My Gentle Rant about the terms "Non Native" and "Invasive"

Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus)

Delivered to the 2023 Cohort of Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards on our "Invasives" Field Day

Over the last few years, as I have come to connect more deeply with trees and birds and fungi – what some people have started calling the "more-than-human world" – I have felt myself increasingly uncomfortable with using the terms "non-native" and "invasive." I have been having conversations about this and I am wondering if any of you might want to join in. I expect that what I will say in the next few minutes will resonate with some but not all of you, that’s okay. Even if it doesn’t, I hope you will be open to consider my thoughts.

I have two threads going about this… first is that what we know about current changes in the ecosystem is limited. We do notice that the presence of new plants and insects is disrupting familiar landscapes, and that we are wrestling a bit with how to be in relationship with these newcomers and the resulting novel ecosystems. The challenge is that we tend to have a short time horizon, and are limited by what we see right in front of us. We also have biases about what we should pay attention to… We generally put humans at the center, and as tree stewards, we bring trees in there with us. 

Even though we can’t fully understand the complexities of the changes, or the intelligence and resilience of the ecosystem, we are compelled to take action. My new challenge for myself is to consider longer time frames, to imagine environments further away from me like what might be going on underground, and to expand my awareness and knowledge of the activities and needs of other life in the ecosystem. In this picture, no one being is fixed at the center. It keeps me curious and it keeps me humble.

The second thought is something I feel clearer about. It is the use of the terms "non-native" and "invasive." We use these words with plants that many of us wouldn’t use with people because they are too aggressive and would be insulting. If you have any sense as I do that we are in relationship with the more-than-human world, then I want to challenge us to come up with kinder or at least more neutral language. These newcomer plants and insects were brought here by humans, involuntarily or accidentally pulled from their communities, out of their elements. They are desperately figuring out how, first, just to survive, and maybe they are also figuring out how to contribute to their new ecosystem. Interestingly, there are a number of organizations such as iNaturalist and also some extension programs  working on this idea right now.

I am guided by the spirit of Maya Angelou, who famously reminded us to “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” I expect some of you like this kind of challenge to your imagination and thinking. My wish is to initiate conversations with those of you who want to think about this. 

To that end, there are a handful of great books that lend themselves to this discussion… one in particular is by the author Fred Pearce called The New Wild and another more general reading, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. They don’t specifically have trees at the center, rather are more whole ecosystem oriented. 

I want to be clear that I don't have any judgment about people stewarding or maintaining an area with plants that they love. Indeed there are lots of good reasons to take action, some of which we are learning about today. Even though I have questions about what gets to be called "native" – how far back do we go? – I am in support of protecting what we know of as local pollinators and local heritage. 
​
Sometime in the next couple of weeks, I will send a note asking if you are interested in reading and discussing how we might think and talk about these newcomers in a different way. I hope some of you will join in. Thanks for listening.