PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #97: Restoration Philosophy and Education.
Presiding: S. Cunningham
Friday, August 9. 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM. Mohave Meeting Room, TCC.

Restorashyn: An ecofeminist perspective on ecological restoration.

Palamar, C¹, Metcalf, J^*,1, ¹ Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

ABSTRACT- In most cases, restoration plans are based on an understanding of historic species composition immediately prior to European settlement. The exclusory nature of widely accepted restoration processes often actively eliminates not just invasive species, but also non-invasive, non-native and displaced native species. These exclusory activities echo patterns of domination and degradation that led to a need for restoration in the first place. Although the domination present in restoration stems from an earnest desire to repair harms inflicted by human carelessness, at the same time, it enforces a human conception of the ideal landscape. Restoration tends to continue patterns of domination and actively pursues what in many cases we can only assume to be the ideal state of the land. Thus, we propose that an expanded tolerance within restoration is necessary. To develop this more tolerant restoration, one may turn to the pragmatic ethics of ecofeminism. Paying attention to ecofeminist concepts such as inclusivism and pluralism, allows restorationists to execute projects that include an expanded variety of species. Although domination in any restoration is unavoidable, an expanded ecofeminist conceptualization of restoration, a restorashyn, attempts to reduce the presence of overt human domination of the land, and ultimately means that the species composition will not be purely native. Instead, it will both tolerate and promote a diverse mix of indigenous and displaced native as well as non-invasive, non-native species, thereby providing an increased overall biodiversity. For example, in northwest Ohio, although the purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is not native, it is aptly suited to both the soil types and climate, and readily adapts to the land without becoming invasive. Its inclusion in prairies where it was not found historically expands botanical diversity while benefiting fauna as well; Echinacea purpurea is a food source for several species of indigenous butterflies as well as hummingbirds and various nectaring insects. Thus, the deliberate or incidental inclusion of non-native, non-invasive species advocated by an ecofeminist restorashyn can ultimately augment the biological diversity and success of restoration projects.

KEY WORDS: ecofeminism, restoration philosophy