Last week, in Los Angeles, scientists were arrested after handcuffing themselves to the entrance of a Chase bank.
The four scientists chose JP Morgan Chase because it has funded more new fossil fuel projects than any other bank. Many other climate scientists also protested worldwide.
In Germany, they demonstrated outside the Ministry for Economic and Climate Protection. Their demands were faster, stronger climate action from world governments, and an end to the burning of fossil fuels.
In England, they protested outside Shell PLC headquarters, pasted documents to government buildings in Mexico, occupied an oil and gas company’s headquarters in Italy, and threw fake blood onto the National Congress in Spain.
Scientist Rebellion estimates that around 1,000 scientists in 25 countries participated in last week’s demonstrations, warning that irreversible climate change will take hold by 2025 if action isn't taken now.
Rewilding areas and creating preserves will help build ecological resiliency within vulnerable urban communities dealing with the severe climate changes in the PNW.
So what is rewilding, and how does it benefit our communities?
What is Urban Rewilding?
Rewilding is the practice of reintroducing native plant species into urban spaces to counteract the impact of dense living.
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Native plants require no maintenance, pesticides, herbicides, or watering.
Rewilding can potentially lessen climate change impacts like the urban heat island effect while increasing biodiversity and boosting mental health.
We desperately need to bring this practice into our at-home landscaping because there are currently 50 million acres of grass in the United States. And the grass is bad!
The city of Portland, in particular, is full of leftover open spaces full of ivy, blackberry bushes, and ever-infamous grass that costs money to mow and maintain.
These open spaces include railway cuttings, parking lots, abandoned industrial sites, and, most noticeably, areas all along the freeways. When you look at it all, there's enough room within the city to make serious strides in reducing the overall climate impact of our densely populated urban areas.
Deforestation in Oregon
This is particularly important in Portland as the loss of over 500,000 acres of natural forest in Oregon between 2000 and today means that we are losing native biodiversity, and we are losing it quickly.
Our urban areas have become biodiversity deserts, and our city's rooftops and neighborhoods contribute to increased heat and polluted water runoff. As a result, there are no native plants to clean the water or create shade, causing the heat island effect. Invasive plants like ivy and blackberry choke out native plants and trees, and traditional lawns fill residential spaces.
So the nature we add can’t just be trees; a much deeper rewilding process must occur—one extending into the soil.
Restoring natural landscapes damaged by human development is the most effective and cheap way to combat the climate crisis and support dwindling wildlife populations.
How Much Restoration Needs to Happen?
There is not just one central threat to the earth; land degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change are all the increasingly dangerous impacts of our choices on the health of our natural environment and, subsequently, ourselves.
A recent report revealed that 75% of all the land on the planet is now considered degraded, putting the well-being of 3.2 billion people in jeopardy.
If just one-third of the planet’s most degraded areas were restored to their natural state and the areas still in good condition were protected, there would be enough wilderness to store half of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution.
According to current research, it would prevent about 70% of predicted species extinctions.
However, there are many compelling reasons why we should rewild our cities that extend beyond environmental benefits. It can bring social and economic benefits to our urban communities, too.
Environmental Benefits of Urban Rewilding
Urban rewilding can do a lot of cleaning for our city. This is because plants and trees are natural filtration systems and can clean our air and water. Plants and trees also create natural barricades and protection from extreme weather events.
In particular, Urban Rewilding will:
Mitigate the effects of climate change by making our cities more resilient. Threats cities face from climate change are the increased frequency of extreme weather events, the rising threat of tropical diseases, and rising sea levels.
Introduce green water treatment infrastructure: Gray infrastructure is the system of pipes and ditches that channel stormwater. Green infrastructure harnesses the natural processes of trees and other vegetation—so-called ecosystem services—to carry out the functions of the built systems.
Green infrastructure intercepts stormwater before it can reach the street and become polluted. It also stores the water for gradual release through percolation or evapotranspiration. In addition, trees and plants clean dirty water through natural filtering functions and are less expensive than gray.
(This is a newly planted (Oct. '22) rainwater garden off Alberta that filters rainwater runoff before it goes into the storm drain.)
Reduce city pollution and increase carbon sequestration. Scientists say it’s too late to prevent catastrophic climate change by only reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Alongside rapidly phasing out fossil fuels, the world must also deploy negative-emissions technologies to draw down large amounts of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere.
Boost biodiversity by introducing more green areas and recovering diverse natural spaces. Urban rewilding can provide food and habitats for wildlife and form green corridors to link fragments of nature together, giving rewilding an edge over simple tree planting.
Rewilding: More Than Just Planting Trees
Even tree planting after logging can be a problem. When this is done, natural forests become industrial tree plantations that are clear-cut on short rotations. Herbicides are often used to kill all the underbrush, creating a monoculture without any biodiversity.
This is also called afforestation.
At least 4 million acres of land in Oregon are tree plantations at the expense of natural forests capable of providing a wide array of goods and services such as filtration of clean water, carbon sequestration, and the provision of fish and wildlife habitat.
Afforestation offers little benefit to wildlife and carries many risks.
Studies have found that the large-scale planting of non-native trees in Canada and China has disturbed natural ecosystems, worsened wildfires, and depleted groundwater levels.
Meanwhile, other landscapes are neglected: peatlands, wetlands, and grasslands are just as good or even better at storing carbon.
Social Benefits of Urban Rewilding
Introducing more green spaces improves mental and physical health and enhances the quality of life of those living in cities. Urban rewilding also reconnects those living in cities with nature, enabling people to develop stronger connections, recognize its importance, and foster a sense of stewardship to the natural world.
Additionally, spending time in nature has improved mood, reduced loneliness, stress, and anger, and aids in relaxation, which is why camping is awesome.
Evidence suggests that it improves memory, boosts confidence, and can help treat mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Some studies even show that just viewing green spaces positively affects mental health.
There are also many physical health benefits. For example, spending time in nature may lower your blood pressure, improve the function of your immune system, and reduce your chances of having eyesight problems.
Economic Benefits
Connecting our cities to natural processes will mitigate common problems associated with dense urban areas and reduce the overall cost of maintaining a city.
A problem often found in cities is the urban heat island effect, which occurs in dense urban areas where the heat generated by human activity, i.e., people, transport, industry, etc., is trapped by concrete structures. As a result, urban areas are generally a few degrees warmer than the neighboring countryside.
Increased temperatures within urban areas lead to increased demand and cooling expenditure, energy consumption, and fossil fuel burning.
More significant fossil fuel usage means more pollutants are emitted and, therefore, poorer air quality is created, amplifying heat-related illnesses and mortality. The warmer water from within the city is then released into streams, rivers, and lakes, creating problems for aquatic ecosystems.
Rewilding urban areas can play a significant role in addressing these problems while creating benefits in other areas.
Introducing more greenery can:
Reduce the urban heat island effect on roofs by providing shade and cooling the air through evapotranspiration.
Remove air pollution, sequester carbon, and regulate water in the city by trapping stormwater and filtering out pollutants.
Increase biodiversity and support wildlife.
Rewilding can:
Make a place more attractive, generate nature-based tourism, and save money by making the city more resilient to events like flooding.
Reduce the need and cost for active management of green spaces, including mowing, using pesticides, watering, and weeding, as rewilded areas have more biodiversity and are self-regulated.
As wildflowers feed pollinators, producing food for humans and animals is essential for many of our foods and is currently in decline due to intensive agriculture and urbanization.
Ways to Rewild a City
At its core, urban rewilding brings back elements of wilderness, embracing natural processes and restoring ecosystems with less human interference. Rewilding within an urban context can be done through small and big actions on an individual and city-wide scale.
What can I do at home?
Replant your lawn with native grasses or meadows.
Remove invasive species: blackberry, ivy, tree of heaven, etc.
Plant native trees, bushes, and plants.
Don't use chemicals in your yard.
Create natural structures for wildlife habitat.
Contact your local authorities to:
Leave wild areas in parks.
Reduce the use of pesticides.
Rewild unused spaces, such as the sides of freeways and abandoned buildings.
Install rooftop beehives, plant more trees, and create green roofs and walls.
Reintroduce keystone species to help restore ecosystems.
There are many possibilities, but there is no one fixed way to rewild since methods must ultimately adapt to a city’s specific climate, regional species, and existing architecture. However, an essential first step is to rewild our mindset; in pursuing these actions, you can help make your city greener.
Rewilding Fights against Climate Change
Urban rewilding presents a real solution to many urban issues. It cleans our air and water, connects green spaces, and makes the city more beautiful, resulting in economic benefits.
Although adapting cities is a small part of the broader rewilding effort, urban spaces are a crucial area to focus on. Hopefully, we can transition to a greener, wilder, and genuinely sustainable city by rewilding and connecting people to nature.
We Can Help You Get Started!
Urban Rewilding can help with native plant landscape designs, builds, and gardening services. So no matter what point you are at in your rewilding process, we can give you a hand.
We don't use any chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides at any point. All our plants are native to the Pacific Northwest and do not need to be watered after the first year.
Landscape Design:
We're happy to give you advice, resources, and native plant landscape designs.
You can book a one-hour consultation with us at a time that is convenient for you. We will look at sun exposure, soil quality, and existing plantings to create a detailed, personalized plan for you to follow as you continue your rewilding process.
Landscape professionals can advise on what plants work best in which part of your yard and how to make your soil healthier. and where to source plants, seeds, and soil.
Landscape Installation:
Urban Rewilding is licensed, bonded, insured, and super excited to plant native trees, bushes, shrubs, ferns, mushrooms, and moss in your urban garden!
Adding biodiversity to an urban garden creates a resilient ecosystem that supports native birds, bees, bugs, and other wildlife. It also creates the potential for healthy, sustainable, organic food production that requires no water or chemicals.
We can solve invasive species, erosion, water damage, and pollution issues with native plants.
Book a one-hour consult with a professional native plant landscaper to find out how we can fix your problems with native plants.
Gardening Services:
Urban Rewilding aims to create beneficial native plant ecosystems in urban areas to protect vulnerable wildlife and humans from the issues that arise from dense urban areas.
Hiring us to maintain your urban yard will mean that we will add native plants from other yards wherever we never use chemicals and create lush, healthy soil, remove any overgrown or unwanted native plants, and use them in other yards! We will cultivate a healthy yard that will become part of rewilding more and more and more!!!!
Book a consultation with a gardener, or send us an email with photos, and we can get you on our regular maintenance schedule today!
We protect native plants at all costs!!!
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