People & Plants.
I never quite appreciated plants as much as maybe I should have.
While out exploring I would sometimes stop to observe some, maybe try to identify a flowering one or take a photograph of a plant for looking at later on, but there was never any concerted effort to engage. It was not until I spent the last couple of austral summers out with my grandfather looking for native species of plants that I began to understand the fascination and the connection it brings.
In the Falklands, we have just under 200 recorded native species of vascular plants, this includes 14 confirmed endemics (i.e. only found in the Falklands and no where else on earth). The climate is not conducive for vast numbers of plants to thrive, with most species not able to cope with the relatively dry conditions, peaty soil, and most importantly, the constant wind. Svalbard, up in the northern most reaches of our planet at nearly 80°, hosts nearly as many native plants as the Falklands.
There has been numerous introductions of plants since the Falklands was first settled in the 18th century, especially with the beginning of farming and the need for ‘more nutritious’ grazing for sheep. Macrocarpa trees, otherwise known as Monterey Cypress, now litter the landscape, mostly around settlements and farms. With no native trees, these were planted to act as shelter and windbreaks for not only livestock, but for people too. I grew up climbing these trees as a child, with my grandmother hosting a particularly large tree in her garden perfect for establishing a treehouse and a rope swing.
It was also whilst growing up that I first began hearing stories of Native Americans. Their struggles for survival and to protect their way of life were told to me through the stories of some of their great leaders - Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse. My grandparents and my mother were particularly interested in these stories, and any opportunity that arose to learn more was taken. My grandfather owned books detailing Native American crafts and he would use these when making horse gear or constructing a new pair of moccasins. My mother took a 9-year-old me to exhibitions when we lived in Sydney, Australia which focussed on native and aboriginal ways of life.
What has this all got to do with plants? At first perhaps it is not obvious, I didn’t fully connect the dots until recently. Yet, it all has to do with land and our connection to it. Native Americans, and other indigenous peoples, are the most infamous when it comes to those who have had their connection with their land either challenged or severed completely, but there are numerous others across the world who have suffered the same fate.
My family, through their appreciation of what others have lost or struggled to hold on to, have sought to deepen their connection with our homeland. Plants play a central role in this; they cover the extent of our land and knowing what plant species grows where only deepens our connection to it. In modern times, land is most often thought of as property - something to purchase, develop or sell - but there is something which can not be brought or sold. It is only obtained through exploration, experience, appreciation and understanding.
As I hiked alongside my grandfather, while we searched the slopes of the highest mountain in the Falklands for a native species of grass, I realised how lucky I am to be able to build on this connection to my homeland. Many others can not experience these feelings, whether for displacement, opportunity or loss, and these connections have been lost, maybe not forever, but for the present at least. If you have the opportunity to deepen your connection with the land then seize it.
