Summers are getting hotter, it’s an increasingly tempestuous political climate, and the rich will only be getting richer. Right now, it can feel like a lot to be a person who cares. We suggest turning to a time-honored tradition and looking to the plants, animals and insects in the natural world for lessons in strength, perseverance and adaptability. Species from around the West can offer skills to help us survive difficult times.
Oregon white oak: Stay strong under strain
Researchers have found that some stress can be used for good and actually make us — and our communities — stronger. Mature Oregon white oaks, which grow in a narrow geographic range from British Columbia to southern Oregon, are well-adapted to drought conditions, with deep, strong taproots that make them resilient to climate change. Researchers at Western Oregon University have found that oak trees are able to maximize their growth and large canopy sizes even in the face of fairly extreme drought. This gives a white oak the ability to live for hundreds of years and survive not just drought but things like losing limbs and wildfires. Be like the oak. Stay strong.
Sonoran Desert toad: Keep a cool head
But when it gets to be too much, remember: It’s OK to take a break. The Sonoran Desert toad does just that to survive the dry desert conditions on either side of the U.S.-Mexico border. These toads are most active in summer, during the monsoon season, when it can lay its eggs in the ephemeral pools of rainwater. The toad crawls out of its cool dark hole sometime in May and doesn’t burrow back down until September, after the next generation is produced. Lacking a 9-to-5 job, it hibernates for nine months out of the year, which may not be feasible (though still admirable) for most people. It also secretes a poisonous, psychoactive substance on its skin, which we humans probably can’t emulate. Still, be like the toad. Take a break when you need to, so you can be around for the long haul.
Monarch butterflies: Look to your ancestors
Speaking of a long haul: Monarch butterflies in the Western U.S. are legendary for their long-ranging migration journey, crossing man-made borders and thousands of miles to winter in California and Mexico and then return to their breeding areas across much of the West. It takes four generations of monarchs to complete the full migration, which means that each generation of butterflies is flying to places the insects have never been before, following the routes of their ancestors to reach the exact same grove their great-grandparents used. Science hasn’t yet caught up with the “how” of it all, though researchers think the monarch’s directional abilities are related to the Earth’s magnetic fields, the sun’s position in the sky and something at a genetic level. But the “why” is clear enough: These butterflies are bound and determined to survive. Be like the monarch. Think in terms of generations.
Coyote: Make yourself heard
Coyote has a reputation in all kinds of cultures as well as in Native storytelling, and he is no stranger to survival. Although coyotes can be seen as a nuisance by urbanites — getting into trash, threatening pets — their adaptability to both rural and urban environments is impressive, as are their social skills: Coyotes can travel solo as well as in packs and are known to hang out and hunt cooperatively with other species, including badgers. They are also one of the most vocal mammals, with a range of barks, yips and howls to communicate group bonding, long-distance socializing, raising the alarm and more. So, be like the coyote. Make some noise.
Huckleberry: Be untamable
Despite the popularity of huckleberries in the Western U.S., they have never been domesticated — never become a commercially grown farm crop like their cousins the blueberries and cranberries. Instead, they’ve continued growing in the wild, tended to by the fire and cultural practices of Indigenous people in the Pacific Northwest. By some accounts, domestication efforts have been ongoing since 1906, though one researcher told NPR such attempts were downright “impossible.” But the huckleberry knows what it likes and is determined to stick to it: sunny, open clearings at higher elevations in the mountains where they can grow slowly. Be like the huckleberry. Stay wild.
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