Robin Wall Kimmerer

Living at the limits of our ordinary perception, mosses are a common but largely unnoticed element of the natural world. Gathering moss is a mix of science and personal reflection that invites readers to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses. In this series of linked personal essays, Robin Kimmerer leads general readers and scientists alike to an understanding of how mosses live and how their lives are intertwined with the lives of countless other beings. Kimmerer explains the biology of mosses clearly and artfully, while at the same time reflecting on what these fascinating organisms have to teach us. Drawing on her experiences as a scientist, a mother, and a Native American, Kimmerer explains the stories of mosses in scientific terms as well as in the framework of indigenous ways of knowing. In her book, the natural history and cultural relationships of mosses become a powerful metaphor for ways of living in the world.

A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses

Gathering Moss

Cassandra Tang

With words at your disposal, you can see more clearly. Finding the words is another step in learning to see. 

Jamie Neely

Kerry McHugh West

The names we use for rocks and other beings depends on our perspective, whether we are speaking from the inside or the outside of the circle. The name on our lips reveals the knowledge we have of each other, hence the sweet secret names we have for the ones we love. The names we give ourselves are a powerful form of self-determination, of declaring ourselves sovereign territory. 

Paulie would approve of a moss like Anomodon, growing on the shaded rock wall behind the barn. This species delays its spore production until later in life, preferring to allocate its resources to growth and survival, rather than unfettered reproduction.

….the world is still unpredictable and still we survive by the  grace of chance and the strength of our choices.

An Onondaga elder once explained to me that plants come to us when they are needed. If we show them respect by using them and appreciating their gifts they will grow stronger. They will stay with us as long as they are respected. But if we forget about them, they will leave.

All it takes is attention and knowing how to look. I’ve found mosses to be a vehicle for intimacy with the landscape, like a sweet knowledge of the forest. 

Attentiveness alone can rival the most powerful magnifying lens. 

I’m told that the Chinese character for ‘catastrophe’ is the same as that which represents the word ‘opportunity’. And the blowdown, while catastrophic, presented opportunity for many species.

Their roles are camouflaged under layers of marketing and technology. You can’t hear the rustle of corn leaves in a box of Froot Loops.

Human-designed systems are a far cry from this ongoing creation of ecosystem health, taking without giving back.

Gathering Moss quotes

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