Thomas Heyd

This essay discusses ways of thinking about botanic gardens that pay close attention to their particularity as designed spaces, dependent on technique, that nonetheless purport to present (and preserve) natural entities (plants). I introduce an account of what gardens are, how botanic gardens differ from other gardens, and how this particular form of garden arose in history. After this I contrast three ways of understanding the function of botanic gardens in the present time: as sites of recreation, of conservation or of encounter with nature. Finally I develop the idea that these gardens may serve as archetypes of collaboration with nature. I conclude that, in principle, botanic gardens can model alternative, creative new ways for human beings to relate to the natural environment

Present environmental degradation has led some to argue that only an appeal to selfishness will “save the environment,” allegedly because appeals to “morality” necessarily are ineffective, while others have suggested that we need a “new, environmental ethic.” If we are interested in countering the degradation of the natural environment, we need to reconsider actual morality, how it is developed, and how it may take into account human activities affecting the natural world. Ultimately, we need to develop ways of knowing that recognize the autonomy of nature

Nature and culture are usually treated as opposites. Nature, on this conception, is on the wane as a result of culture. A fresh analysis of the relation between these two terms in the light of the notion of “cultural landscapes” is needed. This account allows for nature to be understood as an important, distinctive category, even while granting the constitutive role of the culturally structured gaze. Culture and nature need not be conceived in opposition to each other, for it makes sense to speak of, and pursue, a culture of nature. These considerations have important consequences for natural heritage conservation.

Physical science is coming to an increasingly clear understanding of natural environmental changes, their causes and their effects on the landscape. Human beings have lived through significant climate variability in historical periods, and through repeated periods of relatively sudden climate change, as well asmultiple other drastic natural events in prehistory. In this paper I propose that we should take into account the cultural dimension when considering adaptation to drastic natural events, such as powerful storms (hurricanes), whose intensity may grow as a result of climate change. I discuss an example of a cultural pattern that offers an alternative conception of natural processes to the mainstream of Western societies, and point out how such alternative conceptions of the human‐natural relationship also imply alternative value systems. I conclude that a deeper understanding of the cultural dimension of human responses to drastic natural events may be of significant value in the development of resilience to events of the sort that characterise climate change.