#008: Rewilding the Denuded w/ Kelden Formosa

Javelinas and tarantulas and bees, oh my! Nick invites on Kelden Formosa, the podcast's first guest, to discuss what it means to "rewild" nature. Kelden is an amateur botanist, long distance trekker, tree lover, and Canada's best 5th grade teacher. He argues that we humans spend a lot of time denuding the natural world of its original biodiversity, and it's time to let those forlorn tarantulas and complex fungal networks work without our (un)heroic attempts to tame nature according to our own image and preference. Rewilding is a radical openness to the beauty, and sometimes bizarreness, of God's plan for creation.
Have a question, topic idea, gardening tip, anything? Email us at [email protected]. We'd love to give you a sprout out!
LINKS

• Psalm 19: "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork..."
• The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben. [He] shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware.
• Laudato Si' by Pope Francis: "Although it is true that we Christians have at times incorrectly interpreted the Scriptures, nowadays we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the Earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures. The biblical texts are to be read in their context, with an appropriate hermeneutic, recognizing that they tell us to ‘till and keep’ the garden of the world (cf. Gen 2:15). ‘Tilling’ refers to cultivating, ploughing or working, while ‘keeping’ means caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving. This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature."
• Humans as hybrids in Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.
• And what's a javelina, anyway?
• On the Eden Revisited podcast, we talk a lot about our experiences in the University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education program. Click here to learn more.