Design with Nature at Heart
My relatives say our grandma was a part herbalist and part botanist. She never allowed anyone to cut a tree in her compound. A dendrophile of sorts.
I may have followed in her footsteps. I’m the modern-day version of her. The love for botany is in my bones. From a young age, the joy I had for nature has never seized. I would roam around our farm for many hours, lost in its beauty. The birds. The beetles. The trees-scent. The sway of crops. The flock of wild pigeons. Collecting porcupine sticks. The splosh-splosh of my gumboots as I walked. The fear of snakes and bee stings. The sensorial awareness — that I too am a part of nature made my love for nature’s beauty even more profound. The joy and love is deep deep deep.
To me, being immersed in nature, being inspired by, and designing around nature; with natural occurring resources is truly the ultimate luxury. This is perfect design. The Scandis and the Japanese get it. I think Africans got it, but Western ideals took over and influenced most of us differently. Or we just take her for granted. Not sure which. Could be both.
If only all those who don’t appreciate nature, knew her value. If only those who destroyed nature, knew her worth. They would always pay attention to Mother Earth and know when she ‘laughs’ or notice when she ‘weeps’.
Those who work in the construction industry ought to question the indiscriminate deforestation that prevails in urban, rural, and even protected areas. If they knew better, they would challenge their employers to stop the greed and havoc that comes with accelerated industrialisation in the name of modernism. They would down their tools for they know the long-term consequences that would unfold.
The very ‘hand that feeds’ the many factories with raw materials who then produce junk after junk, will stop giving. The fresh river/lake that gets used as a dump site, humans disposing all manner of industrial and chemical waste, will stop being drinkable.
Because, to respect nature is to love life. To disrespect nature is to adore death.
The planet is tormented. It is crying for help.
Who is listening to her plea? Can we not hear her gnawing as she focuses on unleashing her wrath on us all?
Haven’t you heard that Iceland’s glaciers that have been around for eons are melting? Haven’t you heard that amazing and busy bees may go extinct soon?
Who cannot hear the weeping of trees across Africa as they are lumbered for cash and charcoal?
Are you upstream dumping trash without thinking about those downstream?
Why doesn’t someone switch off the machines in the ‘heavy’ industrial and manufacturing sectors that perpetually spew non-biodegradable stuff?
I’m having a mini-headache.
Earth is distraught. Don’t you see? Is this what our generation will be known for? What is a prosperous economy if it destroys weather patterns?
What is wealth if it builds skyscrapers and superhighways but depletes natural resources that took centuries to create?
What is urbanization if trees are cut making rain to be rarer than leopards? Don’t we watch television to see the drought and famine becoming more serious every season?
What are cars if precious metals and fossil fuels are mined to oblivion?
What is homeownership (read gated community) if we are encroaching on wildlife territory, driving them away from their natural habitat? Or worse, building on large tracts of land that is better suited for agriculture?
We are all creators and consumers. All designers of the universe. But do we design with nature in mind? Do we consume with Mother Earth in mind?
Are you a savage of the environment, or are you a steward of the environment? Decide.