No. 1: The Danger of Nostalgia

Even if we didn’t grow up with a yard, chances are that we remember a critter that we connected with in a creek, at the park, in the woods, on the playground. Take a moment. Think back. What’s yours? Ranchers, politicians, biologists, farmers, businessmen, teachers, you name it, we all have one. We have memories about the number of fish in the creek, the rabbits and foxes darting just out of sight, about how stinky the creek was when the lamprey spawned, or how many toads we caught as a kid. An invasion of lady bugs, the hordes of fireflies, or the bats that lived in the attic. It's something we all have in common, no matter our background. No matter if we were nice to the wild things or not-so-nice. They informed our childhood. We had a relationship with them. 

For me it's the monarch. Growing up in the upper Midwest meant many, many monarchs. They were a commonplace sight, but beautiful every time. I can still see them now floating through the air while I rode my bike through the neighborhood…..ahhhh…..childhood summers.

I realized a couple of years ago, as I was walking a property with a landowner for work that all of these landowner conversations had hints of nostalgia and many of the stories ended "yeah, we saw lots of them as kids....you just don't see 'em like that anymore." And I realized my monarch memory ended the same way.

We are too close, dangerously close, to too many animals being remembered with nostalgia, as though its an inevitable outcome. One that we’ve accepted because for whatever reason, things just aren’t the way they used to be.

Nostalgia is appropriate for fads in pop culture, be it chia pets, pet rocks, jelly bracelets, the Muppet Show, MTV, the Spice Girls. It’s good for memories like sleepovers with your best friends, the scent of your grandma’s kitchen, or the feeling of your first kiss. Nostalgia comes with a whisper of sad acceptance that we can’t have it ever again. Nostalgia is not an appropriate feeling for the wild things.

We cannot afford to be nostalgic about our wildlife.

There is no reason why any of the critters that we loved as children should not be here today. And the fact that we remember so many of them with nostalgia is alarming, signaling that all is not right in the world.

Wildlife play important roles in the workings of the world; the world that sustains us. Some roles we don’t yet understand, while others we do. Their presence means nature and the planet are rolling along like they should be and keeping us happy and healthy at the same time.

When it comes to the wild things,don't cave to the sweet song of nostalgia. If you liked all the frogs you saw when you were young, go out and help a frog cross the road like these dedicated folks. 

Everyone makes a difference. If you have wet spot in your yard, add some native plants, be careful with mowing, and keep an eye out. They’ll find it. If you liked butterflies, plant native plants that butterfly’s love. If you don’t have a yard, find a group that is working on the local creek for fish or planting native trees. Take it from this biologist whom worked in the most urban district of her state. It really does matter. If you can’t get to the creek, write your elected official or sign a petition. Let someone who has the passion, the time, and the know-how to use your name and your comments to their maximum benefit. 

In it’s worst form nostalgia is apathy and sometimes I worry we have become too comfortable to care; ready for wistful nostalgia to let us off the hook. The gateway to apathy, I have realized, is nostalgia.