Josephine Woolington

Where We Call Home: Lands, Seas, and Skies of the Pacific Northwest is a collection of seven essays on the natural history and human collections of seven native species in the Northwest United States. The essays connect the land and the people who live there, often incorporating the Indigenous knowledge of the Kalapuys, Haida, Yakama and Makah people. More than just providing information, the essays tell of how climate change and human interaction has affected these species and in return, affected us.

Camas are a beautiful purple flower that grows in the grasslands of southern Oregon north to British Columbia. The bulb of the flower is an important food for the native people. David Harrelson, Kalapuyan says "Our identities are tied together. To know yourself and to know a place, it becomes necessary to know both." The Camas like disturbed areas, but are being pushed out by invasive species. The Kalapuyan often did controlled burns to maintain a reciprocal relationship with the Camas, but were seen as irresponsible by settlers of the area. Now the Camas flower needs more room, unfragmented habitat that the Kalapuyan are trying to get back.

Sandhill Cranes are a beautiful sight to see, a bird that has been around for at least 2.5 million years. Their vocalizations are unique and they are wonderous in flight. They dance together. The Crane's habitat, however, has drastically changed in a short period of time due to human involvement. They've lost their winter homes, and less chicks survive. Each spring might be the last spring that we see Sandhill Cranes.

I loved the Hesquiaht story of the Yellow Cedar sisters. As Alice Paul said, "The story is so moving because it tells you that the yellow cedars used to be people. That story sums up the relationship that people have had with these trees." The people used the trees and in return made the environment around them better. The Yellow Cedars are an ancient tree, slow growing in areas that most other trees don't want to grow in. Their lineage is at least two hundred million years. These survivors are having a hard time adapting to our quickly warming world. Hopefully, these ancient trees have a few more tricks up their sleeves.

We all know the importance of bees. However, one of the native bees, the Western Bumble Bee, that enjoys frigid alpine, coastal forest, sagebrush and desert habitats and pollinates the Camas flower is in decline. Their decline is probably due to disease spread by commercially used European Honey Bees. Native bees pollinate native flowers, without the bees, we might lose even more biodiversity.

Coastal Tailed Frogs are unique to the Northwest streams of the Coast Range, Cascade Range, Columbia River Gorge, Olympic Mountains and Klamath Mountains. These frogs likely evolved 10 to 28 million years ago. Now, their homes are disappearing, the cold streams they need are warming. They have many special traits including their 'tail,' a unique way to move, they land in the water with a special belly flop. Conservation efforts plus the Coastal Tailed Frogs own survival traits will hopefully be enough to ensure their survival.

The Yakama people celebrate and thank the summer Huckleberry fruits together before heading to the mountains to pick a year's worth of berries. Huckleberries like a volcanic landscape, they are pollinated by native bees. Huckleberries feed the people and animals of the region. There are ancient berry drying sites hidden in the mountains that the Yakama people once used. The berries and the landscape thrive with fire that the Yakama people maintained for them, but the Forest Service had put a stop to. With most of their fields gone, the Yakama people are listening to their elders about the way the land was to be able to apply adaptive management plans.

Olympic Marmot are built for their Olympic Mountain habitat, adapted for steep cliffs, surrounded by ice. They hibernate, safe from predators for the winter. They have lived through many climate change events, but are struggling to keep up with climate change now. Marmots are social and have personalities, they can live for 50 years and their high whistles pierce the landscape. Olympic Marmots are important ecosystem engineers for the alpine meadows, they change the environment and affect the plant species around them. However, drier, warmer summers are changing the growing cycle of the meadow plants that the marmots feed on and use.

While I may not live in the Pacific Northwest, I have admired the land there, especially the diversity of habitats. These seven profiles of species highlight what we may lose if we don't change our habits and behaviors towards climate change. I admire the Native people's connection to the land and the knowledge they have for keeping everything in balance. These stories show the beauty, diversity and importance of these plants and animals in our lives. Written with a combination of facts, data, stories and anecdotes, these essays are easy to read, informative and enjoyable.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

… (altro)

I received a copy of this book through Early Reviewers.

I enjoyed this book, though it took me a few tries to really get started. I think i needed a long rainy weekend to slow down enough to truly appreciate this! I liked how the book was divided, each chapter felt like a solo work but also they all tied together into a whole. The discussions with experts were nice. I would have liked less personal story, and instead had some of the science more in depth, or had some geographic areas more explored. But it’s a small nit-pick. I appreciated the talk about getting closer to nature, listening & living & caring. As a person living in the Northwest, this book made me see familiar places in a new way. I would like to spend time with the author outdoors!… (altro)

I wasn't sure about this book at first, because I'm not a native of the Pacific Northwest. But I do a like a nature gazette, and I have visited the area, so why not. And this book is a reward. A detailed look at the state of ten of the area's species, this is well researched, easy to read, and animal-centred. We learn a lot about the animals, and we learn a lot about the relationship between the natural world and humans. Without ever laying it on thick, the native american's treatment of nature is compared to the europeans' treament and the perilous state of the environment at this point in history is clearly due to our explotative methods of extraction and callous disregard. Worth a read if you like this sort of thing!… (altro)