In Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World, Emma Marris introduces the idea that today’s understanding of conserving nature is flawed and backwards. Importantly, Marris asserts that nature it is not pristine and simple, and it is not constant and static. It is constantly changing—whether it occurs naturally or artificially. Instead of having a “pristine wilderness” concept, Marris suggests a vision of a “rambunctious wilderness” should be taken on to coincide with human activities and actions, not against it.
In the first chapter, Marris criticizes human efforts of attempting to restore nature to a state in its past. Trying to repair an ecosystem’s damage from invasive species, destroyed plant life, and altered climate or territorial natural states, cannot magically bring back nature from the past. Although this type of restoration sounds extremely optimistic, it is not realistic. For example, since more than fifty percent of Hawaii’s plants are nonnative, an experiment of ridding a specific forest of all nonnative species took place to see if native species would be reintroduced naturally. It was discovered that only a few native seedlings reappeared on the forest floor and there were no drastic, laudable changes. These efforts also have complications in documenting about the point of restoration, as well as the requirement of much time and money. In the second chapter, Marris continues with “The Yellowstone Model” to reason the impossibility of perfect restoration. Since nature is constantly changing, a “stable equilibrium” that societies want to conserve simply does not exist.
Marris also makes a significant point about the misconception of keeping nature separate from humankind. The human species has had an impact or influence in every ecosystem on the Earth, already! Nature includes “the bees whizzing down Fifth Avenue”—it is around us and within our reach. It does not make sense to conserve nature by removing, sometimes forcibly, humans living on the land that ‘must be conserved’. On the contrary, Marris actually suggests, “achieving coexistence between humans and other species” to avoid the removal of indigenous peoples and to allow the environment to thrive more. Instead of seeing nature as something untouchable in the distance, people should start seeing the beauty of nature that can coexist with humanity.
Marris succeeds in educating her readers of the importance of embracing nature as it is, while asserting the false perceptions of “restoration” and “conservation” that most of society has today. Throughout, her general use of examples expresses a dedication to research and for finding alternative, and maybe even more effective, solutions to society’s current problem with nature—which allows readers to take her seriously and even with a new perspective.
