Ideas worth spreading

Nature is everywhere -- we just need to learn to see it

1,583,347 views | Emma Marris • TEDSummit

How do you define "nature?" If we define it as that which is untouched by humans, then we won't have any left, says environmental writer Emma Marris. She urges us to consider a new definition of nature -- one that includes not only pristine wilderness but also the untended patches of plants growing in urban spaces -- and encourages us to bring our children out to touch and tinker with it, so that one day they might love and protect it.

How do you define "nature?" If we define it as that which is untouched by humans, then we won't have any left, says environmental writer Emma Marris. She urges us to consider a new definition of nature -- one that includes not only pristine wilderness but also the untended patches of plants growing in urban spaces -- and encourages us to bring our children out to touch and tinker with it, so that one day they might love and protect it.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Go outside! Make a commitment to spend a certain number of minutes outside every week. Ideally, make at least some of these minutes about exploring and noticing, rather than exercising. If you have kids, get them involved, too. A great initial project would be to try to identify the species of every tree on your block. Or hang a bird feeder and keep a list of species that come by. Or find a local piece of "wasteland" and take some photos of the plants and animals there. (Always be careful — some fantastic urban wildernesses also feature sharp broken glass, rusty wire and the like.)

Plan a weekend trip to non-park nature. Identify a public area within a day's drive where the crowds are thinner and the opportunities for interactive experience greater. In the US, start by contacting your local state fish and game office, forestry service office, or BLM office to learn more about fishing, hunting, swimming holes, mushroom picking, rock or pine cone collecting, and in some places, even making a bonfire on the beach!

About the speaker

Emma Marris

Environmental writer

See speaker profile

Emma Marris is a writer focusing on environmental science, policy and culture, with an approach that she paints as being "more interested in finding and describing solutions than delineating problems, and more interested in joy than despair."

Charles C. Mann | Alfred A. Knopf, 2005 | Book

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A fascinating tour through what we know about how humans changed North America before Europeans arrived. What they saw as a 'virgin wilderness' was anything but. It is a terribly sad story too, since the disease and violence of contact have often obscured the richness of the past.

Emma Marris | Bloomsbury USA, 2011 | Book

The Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World

This is my book about how conservation is changing in the Anthropocene. It starts with the realization that there is no one historically correct state for any ecosystem in a dynamic world marked by human influence for thousands of years but then reframes this realization as an opportunity to do more conservation in more places with more tools—and then reports on the people pushing the boundaries with assisted migration, rewilding, novel ecosystems and more.

Emma Marris | Slate, 2014 | Article

"Let Kids Run Wild in the Woods"

This may be the most read story I’ve ever written. It is a call to let kids interact with nature more in our public spaces, and it touched a nerve online. It starts with a story about a kid who picks up some rocks and put them in his pocket…

Wiley-Blackwell | 2013 | Book

Novel Ecosystems: Intervening in the New Ecological World Order

If you are especially intrigued with novel ecosystems, you might try this scholarly edited volume covering the emerging subject. I was one of the co-authors, and the rest include some of the world’s experts on conservation, restoration, paleoecology, and more. Fair warning: this is a scholarly book, so it is written in a more technical style.

Nathanael Johnson | Rodale Books, 2016 | Book

Unseen City: The Majesty of Pigeons, the Discreet Charm of Snails & Other Wonders of the Urban Wilderness

Nate is a friend of mine, and I adore his new book, where he manages to convince you that some of the most 'boring' city plants and animals are absolutely fascinating and worthy of your close attention. Even more crucially, he offers tips and techniques for learning how to see your own block as a wonderland of mysteries to solve and natural history to record. I bought a hand lens after reading it and now can look at cool bugs and mosses wherever I encounter them. Highly recommended.

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The Children & Nature Network

Author Richard Louv wrote 'Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder' in 2005. The response was enormous, and adults keen to get kids outside to play started this group, which supports programs to get kids outside and hosts a large number of resources for parents and educators.

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Urban Blazers

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Audubon Day Camp

This is where I learned how to identify a Douglas-Fir cone as a kid in Seattle!

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Outdoor Afro

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Texas Children in Nature

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Children in Nature Collaborative

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GirlVentures

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Latino Outdoors

Learn more

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Go outside! Make a commitment to spend a certain number of minutes outside every week. Ideally, make at least some of these minutes about exploring and noticing, rather than exercising. If you have kids, get them involved, too. A great initial project would be to try to identify the species of every tree on your block. Or hang a bird feeder and keep a list of species that come by. Or find a local piece of "wasteland" and take some photos of the plants and animals there. (Always be careful — some fantastic urban wildernesses also feature sharp broken glass, rusty wire and the like.)

Plan a weekend trip to non-park nature. Identify a public area within a day's drive where the crowds are thinner and the opportunities for interactive experience greater. In the US, start by contacting your local state fish and game office, forestry service office, or BLM office to learn more about fishing, hunting, swimming holes, mushroom picking, rock or pine cone collecting, and in some places, even making a bonfire on the beach!