Rambunctious Garden

Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World

By: Emma Marris

Narrated by: Renee Chambliss

A paradigm shift is roiling the environmental world. For decades people have unquestioningly accepted the idea that our goal is to preserve nature in its pristine, pre-human state. But many scientists have come to see this as an outdated dream that thwarts bold new plans to save the environment and prevents us from having a fuller relationship with nature. Humans have changed the landscapes they inhabit since prehistory, and climate change means even the remotest places now bear the fingerprints of humanity. Emma Marris argues convincingly that it is time to look forward and create the "rambunctious garden," a hybrid of wild nature and human management.

In this optimistic book, listeners meet leading scientists and environmentalists and visit imaginary Edens, designer ecosystems, and Pleistocene parks. Marris describes innovative conservation approaches, including re-wilding, assisted migration, and the embrace of so-called novel ecosystems.

Rambunctious Garden is short on gloom and long on interesting theories and fascinating narratives, all of which bring home the idea that we must give up our romantic notions of pristine wilderness and replace them with the concept of a global, half-wild rambunctious garden planet, tended by us.

©2011 Emma Maris (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Interesting Environmental Theory

Marris provides interesting environmental theory on conservation and how we should go about preserving our ecosystems.

Loved the content

I really liked the content of the book. Lots of good stories and the summary of ideas in the last chapter was really good. I didn't care for the reading style, because every sentence ended in a drawn out syllable.

Did not meet personal preferences

The point of this book is a paradigm shift from how we currently see, use, and restore nature. Objectively, the points Marris makes are not all that bad, and it seems like over half the book is citing other experts, giving the ideas credit. For me, I just really dislike the tone of the writing and the reading. I find Marris's writing style and opinions to be rather pompous and unforgiving to anyone who does not share her viewpoint. The reader sounds a bit this way, as well, but that is probably simply because of the text. She also has an unpleasant habit of drawing out the last vowel of the last word in a sentence or phrase, which is rather annoying to me.

informative and entertaining

narrator was engaging and kept me listening. the story had some rough parts. I learned a great deal of information about novel eco systems and how we can preserve this rambunctious garden of earth with people

Conservation at the Cusp of Change

What did you love best about Rambunctious Garden?

The storytelling and site-specific descriptions make this scientifically rigorous book unusually memorable and meaningful.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Marris extracts from the polarized advocates (human manipulation v. hands-off of nature) direct quotes that vividly show the deep emotions and uncertainties in this unusual time of worldviews in collision.

Which character – as performed by Renee Chambliss – was your favorite?

Jessica Hellman

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

Any additional comments?

Anyone concerned about climate change will find the science stories in this book deeply disturbing, in that humans will have to get extensively involved in helping plants move north faster than they are capable of doing on their own.

Eye opening and perspective changer!

Loved it! Great read, share with everyone.
Tho, the narroraors voice can feel a bit robotic and cold.

A thorough and analytical look at novel ecosystems

Well-researched from many angles and perspectives. Excellent writing and synthesis of ideas. A must-read for anyone interested in non-native species and ecology.

Anti-science

Although the author brings up many important points to consider, she routinely denies the science behind many of these concepts in favor of controversial opinions by a single person that she interviews. She gives no valid arguments for why the science is incorrect beyond stating quotes from these (potentially uneducated) people. While the book is interesting, the science denial is concerning

A poorly worded opinion piece

Please do not let the opinions of one journalist (not scientist) guide your habitat restoration practices or invasive species management. Marris comes off as extremely ignorant about the field of restoration ecology and clearly does not know the definition of invasive species. She regularly contradicts herself and has no care for cultural practices or others viewpoints.

not an ecologist

The author on the surface makes compelling arguments, which fall flat if you have any knowledge of ecology or ecosystem functions. This is the kind of book that could do legitimate damage if someone doesn't have that knowledge going into it. This is a nice thought experiment, but it is not worth your while as an entry level book into the topic, unless you want to frustrate ecosystem management professionals like me by ignoring scientific consensus and committing ecocide.