Taking care of where we live: restoring ecosystems

What's the big idea? Orca Think introduces us to the issues making headlines in the world today. It encourages us to question, connect and take action for a better future. With those tools we can all become better citizens. Now that's smart thinking! Part of the nonfiction Orca Think series for middle-grade readers, this illustrated book introduces readers to ecological restoration and what they can do to help ecosystems in their own communities and around the world. 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. From the ground up Key Selling Points - Introduces readers to STEM concepts, such as ecology and ecosystems, ecosystem services, biodiversity, ecological degradation, climate change, deforestation and how ecological restoration works. Also looks at the role ecological restoration can play in social issues such as fighting poverty and food insecurity. - Readers will discover the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and how Indigenous knowledge is key to understanding and restoring ecosystems. - The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration launched on June 5 (World Environment Day), 2021, in response to a proposal from more than 70 countries around the world. It encourages young people to become part of #GenerationRestoration. - Features restoration projects in different ecosystems (e.g., forests, wetlands, grasslands, islands and marine ecosystems) around the world, such as the Great Green Wall in Africa (the world's largest ecological restoration project), the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami project in northwestern Pakistan (aiming to restore the region's forests and fight the effects of climate change) and the Maiden Island Reef in the Caribbean (the world's largest marine habitat restoration, including both coral reefs and mangrove habitat). - The author has a diploma in the restoration of natural systems from the University of Victoria. She spoke with leading experts in the field of ecological restoration during her research for this book. She's published two Footprints titles with Orca, What's the Buzz? and Nature Out of Balance.