Taking Care of Where We Live: Restoring Ecosystems

Healthy ecosystems are important to the more than eight million different species that live on Earth, including humans.

But over the centuries humans have damaged and changed the environment that we all depend on for our survival. We cut down forests, dam rivers, build cities and pollute the air, water and soil. That's where ecological restoration comes in. It aims to reverse the degradation of ecosystems, like grasslands, mountains and forests, on every continent and in every ocean. These are big goals, so everyone will need to step up!

In Taking Care of Where We Live, readers will explore restoration projects, big and small, around the world, from the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami program in Pakistan to the Green Corridors project in Colombia. They'll also find out how to take small actions for the ecosystems in their own communities, such as learning about the land where they live and the people who lived there, planting native plants and trees and helping to remove invasive species. By putting our best human qualities together, we can repair some of the human damage to the planet and help make the its ecosystems healthy again.

The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Merrie-Ellen Wilcox is a writer and editor in Victoria, British Columbia. She is the author of What's the Buzz? and Nature Out of Balance in the Orca Footprints series. When she's not at her desk or reading books, she's usually working in her garden, watching bees and birds, and planting even more native plants. She studied ecological restoration at the University of Victoria.

Amanda Key is is an illustrator and graphic designer from Nanaimo, British Columbia. Her art centers around the natural landscape of Vancouver Island and draws from her childhood spent finding flowers, hiking trails and spotting animals. With a strong focus on observation and natural science, each design piece offers a chance to learn a bit more about her surroundings.