic example from resource governance is the ‘resources will be over-exploited unless they are in private ownership’ narrative, based on Garrett Hardin’s 1968 Tragedy of the Common’s article. It took decades of careful scholarship, and ultimately a nobel prize for Elinor Ostrom, to demonstrate that this narrative was compelling, influential, and wrong.
https://thinkinglikeahuman.com/2018/06/12/the-three-most-dangerous-narratives-in-conservation/
*Chris Sandbrook, (@csandbrook), is Senior Lecturer in Geography and Director of the Masters in Conservation Leadership at the University of Cambridge, conservation social scientist, blogger, dad.
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Through the Eyes of Another: Using a Narrative Lens to Navigate Complex Social-Ecological Systems and to Embrace Multiple Ways of Knowing, by Julieta Vigliano Relva1*† and Julia Jung2† — https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.678796/full
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How To Connect With Nature, by Brian Mertins …
For thousands of years people have been going into nature to seek a connection with something greater than themselves…
You see it in the flocks of city people on their yearly camping trips, primitive skills gatherings, books about nature-deficit disorder and the growing abundance of nature kindergartens.
However if you’re new to connecting with nature then you might be wondering – How do you actually do it?
In general, anything that gets you outside and consciously tuning in with birds, plants & trees in a natural setting will help you feel more connected with nature. But there are also some really great daily practices & awareness routines that can help you accelerate your progress and get the most from your time outside.
I’ve been studying the effects of nature connection on mental, physical, emotional & spiritual levels for most of my life now, and in this article I’d like to share some key lessons I’ve learned about how to connect with nature. So let’s hop right in…
Here is the first of 13 simple & highly effective ways to connect with nature:
- Slow Down & Be Present – Probably the most important thing to remember when you want to connect with nature is learning how to slow down and be truly present with the natural world.
Most people live their lives at such a fast pace that it becomes difficult to appreciate the subtleties of birds, plants, trees & natural settings. Click on the link for the full story …
How To Read The Secrets of A Forest
So You Can Be a Better Tracker, Naturalist and Survival Practitioner – https://nature-mentor.com/read-the-secrets-of-a-forest/ — https://nature-mentor.com/how-to-connect-with-nature/