Scientists say that oysters and beavers are the eco heroes we’ve been waiting for and they’re doing all the work ‘for free’
Whether you are looking at tropical forests in Brazil, grasslands in California, or coral reefs in Australia, it is hard to find places where humanity hasn’t left a mark. The scale of the alteration, invasion, or destruction of natural ecosystems can be mind-bogglingly huge. Thankfully, researchers, governments, and everyday people around the world are putting more effort and money into conservation and restoration every year. But the task is large. How do you plant a billion trees? How do you restore thousands of square miles of wetlands? How do you turn a barren ocean floor back into a thriving reef? In some cases, the answer lies with certain plants or animals—called ecosystem engineers—that can kick-start the healing.In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we talk to three experts about how ecosystem engineers can play a key role in restoring natural places and why the human and social sides of restoration are just as important as the science.