Every year, members of the restoration community—researchers, practitioners, students, and layfolk—gather for an event hosted by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER). SER sets the internationally accepted standards for ecological restoration, a field that is still very new in the world of natural sciences. This “World Conference on Ecological Restoration” brings together knowledge holders and knowledge seekers to discuss and learn from each other, with the overall goal of furthering the field of ecological restoration as an international community. This year’s Conference wrapped up in September in Darwin, Australia with 80 countries represented across the 1000 participants. At the end of that Conference, delegates issued a Call to Action “to reconnect people and nature and deliver restoration on a global scale.”

The Call to Action focused on 4 primary goals for improving global ecological restoration.

1. Involving Indigenous Peoples and local knowledge more heavily and fully in all levels of restoration efforts.

2. Engaging all levels of society in ecological restoration to mitigate climate disasters, build community resilience and recover lost ecosystem services.

3. Encouraging government policies and funding to support and participate in ecological restoration.

4. Urging the business community to become more involved in not just mitigating or reducing negative impacts of industry, but proactively investing in ecological restoration and natural resources.

The SER 2023 Call to Action speaks towards all people, in all places through society, government, businesses, and local and Indigenous communities. In short, it calls out you and me.

While this document has no enforceable authority anywhere, it does inspire a personal commitment to engage with others across the world to further ecological restoration efforts. By engaging in restoration in your home, you join a global community who have dedicated themselves to improving ecosystems to secure a better, healthier world for current and future generations. Consider this global call to action as a personal call to commitment—commit to finding some small way you can further ecosystem recovery and protection in your own life.

It can be intimidating to think about conservation on a small scale. Afterall, most people think of large national parks, wilderness areas, and nature reserves when they think about conservation. While these areas are important places for conservation and habitat restoration, they are not the only places. You can participate in habitat conservation and recovery on your property. Planting native species, reducing water-intensive landscape plants, providing pollinator habitat, implementing water conservation practices, removing invasive species---these are just some of the many ways you and I can promote restoration in our own communities. Volunteering with entities conducting habitat restoration is another great way to participate. Finally, encouraging local government to promote natural resource conservation and fund habitat restoration projects is another great way to be involved.

So, in light of this Call to Action by the international ecological restoration community, let’s consider how we can take this message and apply it in our homes. Join the global community and commit to encouraging the creation, protection, and improvement of natural resources in your local communities. It takes all of us to secure a sustainable world.

Check out the full SER Call to Actionhere.