Words as weapons, sharper than knives. The lyrics from Devil Inside by INXS sum up how powerful words are. And while it may be debatable whether the pen is mightier than the sword, words can still wound.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in our use of words in nature and the animal world. Anthropomorphism is a literary device that attributes human characteristics to non-human entities, such as animals and plants.
Nature and the animal world are regularly used to explain the worst traits of humans. For example, badgering is used to describe constantly pestering and bothering somebody. A dishonest and underhand person is said to be as sly as a fox, while the word snake is used to describe a deceitful, untrustworthy person. A contemptible person who deserts his or her friends is a rat. A grumpy person with a sharp tongue is often called a briar or a nettle. A shark is a person who preys on others.
Throughout history certain wild animals have been vilified; they are to be feared and destroyed. Wolves commonly feature in fairy tales – the predatory, sly wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, for example, or the big, bad wolf in The Three Little Pigs. While wild animals in storybooks may be metaphors for people – stranger danger in Little Red Riding Hood – they also help to attribute human characteristics to animals and foster a fear of the wilderness.
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The vilification continues to this day in modern cinema – Jaws, Piranha, The Edge, The Grey are just some of the films that had people preyed upon by wildlife.
Othering is the process of excluding and marginalising somebody or group of people. We have othered nature, treating it as if it’s different, alien and marginalising it, demonising it. Once you demonise something, it is easy to discount it, diminish it and undermine its right to exist. Various wildlife, such as foxes, are now routinely deemed as vermin.
No wonder there is a serious disconnect with nature and the animal world and that we find ourselves in the middle of a biodiversity crisis.
Nowhere has this been more apparent than in commentary that follows any mild suggestion to reintroduce an extinct wild species. It wasn’t just the furore that followed Eamon Ryan’s remarks in 2019 that the reintroduction of wolves could help control the deer population and rewild parts of the countryside, it was the ridicule that spoke volumes.
It’s not as if wolves haven’t been reintroduced elsewhere. Wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone Park in 1995 and have helped to limit the population of deer and other ruminants who thin the forests. And for those who say Ireland is too small to accommodate wolves, the Netherlands – much smaller and more densely populated – saw the return of wolves in 2019 after an absence of 140 years.
But this isn’t an argument to reintroduce wolves – it is about our attitude to nature conservation and protection of any wild species as evidenced by the ongoing poisoning and shooting of reintroduced birds of prey. The white-tailed eagle reintroduction programme, started in Killarney National Park in 2007, is just one example.
The truth is that Ireland is not only a laggard when it comes to species reintroduction and rewilding, but in the whole area of nature education. The reaction to the Green Party General Election manifesto pledge to introduce a pilot forest schools model to foster a respect for nature among young people in Ireland was, again, very telling.
The usual “tree-hugging nonsense”, “woke nonsense”, “brainwashing the kids into their green socialist agenda” were just some of the comments.
While some of the opprobrium may be because it was proposed by the Green Party (which wasn’t exactly topping any poll), the overall dismissal was not just disappointing, it was baffling that so many think a simple proposal to introduce an educational measure to connect children with nature is not a good idea.
Again, it’s not as if this doesn’t work elsewhere. Forest School is a model of schooling for young children that has proven to be successful in Scandinavia and is becoming increasingly popular in the UK.
Apart from teaching children about the great outdoors and fostering an interest in, and love of nature and wildlife, forest schools adopt a holistic approach to education with benefits such as fostering resilience and independent thinking, building confidence and self-esteem, encouraging independent thinking, nurturing emotional intelligence, as well as physical development, teamwork and communication skills.
[ Preschools without walls: why children need outdoor playOpens in new window ]
At a time when there are genuine concerns about the amount of time children are spending on tablets, phones and computers, we should be actively encouraging them to switch off from screens and social media by creating alternatives that will engage and develop them and let them experience the real world.
Why shouldn’t forest schools or other methods of nature connection work in Ireland? Maybe we have listened to too many fairy tales. It’s time to stop believing them.
Karen Ciesielski is the co-ordinator of the Environmental Pillar
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