To investigate the nexus of humanity and nature, in 2019 I visited sacred sites introduced by community elders in Mexico, Cuba, and Australia. Their responses to my question, “what does nature mean to you?” revealed a holistic vision: nature is not a resource to be extracted but a living entity to engage in a relationship. At least as complex as any human being or sentient entity, nature is not a “what” but a “who.”
Hearn, A
(The University of Melbourne, 2020-12-04)
The urgent need for environmental action is generating new forms of human interaction with nature. Among these is a growing awareness that First Nation communities around the world have already developed sophisticated mechanisms of ‘give-and-take’ with lakes, plants, landscapes, and other natural phenomena.