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 Anna Hollerer, Junior Researcher at Carinthia University of Applied Sciences. With a background in Nature Conservation as well as Social Work, Anna's projects aim to bring humans back to Nature. One of her projects she is currently involved in is the Interreg Italia-Austria Projects BioBox – The Crossborder Biodiversity Toolbox, in which biodiversity loss in urban areas is addressed. In her free time, Anna loves to roam the world with her camera, hiking boots and a lot of time to listen to the stories of the people she meets.
Want to get involved? Contact hello@networknature.eu to suggest a book!
Book: Venomous Lumpsucker, by Ned Beauman
Related Projects: BioBox, Nature Conservation Engineer, Green Care WALD
Tell us about yourself! What role do nature and reading play in your life?
Nature and reading have always been an integral part of my life. Through books you can travel world(s), through space and time and discover parts of reality that otherwise might have stayed hidden. Nature invites you to do similar things – walking through a forest, you realize how many realities are happening simultaneously: the life cycle of an insect in a tree, the daily routine of a woodpecker, a tree's circadian rhythm. Through observing Nature and reading books, you can get insights into parts of the large network that is our life; books enable us to understand ourselves from the most private thought one can have to global and cosmic phenomena, Nature grounds us in the moment, reminding us that we are not only observers but also (and most importantly) part of the network of nature itself.
Which book did you pick and why?
I chose Venomous Lumpsucker, by Ned Beauman, a dystopian outlook on the near future, told in a unique, pointed, and sharply funny way. The story invites the reader to reflect about the global trajectory of politics and trade with nature conservation. The story feels as if taken from the daily newspapers at times.
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 whole book was an echo chamber of concerns for someone active in nature conservation. One scene that struck me especially was at the end of the book. One of the main characters, determined to change his ways and the destructive policy of his work, was lured back into the old habits again through promised luxuries and money.
It connects with me as it highlights, for me, the difficulty of changing habits. Changing habits is not comfortable and can mean changes that are scary. It is not easy to do so without a community to support this path and it can be too easy to dismiss the wish to change and stay in our old, destructive ways. In my work I often wonder what is needed to make changes less scary, more approachable and make people understand that together we can create a more liveable world for all.
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?
The topics addressed by the book are what nature conservation tries to tackle: monetarisation of nature, exploitation of natural resources, and how the technological advances of AI have the potential to destroy the planet. The book does not offer any solutions or hopeful outlooks, and I find it powerful because of exactly this. As important as a narrative of hope and change is, it should not obscure the fact that the decisions made by politicians and other decision makers all too often favour economic progress and financial gains for few over the wellbeing of many and the conservation of nature.
If you were recommending this book to a colleague or a friend within the conservation community, what key takeaway or message would you highlight?
Science fiction can be a powerful tool to envision both the best and worst scenarios of the coming world. We need to decide which vision we want to see become reality and figure out together what we need to do collectively to get there.
