When you experience the loss of something you love, you grieve that loss.
This is not limited to the typical sphere of humans but we also grieve losses in the natural world like landscapes, species, ecosystems even special places that have meaning to us..
This has been termed "ecological grief"
Think for a moment of a favorite spot or piece of nature that you love to visit or that you identify with. How would you feel if it were wiped out? You would feel that loss, right?
Just recently in my home in the boreal forest I awoke to a burring, wizzing sound which sounded like a faller-buncher.
This was very possible for our land is surrounded by crown land and much of it is under forestry lease, so the forestry companies may have started cutting it.
I went to investigate and sure enough there was a small clear cut with only a band of trees left to buffer it from the road.
This piece of land had been leased out to one of our neighbors and I wasn't too concerned that they would clear cut too much but each morning I would awake to the sound of cutting going on.
I was getting a sinking feeling in my stomach that this has been going on to long.
I began to think of all the animals who's habitat was being destroyed right at a crucial time.
Bears would have dens and just prepared for their long winter hibernation.
Deer were just starting the breeding season and their bedding places would be destroyed.
Squirrels would have gathered and stored all their food for winter.
Birds would have their nests and winter shelters.
All this would be destroyed!
I went to investigate again and saw that that clearing was just a landing spot and they were cutting way back into the bush but at this point still on that single leased area.
I asked around and found out that the neighbor had lost that lease and we didn't know the new person who now held it. We didn't know their plan or if the big forestry companies would be involved.
If they continue to cut on the forestry lease land this is also where there is a lot of hiking, berry picking and other plants from the under story that people harvest.
Time to pull in folks from this forest community, the community that I love and that loves the forest and wants to keep it as a healthy ecosystem.
We can come together and push back.
It is that banding together that motivates us to make a commitment to work towards change.
If you are experiencing ecological grief, try reaching out to other like minded folks. Find groups to band together with, that you can move forward to desired change.
It is this collective experience of ecological grief that can strengthen our love and commitment to places, those places and Eco-systems plus species that in turn nurture and sustain us.
Keep yourself open to feeling the grief and pain of ecological loss for that might be just what is needed to prevent some of those losses from happening.
Connect with folks on Steemit in places like @EarthTribe @Ecotrain with driver @Eco-alex
#Tribevibes - Feel the Synergy and let's all thrive!
All images from Pixabay.com
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