Rewilding Our Wellbeing
My ability to remain still, patient, and alert — attentive to every noise, sudden movement, or smell — is continuously tested by wildlife. Wild animals teach me every day. Each species, each individual, demonstrates a different way of life. They show me what people overlook when we forget to pause, remain in awe, and appreciate the wonderful planet we call home.
For me, it all began with a ten-year-old camera. Once I began taking pictures of wild animals with a secondhand Nikon from my mom, I realized what I was missing out on. Amidst the details, in every wink, whisker, and wingspan that stares back at me through the lens, I reconnect with the Earth. I am reminded of what we have in common with other species, with those beyond human.
Every picture grounds me and solidifies the one fact I am sure of: I am nature.
Tania taking pictures in the Colombian Amazon. Photo by Claudia Roa.
The wildlife conservation field is known for protecting animals and their habitats. The name seems to tell the whole story: we protect animals for their own sake, so their populations and species can thrive for many more generations. Some of the largest nonprofits in the world, like World Wildlife Fund (WWF), were founded upon this idea. They set out to ‘protect places and species threatened by human development.’
This approach, however, has led to controversy. If we only focus on animals, people get left out. Ironically, by shutting out the very people we need to ensure the safety of wild animals, conservation efforts fail. Those who live amongst the species in need of protection will ultimately decide whether they live or die. Other organizations, such as African Wildlife Foundation, know this and have adopted a different, more holistic approach: “addressing not only direct threats to wildlife like poaching and habitat loss, but also working with communities and governments to ensure that African conservation is truly African owned and led.” Without the human aspect, wildlife conservation lacks its greatest tool. Without us, there would be no wildlife conservation. Similarly, without wildlife, there would be no us.
Female elephant seal on the beach. Photo by Tania Roa.
Take pollinators for example. You may have heard that bees are pollinators, and you may have also heard of one famous species in particular - the honey bee. However, the honey bee is not the most important pollinator. Bumblebees, butterflies, bats, birds, beetles, moths, flies, and even slugs are also crucial pollinators. As these different animals search for food and enjoy the riches flowers freely provide, they give back to the flower by aiding in reproduction. Pollinators feast, mate, or find shelter as flowers stick pollen onto their bodies. The pollen carries a recipe for new life, and thanks to the free transportation services pollinators provide, the plant finds new areas to produce seeds. This ingenious, mutually beneficial process contributes to 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat. Most of our crops, over ¾ of them, rely on pollinators. To ensure the longevity of our food sources, we must protect wildlife, and that’s only one example of the many Earth cycles we rely on - cycles that exist and continue because of animals.
Monarch butterfly outside a residential home. Photo by Tania Roa.
Conserving lands and oceans contributes to our overall well-being, not just physical health. Studies demonstrate a strong correlation between exposure to natural scenery and improvements in mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Indigenous cultures have known this for centuries. Although I’ve always loved the outdoors, I didn’t embrace this correlation until wildlife photography entered my life. Anyone can appreciate wild animals and their indispensable contributions, through photography or other activities such as whale watching, birding, snorkeling, or watching nature documentaries. However you rebuild your connection with the Earth, do it wholeheartedly.
Eriophoroa spider. Photo by Tania Roa.
Learning the traits and abilities of other species shows us Earth’s intricacies. It humbles us by reminding us we are not superior to any other animal. After all, we don’t dig extensive underground tunnels that support diverse plant life like pocket gophers. We don’t maintain balanced insect population levels and contribute to decomposition like spiders. We don’t signify the quality of a wetland through our varied eating habits like herons. While we may never be able to live up to the unique standards of other species, we can contribute to our planet’s balance in our own way.
We can decide to protect the environment we live in.
Night heron hunting. Photo by Tania Roa.
During my time at Tufts University, I volunteered at the on-campus Wildlife Clinic. I prepared food and cleaned housing units for animals in rehabilitation including hawks, beavers, opossums, and freshwater turtles. Animals were taken to the clinic by people who found them suffering in yards, parking lots, or on the road. Witnessing the tragedy of animals in extreme pain, including some who didn’t survive, and the interspecies empathy by clinic staff taught me two things. One there is a lot of avoidable suffering in our world, but we can prevent some of it by investing more heavily into human-centered wildlife conservation. Two, we are capable of caring for nature and altering the current destructive course perpetuated by many cultures.
Seagull chick on top of a plastic glove near its nest. Photo by Tania Roa.
It’s easy to take other species for granted since they don’t demand attention in courts or have representation in governmental spaces like we do. When we consider all the moving pieces in our environment, and what it takes to cultivate a thriving ecosystem, we find it harder to neglect how intertwined our health is with other animals’. Intentional observation, nature meditations, and the adoption of nature’s lessons in our daily lives bring us one step closer to our roots buried deep in Mother Earth’s soil. Keeping in mind we are nature; we can redesign societies to reflect principles of wildlife conservation and climate justice. We can conserve wildlife and our communities, and everyone will be better for it.
Tania Roa (she/her) is an environmental justice and wildlife advocate. Through her work, she highlights connections between animal, human, and planet health. Tania’s parents, Claudia and Henry, immigrated to California from Bogotá, Colombia. She graduated from Tufts University with a Master of Science in Animals and Public Policy. Her largest presentation to date is her TEDx talk, "How to Protect People and the Planet." She loves to hike, snorkel, and travel.
