Perreault Magazine - 90 -
Why Emotion Matters in Conservation Science
At this Earthwatch lecture, Dr. Anastasia Steffen and Dr. Wallace J. Nichols discuss the role of emotion in conservation and neuroconservation. Explorer Paul Rose chairs.
“Why Emotion Matters in Conservation Science” was chaired by explorer, polar guide, TV presenter, and Earthwatch ambassador Paul Rose, who revealed how his passion for nature had begun at the age of 11 when the exploits of his hero, Jacques Cousteau, had inspired him to become a diver.
Rose spoke to the audience at the Ondaatje Theatre, as well as to an international audience listening to the evening via Webinar. Earthwatchers were also able to keep in touch through live Twitter updates.
Paul introduced the first speaker, Dr. Anastasia Steffen, who leads an Earthwatch project studying the landscape and historical use of the Valles Caldera in New Mexico, a beautifully scenic volcanic area with grass valleys, hot springs, and streams.
Most of the Valles Caldera is above 8,500 feet (2,600 meters) in elevation, which is too high for agriculture, and until 2000 it was privately owned. Dr. Steffen’s team, with the Valles Caldera Trust, is tasked with preserving the cultural and natural heritage of the area while providing public access.
“The word people often use for these areas is ‘pristine,’” she said. “In reality the area is brutally logged and heavily grazed – but we keep using that word, pristine. I think people use it to describe a healthy, safe environment. You can recognize in the Valles Caldera that you’re in a safe place. There’s water, resources, shelter. Consequently, we recognize it as beautiful. I don’t know what coyotes think when they find a safe place, but I imagine it’s something akin to love.”
The Valles Caldera is protected and relatively undisturbed, but it’s not unused. The Holocene period – an 8,000-year span – saw people thrive here.
“It’s important to realize that the Archaic period was the last period when human adaptation here was sustainable,” says Dr. Steffen.
But as beautiful as the area is, it has also suffered. In June 2011, a forest fire burned a third of the Valles Caldera. “It was a time of pain, grief, and anxiety. We recognize a landscape that is not safe. But there is tremendous relief in watching the green sprout back again.”
Dr. Steffen noted the importance of managing our emotions in the face of environmental challenges and stressed the value of fostering positive connections with our environment to recognize the need to preserve it. “Fear and denial won’t help us,” she said.