Tend:

Biodiversity is an aspect of environmental health of which people are not generally aware. The term biodiversity refers to biological diversity either within an ecosystem– diversity of species within the system– or within a population– diversity of genetic material within one species. Both of these are important to maintaining ecological resilience which is a system’s ability to resist, survive, or adapt to structural and climatic changes while maintaining ecosystem functions. Where we come into this equation is in both the ways we choose to interact with ecosystems out in the world and the plants we choose to cultivate in and around our homes. Whether it’s through a yard, a window box, or some pots on a balcony, many of us are already interested in cultivating plants. The aim of this project is to prompt awareness within us as to what plants we are choosing to care for. In choosing to tend to plants that are native to the ecosystems in which we live, we can in part tend to the resilience of many other organisms and species within the system.