#54 The nature of rewilded communities with Jode Roberts

In this episode, we connected with Toronto-based artist, community builder, and urban rewilder, Jode Roberts. For over fifteen years, Jode has been developing national programs and campaigns at the David Suzuki Foundation. As the leader of the organization's Rewilding Communities program, he has led the development of dozens of engaging initiatives like the Butterflyway Project, the Rewilding Arts Prize, and he has engaged in collaborations with amazing groups, like the National Healing Forests Initiative. These projects have inspired thousands of Canadians in hundreds of communities to take action and reconnect with nature in their neighborhoods.With Jode, we talked about the various scales and meanings of the term rewilding, which for Jode isn’t just about native plants and pollinators returning to a neighbourhood. It’s also about encouraging people to remember that they’re part of an ecosystem and how a love of local biodiversity can build connections in a community. We also talked about the tensions that can arise when conservation and restoration of biodiversity don’t necessarily align with some people’s expectations of what a community should look like. Jode thinks a lot about the different ways that people respond to nature, and he knows that conservation isn’t just a scientific endeavour. By drawing from science, community building, art curation and creative communication Jode’s work asks us to reflect on our relationship with nature in our communities and to bring more nature into our lives. https://www.joderoberts.com/