Watching the slow return of native pollinators to my yard changed my perspective on urgency

I stopped using pesticides and planted local wildflowers five years ago, expecting quick results but saw barely any bees the first two seasons. It was discouraging, and I almost gave up, thinking my small plot didn't matter. Then, this summer, I counted over a dozen different species buzzing around, a quiet testament to how ecological recovery operates on its own timeline. It hit me that pressuring for instant outcomes in climate work might miss the point of these gradual, vital processes.

2 comments

2 Comments

dakotab182h ago

That point about ecological recovery operating on its own timeline stuck with me. I was just reading an old essay by a botanist who said we mistake slowness for absence, that life is always regrouping underground. It makes my own impatience feel pretty irrelevant.

brianh8042m ago

Kinda... but what about when the soil's too shot for anything to regroup? @dakotab18, that botanist might be optimistic. Sometimes slowness is just... stalling.