Claim your square of this planet

Find it. Claim it. Protect it. Because it works.

Atlantic sturgeon are stirring up muck in one of Sweden’s largest rivers for the first time in 100 years. Climate-tackling and flood-reducing beavers are making babies across Britain and returning to tribal lands in California. Endangered orangutans and pangolins have returned to hundreds of acres of community-reforested land in Borneo. Wild Atlantic salmon are returning to rivers in both Maine and England after dam removals. Diving petrels are nesting on a Chilean island, the first in 40 years, after scientists mimicked their squawking with megaphones.

These are just a few recent success stories.

And what they all have in common is people: volunteers, scientists, environmental nonprofits, recreationists, tribes and government agencies, all of whom saw a chance to claim a square of this planet and protect it with all the hope in their hearts.

Photo by Mark Ma on Unsplash

We know that one small refuge and just one person’s advocacy can make it or break it for a species, sometimes generations later. Just look at how the California sea otter made a comeback 50 years after marine biologist and Pacific Grove mayor Julia Platt set aside a mere 11 acres of seafloor for invertebrates like sea slugs and abalone.

So, in this inaugural post for Substack, I’m introducing my own environmental mantra: “Claim your square” of this planet. Your “square” can be whatever you decide it to be, whether it’s your yard, your neighborhood, your local park or beach, your state, your country, your continent, or your world.

What does “claim your square” really mean? It means:

• Volunteer for restoration groups that protect and restore your square.

• Advocate for policies that protect your “square,” like those who helped turn California’s stance on beavers.

• Donate to groups like Mossy Earth or The Nature Conservancy that buy and restore sensitive land.

• Join a recreation group devoted to protecting places you love, like the Swedish Anglers Association that was instrumental in restoring sturgeon.

• Restore what you own, whether it’s rewilding your lawn or planting a few butterfly-friendly plants. How about a Miyawaki forest at your neighborhood school?

• Elevate success stories by subscribing to and sharing newsletters like these (thank you) so that more readers worldwide understand and are inspired by the reality that human ingenuity and cooperation are overcoming obstacles and solving environmental problems daily.

Why now?

News about our successes is woefully scarce. Most mainstream news is stuck on the broken record of “it’s hot” or beating the “recycling is failing” dead horse. Conflict-based journalism often leaves us feeling defeated, useless and fearful. I and many others propose that we need reminders of our successes more than ever to ensure we’re mobilizing all able bodies in the fight for our future.

Earth Hope will fill your inbox with inspiring stories. We’ll be aggregating the best news, talking to conservationists, and celebrating every single success we find, no matter how small. I invite you now: Allow yourself to feel some hope.

Photo by mana5280 on Unsplash