Nature's Second Chance: Restoring the Ecology of Stone Prairie Farm - Softcover

Apfelbaum, Steven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807085960 ISBN 13: 9780807085967

Publisher: Beacon Press, 2010

Synopsis

Renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold once wrote, "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it does otherwise."

Few have taken Leopold's vision more to heart than Steven I. Apfelbaum, who has, over the last thirty years, transformed his eighty-acre Stone Prairie Farm in Wisconsin into a biologically diverse ecosystem of prairie, wetland, spring-fed brook, and savanna. In healing his land, Apfelbaum demonstrates how humans might play a starring role in healing the planet.

About this title

About the Author

Steven I. Apfelbaum is founder, president, and senior ecologist of the firm Applied Ecological Services, known for its international science-based ecological design and restoration work. He lives in Juda, Wisconsin, on Stone Prairie Farm.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Ecologist Apfelbaum wanted to put into practice what he learned about restoring damaged ecosystems on land of his own. He purchased a 150-year-old farmhouse and eventually, thanks to the success of his visionary consulting business, Applied Ecological Services, acquired 80 acres of southern Wisconsin farmland. By dint of ardent research and relentless hard work, Apfelbaum and his partner, Susan Marie Lehnhardt, transformed land long depleted by corn crops, pesticides, and invasive species into a thriving prairie resplendent with wildflowers and resurgent birds, butterflies, and wildlife. Part treatise on ecological restoration—with fascinating forays into the history of the Midwest, Aldo Leopold’s land ethic, the role of fire in prairie ecosystems, and the damage done by industrialized, monoculture farming—this utterly compelling tale is also an eco-memoir. By revealing his struggles, missteps, and fears, and telling stories about the evolving understanding of his initially skeptical neighbors, Apfelbaum shares the deeply emotional dimension of his commitment to native species and land restoration, arousing, in turn, the reader’s own feeling for place. Apfelbaum’s book is as rich in farming adventure, environmental ideas, and profound insights as a restored prairie is rich in life and beauty. --Donna Seaman

About this edition

• Publisher: Beacon Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0807085960
• ISBN 13: 9780807085967
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256