Re-knitting landscapes and gardens

I'm thinking a lot about connecting our "yards" "landscapes" and "gardens" to our larger neighborhoods and surroundings, whether they're city, suburban, or rural.

It seems to me that this is becoming more essential than ever.

Thinking about an upcoming talk, it's seeming to me that the message about gardening as stewardship as well as about restoration and healing of landscapes should be even more in the forefront of my messages to whatever audience is there.

I searched around yesterday for an old sticker that I had from many years ago -- it was from Germany, in my post-doc days. I can see it clearly, as it was taped to a file cabinet in my study in our old house in the Piedmont.  I'm quite sure I kept it in the consolidation here, along with various others, but its physical presence has eluded me so far.

It was an image of a great blue heron (or possibly a stork), with the message, loosely translated, as biodiversity reflects living space (lebensraum).  Habitat diversity = wildlife diversity.

Ravine forest below the house, under restoration

As I'm trying to take a few more photos to include in next weekend's talk, I'm thinking about this.