Botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Robin Wall Kimmerer, observes that science asks us to learn about organisms, while traditional knowledge asks us to learn from them.
She is particularly fascinated with mosses. Mosses are the oldest land plants and have figured out a lot about how to live well and survive. Mosses do not strive to be big and powerful, and are so successful all over the world in part because they are small. Because they are not good competitors with other species, they flourish by occupying spaces too small and unlikely for other plants.
Mosses are engines of biodiversity, giving more than they take: building soil, purifying water, providing homes for many invertebrates. And they’re about 1 cm tall.
After 350 million years on the planet, mosses are superb teachers of how to live within one’s means. Can we imagine learning from mosses yet? Or are we still too important for that?
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