NPR:
Chris Winsor/Getty Images
“For [Gary] Snyder, the answer is about inclusiveness:
”So we can say that New York City and Tokyo are ‘natural’ but not ‘wild.’ They do not deviate from the laws of nature, but they are habitat so exclusive in the matter of who and what they give shelter to, and so intolerant of other creatures, as to be truly odd. Wilderness is a place where the wild potential is fully expressed, a diversity of living and nonliving beings flourishing according to their own sorts of order.”
Thus, for Snyder, the wild is not about pristine landscapes. Instead, it’s about landscapes that are rich and diverse enough to be interesting for everybody, human and non-human alike. He writes: “When an ecosystem is fully functioning, all the members are present at the assembly. To speak of wilderness is to speak of wholeness.””
Gary Snyder noted that many folks are alienated from their place and that they "don't even know that they don't know the plants" of their environment. I've asked lakeshore residents and the only plants they know are the ones that the government has blacklisted (Eurasian milfoil, curly-leaf pondweed, etc.). I find it sad that folks only know the ones that the government has labeled 'bad/evil' and they don't appreciate the beauty of those plants and those that are indigenous to their area or lake.
