Where The Leaves Fall / 14

Issue #14

 

LANDSCAPE

KINSHIP

CONNECTION

 

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Where the Leaves Fall is a magazine exploring humankind’s connection with nature through the intersection between social justice and the environment, art, science, culture, philosophy and food.

 

Increasingly we are finding ourselves divorced from the natural world, the old ways of being with the earth, the rituals and traditions that bind us to the soil and the cycle of the seasons, even knowing the names of the flora and fauna that surround us. We are a part of nature, existing in reciprocity with the Earth, but as many of us are born into an environment that is mainly brick and concrete (the UN predicts that 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050), it only becomes harder to reconnect with the sense of awe and wonder that the natural world presents to us.

 

Too often, we try to extract, commodify and manage nature. As a consequence, the world is burning, hurricanes have left a path of destruction, and floods have destroyed homes, crops and livelihoods. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that: “Unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5C or even 2C will be beyond reach.” Over 1.5C, the climate-related risks to human health, livelihoods, food security, human security, water supply and economic growth will affect us all. When you add to that the effects of the pandemic, conflict, corruption, and the various social and environmental injustices we are living through, it can all feel very overwhelming. As individuals, how should we navigate the need for change and reconnection?