In the first two chapters of her book Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World, Emma Marris introduces us to her main thesis and reason for writing this volume. It seems to me, that her main focus of the book is ecosystems and the misconceptions people, especially leading conservationists, have about them. A point she makes is that nature is not something that can be easily shaped and molded to fit standards established in the past. A practice that she disputes is trying to restore ecosystems to the conditions they were in years ago. She doesn’t think that this is an action that has any real benefit or foreseeable success. It is very hard to accurately paint a picture of what a particular ecosystem looked like more than a century ago. It’s also no small task to root out the nonnative species and reintroduce species that haven’t been in this particular area for years. In Marris’ mind, the new face of the ecosystem that has developed over the years is just as much “nature” as the landscape that existed years ago. Nature itself is constantly adjusting to this ever-changing world so our perception of what nature is exactly should change and be flexible in just the same way. A concrete, outdated conception of nature is something we as a community should not dwell on.
Another concept that seems to be a theme in Marris’ writing is that pristine nature is not something that we should necessarily strive for. Marris makes the point that nature isn’t only the untouched ecosystems in the world, devoid of human life. Nature is everything from a garden in a backyard to the Grand Canyon. Rather than focusing on the protected areas of the world (only about 13% of Earth’s land is protected), we should realize that there is nature all around us everyday that should be cherished and protected. Over the years we have developed this illusion, especially as city-dwellers, that nature is something far away and mysterious. We feel as though we need to take vacations and go out of our way to experience it, when it is really around us every day.
Overall, Marris seems to be making points against traditional ecological views of nature. The current methods and ideas surrounding nature preservation seem to be outdated and in need of an overhaul. I think that Marris expresses her thesis and introduces her argument in a clear, concise, and strong manner. I found it very easy to interpret exactly what she will be trying to do in this book from the first two chapters. A strength in her writing is her use of sources and statistics. The book is full of references and data that make for a stronger and more reliable argument. The book is not merely a collection of Marris’ thoughts and arguments about ecosystems and preservation, but a structured and supported argument that the reader can more readily trust and assess.
