The final chapter of Emma Marris’ Rambunctious Garden wraps up the overall goals she wishes to achieve with this writing. She outlines some ambitions she thinks ecologists should have in their work. I think this was a good way to end the book because it wrapped up pretty much all of the points she made throughout the writing in a way that leaves the reader with a lasting impression. One goal I really would like to see accomplished is to protect the rights of other species before focusing on the benefits for humans. This comes into play when developing land or affecting a habitat in anyway. For the most part, we as a species put ourselves first when developing land. Marris brings up the point that “deep ecology” is conducting ecological operations while giving special care to all species even though they are not human. I believe that this is the ideology to go into studies with because although it will lessen the amount that humans can profit from the environment, it will provide some protection and relief for other species. This in turn could help to achieve some of the other goals that Marris lays out.

Another goal that I found to be appropriate was to protect charismatic mega fauna. The general consensus among the average citizen is that these creatures should be protected for their beauty and aesthetic qualities on the environments they live in. People travel far and wide to see these majestic beasts such as rhinos and elephants. While they do provide a certain aesthetic pleasure to humans, these animals play a key role in their ecosystems. Being such large animals with large grazing areas, they affect enormous pieces of land. By protecting these creatures, these large parcels of land are kept in check. If elephants were to suddenly vanish from the African plain, the effects on species living there would be unpredictable and most likely not positive. Protecting mega fauna is also an economical way to protect other species as well. It would cost a lot of money to implement policies and techniques to protect all the species of an ecosystem. It costs a lot less to implement policies to protect one species, such as the elephant, whose protection could positively help the species around it. We would then be killing two birds with one stone, or more literally, saving multiple species with lower costs.

Marris closes her book with the concept of a “rambunctious garden.” She wants people to realize that throughout history we have altered nature and thus should not just abandon it now that we have taken so much from it. We need to manage it and “garden” it. Although she brought up a lot of differing theories and techniques of this “gardening” throughout the book such as novel ecosystems and historical restoration, she ultimately views them all as decent enough attempts at managing nature and keeping it lively for years to come. I really did enjoy this book and will definitely be coming away from it with a greater appreciation for every aspect of nature I encounter in my day to day life.

In Chapter 8, Marris discusses “Designer Ecosystems.” The gist of this concept is to construct ecosystems that rather than attempting to recreate historical situations or situations to maximize aesthetics, ecosystems should be crafted in such a way that is both beneficial to humans and the organisms living there. One example she mentioned was using large boulders to maximize the output of plant and animal communities in streambeds. While these boulders are not naturally occurring, bringing them in is thought to have beneficial effects on the ecosystem as a whole. Some other examples of this are wire baskets filled with rocks to slow stream flows, and sinking old ships to provide places for coral reefs to live. The thought behind these actions is that human interference does not always have to be thought of as a bad thing. Through research and appropriate action we can help to keep ecosystems more sufficient and lively for years to come. I agree with this philosophy because the world we live in is changing all the time. Whether it be climate, soil composition, or pollution; the earth is not in the same state it was hundreds of years ago. For this reason, it is clear that historical views of nature are becoming outdated. A forest that thrived 500 years ago might quickly die out today. The conditions of the world today should be gauged and appropriately adapted to rather than striving for a time long since past. Designer Ecosystems are a good way for people to help the environment as a sort of return for all the negative things human activity does to ecosystems.

Chapter 9 discusses the different views of conservationism around the world. The two main counter philosophies Marris brings up are the ideas of North American movements, and those of Europe. An example from North America is Yellowstone and the goal of creating corridors in order to allow for more space especially for bigger animals. Another proponent of the North American philosophy that comes up a lot in the book is that of historical ecosystems and “restoration.” The European model is quite different from this. The example that Marris gave was that when she went to see a bird sanctuary in the U.K., it was on a farm. European conservationists tend to focus on nature in areas that are also being used for something else such as farming. The thinking behind the bird sanctuary is that these birds are used to living on open plains maintained by herbivores, which is a very similar situation to farmland. The reasoning behind these methods partially comes from the fact that in Europe there were far fewer “pristine” examples of wilderness to work with than in North America. Either way, this method of conservation seems more appropriate to me. Across the globe more and more land is being used by humans for gains so it is fitting that conservationists include this ever-increasing percentage of land to the land they try to improve. As time goes on, examples of “pristine” nature will dwindle whether we like it or not so it is good to get a start on this more “modern” form of conservation in my opinion.

Chapters 6 and 7 of Emma Marris’ Rambunctious Garden discuss the highly debatable concepts of invasive species and novel ecosystems. The first chapter focuses on the generally negative view of invasive species. I think this goes back to the initial discussion of these species when they were described in ways that promote disgust and dislike. “Invasive” is a word that hints at intrusion and taking over of an ecosystem. While this is true of some species that go from one environment to another it is not something that we should label all transitioning species as. The reasons for a species moving are never the same. While some come on their own, possibly in search for a better environment to support life, others hitch rides on humans and other human controlled articles. A major issue that is brought up in the book is the presence of National Park Service strike teams, who decimate the populations of invasive species in the U.S. Now this conquest would seem like a good idea if all species being killed were causing serious damage to the environments they were invading. The members of the team describe their task as “saving the plant communities that have been here historically.” This goes back to the debate on whether or not the environments present years ago are what we really should be striving for today. It seems that the goal is not to protect species in danger of extinction, but rather to keep the landscape strictly how it has always been natively. I do not agree with this stance because if the plants can find a way to live together in the same ecosystem, there is no reason to cause such destruction to a species, even if it is invasive.

The second idea discussed was novel ecosystems. A novel ecosystem is not an untouched piece of nature, but rather something that has experienced some human influence and then left to go wild on is own. I find this to be a fascinating concept because it is really interesting to see how nature can “reclaim” areas that humans once used. This is very reminiscent of the High Line in NYC. The wildlife in that particular park grows around the long since used train tracks. This interaction between nature and past human activity is quite incredible. It was stated on page 112 that a lot of scientists do not study these ecosystem because they think they aren’t worth the trouble. I think this is a serious overlooking of something that needs to be explored more, especially in the world we live in today. With urbanization taking over all around, the “pristine” areas of nature that are so renowned are dwindling. The novel ecosystem is something that will soon be the norm because of all the human activity going on. I think that research of novel ecosystems and how nature “reclaims” these areas are extremely crucial in order to preserve species in years to come.