What is NetworkNature Reads?
#NetworkNatureReads is inspired by #ReadingRainbow and the #NewYorkTimes #ByTheBook series, both of which spread a love of reading by highlighting stand out books and the people who love them. Our goal is to do the same, but with a #naturebasedsolutions flavor. Every month, we will feature one book selected by a NetworkNature member.
We believe that literature widens perspectives and can foster connection with human and environmental communities. Read Wild Geese by Mary Oliver if you aren’t sure what we mean.
This month’s interviewee is Olga Tsaplina. Olga is working as a Junior Communications Officer at ICLEI Europe. Before joining ICLEI, Olga has spent four years in majestic Kenya, supporting the urban sustainability and community projects at UN-Habitat’s Headquarters in Nairobi. Through her international experience, Olga has been given a chance to collaborate with communities across all continents, spanning the Kichwa community in Ecuador, through to Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.Now, she is supporting the projects in Europe bringing her fascination of the world and the wonders it has as a comms specialist.
Want to get involved? Contact hello@networknature.eu to suggest a book!
Book The Serviceberry: An Economy of Gifts and Abundance by Robin Wall Kimmerer
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Interview Questions
Please open a new document and answer the questions below in 5-10 sentences. Share the document with us along with a picture of yourself. We will edit and schedule for publication!
- Tell us about yourself! What role do nature and reading play in your life?
I’ve always been an “urban child”, if you can call it that – born in a smaller town, I intentionally worked my way toward bigger and bigger cities, finished my studies in two capital cities and later worked in the third. When you grow up, cities feel like these exciting, vibrant organisms full of opportunity. However, over time, I realised that cities are only truly good places to live when they don’t become suffocating concrete jungles, and when the food that nourishes us comes from local people and clean, healthy farms. That’s something I learned to appreciate as I became more responsible for my own lifestyle and the decisions shaping it.
In my family and circle of friends, reading has always been almost a community-building ritual. Books helped me adapt to new environments and feel at home wherever I went. In Nairobi, my friends and I ran a book club for junior development professionals – both Kenyans and expats. We met once or twice a month and focused on African and post-colonial literature. It was an experience that helped me understand both the people around me and myself better, and it’s something I’ll always cherish.
- Which book did you pick and why?
My #NetworkNature Read for this month is The Serviceberry: An Economy of Gifts and Abundance by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2024).
Why this book? Throughout my professional life, I’ve been lucky to meet people around the world who cherish their Indigenous cultural heritage. I’ve always been deeply moved by Indigenous knowledge and what it teaches us about our relationships with land, nature, its gifts – and soil. The Serviceberry is written by an American botanist from the Potawatomi Nation, who, in my understanding, offers a unique perspective on how our relationships with nature and with each other can be reimagined through the lens of reciprocal “giving”.
- Can you share a specific moment from the book that resonates with you personally? How does it connect to your work with Nature-based Solutions projects?
The book invites us to step away from a consumerist view of nature and the food that sustains us, and instead imagine what both the environment and society could gain if we left behind the extractive mindset and entered a “gift economy”, where the real currency is relationships. That idea aligns strongly with Nature-based Solutions work, where cooperation, reciprocity, and long-term thinking are essential.
There’s also a moment I found both funny and insightful: Kimmerer recalls giving a lecture at a university that was planning to rename its Department of Natural Resources to something less extractive. She jokingly proposed “Department of Nature Gifts”, which sounded almost like something from a Harry Potter book – and yet it made a powerful point. Language matters. The words we use shape how we see the world and what we believe is acceptable to take from it.
- In what ways do you see the themes or lessons from the book aligning with the goals of conservation and the challenges we face in combating biodiversity loss today?
To me, the Serviceberry is a thought-provoking exploration of the gift economy in the natural world. Using the example of how the serviceberry tree and birds support one another, Kimmerer illustrates how systems based on sharing, generosity, and mutual care already exist in nature – and how we might learn from them. Unlike market transactions, a gift economy depends on trust rather than immediate compensation. That way of thinking is very relevant for conservation, where long-term stewardship and reciprocity with nature matter more than short-term gains.
- If you were recommending this book to a colleague or a friend within the conservation community, what key takeaway or message would you highlight?
I’d highlight the reminder that many of the principles we talk about today – eating locally, following the seasons, caring about where our food comes from, and avoiding waste – are not new ideas. They are deeply rooted in Indigenous traditions of caring for Mother Nature. The “gift economy” concept helps us reconnect with those values and see them not as lifestyle trends, but as essential ways of living in balance with the land.
