Time Spent Braiding Sweetgrass: How Can We Braid Nature, Wisdom, and Contemporary Culture?
I had read Braiding Sweetgrass once before I chose it for my little bookclub and admired Kimmerer's weaving of Indigenous wisdom and knowledge with contemporary botany and life in general. Upon reading it a second time, with a growing interest in native wildflower gardening, it made me wonder how we can incorporate more of the natural world into urban and suburban dwellings.
Container gardens are a good start, and learning to identify, appreciate, and use commom 'weeds', like the lovely dandelion, plantain, purple deadnettle, chickweed, and so many more easily found in the Northeastern United States. Learn about and join urban tree-planting groups. Develop just 10% of your lawn into wildflowers or a mini-meadow! The changes benefit insects, too, which are such an important part of the natural world in which we live, a way of showing gratitude and reciprocity.
Gratitude and Reciprocity, two themes common throughout Sweetgrass. Indigenous people showed gratitude for what the Earth provided, and tried to show reciprocity in caring for the land and avoiding abuse and overuse. Such lessons should be practiced personally on a daily basis. It's a lifesaver for those in recovery. And they should be practiced on a larger scale, and although that's a much tougher nut to crack, our smaller choices and intentions can make small but cumulative differences. Look up local environmental initiatives, such as green teams and native plant associations; join, learn, donate, apply. Show the Earth a little love and appreciation : ) Here's a few that I like, just for starters:
Xerces Society Invertebrate Protection: www.xerces.org
Native Plant Society of New Jersey: www.npsnj.org
Bowman's Hill Native Wildflower Preserve: www.bhwp.org
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