Restoring Our Ecosystems Together #GenerationRestoration
Welcome to the Ecosystem Restoration Hub, developed in collaboration with key partners for World Environment Day 2021.
You might think that ecosystem restoration is a problem only for global institutions and Governments. Yet that couldn’t be further from the truth. Imagine if we able to increase our connection with nature, especially in cities, and through this repair and restore all our ecosystems, all around the world… That is our vision throughout the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021 – 2030) and beyond!
Within this hub you will find inspirational resources on the importance of restoring our ecosystems and what we can all do to help…
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An Introduction to Ecosystem Restoration
The June '21 episode of our podcast 'EnvCast' was a World Environment Day Special, featuring an insightful discussion between two Chartered Environmentalists: Tamsin Morris CEnv of Walking-the-Talk (with particular expertise in peatland restoration), and Dougal Driver CEnv, Vice Chair of SocEnv & Chief Executive of Grown in Britain.
Watch the video version of the podcast below.
What is an Ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscapes, work together to form a bubble of life.
There are eight main types of ecosystem: Farmlands; Forests; Lakes and rivers; Grasslands and savannahs; Mountains; Oceans and coasts; Peatlands; Urban areas.
As part of the UN 2021 World Environment Day campaign, the UN have put together this useful resource which explains more about what an ecosystem is and the eight different types: A beginner’s guide to ecosystem restoration - view below.
Why Do Ecosystems Need My Help?
Nature is all around us. It starts at our doorstep and when we step outside, we are stepping into one big globally interconnected ecosystem that we are all connected to, and reliant upon. We affect it, it affects us.
We can’t live without it, but it can and does live without us, though it needs our help, and we desperately need it. More than ever: The air we breathe. The water we drink. The soil we tread upon. The green we sense, see, feel, touch, and smell. The plants, animals and minerals that share this planet with us, we need them so much.
"People and the planet are only as healthy as the ecosystems we all depend on. Bringing degraded ecosystems back to life – for example by planting trees, cleaning up riverbanks, or simply giving nature space to recover – increases their benefits to society and biodiversity. Without reviving ecosystems, we cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals or the Paris Climate Agreement. But ecosystems are also complex and highly varied, and their restoration needs careful planning and patient implementation." (UN, 2021)
More on why we need urgent action to restore our ecosystems, with expert insight from Chartered Environmentalists, can be viewed below.
Get Involved
The UN’s Ecosystem Restoration Playbook outlines three pathways to getting involved in ecosystem restoration during the UN Decade and beyond. They are:
- Taking action such as starting or support an on-the-ground restoration project
- Making smart choices like buying only sustainable products and changing diets
- Raising your voice in support of ecosystem conservation and restoration
Some resources to help you take these actions can be found below!
More Resources
Nature and Wellbeing
People’s engagement with nature: Reflecting on ten years of the Natural England MENE survey
Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE)
Thriving With Nature: A Guide For Everyone (WWF & Mental Health Foundation)
Mind Resources // nature and mental health
Taking Practical Action
Ecosystem Restoration Playbook: A practical guide to healing the planet (UN)
Thriving With Nature: A Guide For Everyone (WWF & Mental Health Foundation)
Wildlife Trusts:
There are a number of resources to help environmental professionals in their work, including:
An ecosystem approach to urban forestry Arboricultural Association webinar series: part 1, part 2, part 3
Case studies include: Inside Willmott Dixon’s First Biodiversity Net Gain Study
Making Smart Choices: Sustainable Living
12 Ways to Live More Sustainably (Center for Biological Diversity)
WWF guidance on living sustainably
Campaign Partners
Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM)
Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA)
Wildlife Trusts – check out their ’30 Days Wild’ initiative throughout June each year
Image credits: Pixabay (all)
