The publishers of Emma Marris’ book “Rambunctious Garden” say that “a paradigm shift is roiling the environmental world. For decades people have unquestioningly accepted the idea that our goal is to preserve nature in its pristine, pre-human state. But many scientists have come to see this as an outdated dream that thwarts bold new plans to save the environment and prevents us from having a fuller relationship with nature. Humans have changed the landscapes they inhabit since prehistory, and climate change means even the remotest places now bear the fingerprints of humanity. Emma Marris argues...that it is time to look forward and create the ‘rambunctious garden,’ a hybrid of wild nature and human management.”
Emma Marris is based in Klamath Falls, Oregon. She writes about nature, people, food, language, books and film. She says her goal is to find and tell stories that help us understand the past; take meaningful action in the present; and move towards a greener, wilder, happier and more equal future. Her stories have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Orion, Discover, Grist and Nature, where she worked as a staffer for several years. She has a Master’s in Science Writing from the Johns Hopkins University.
We’ll talk about the remote national park in Peru that Marris wrote about for National Geographic, so-called un-contacted peoples, how we define nature, and what nature means for children, “new conservationists” versus “old conservationists,” and more.
