Brief History of Wonderland - or a story of reclaiming values in land stewarding.

Usually, when talking about the history of a landscape - at least in this part of the world - it is a story about endangered native species and uncontrolled invasive ones. There tends to be a special focus on invasive species but less on the values and stewarding that led to the current situation. 

The first surveyors of the area, back in 1837, marveled at the beauty but also saw benefit and opportunity in exploiting the abundant resources, which led to taking more than tending. Oaks were cut, wetlands were drained, beavers were hunted and the Indigenous population was forcibly displaced.

Map of McHenry County, Hunter & Van Valkenburgh, 1903.

They placed a grid on top of the organic landscape with rolling hills, brooks, creeks, oak savannas and rolling prairies, forcing a web of life into a square.

As the current stewards of the land, we look at the actions of the previous stewards and ask: What values did the settlers bring with themselves? How did these values guide their land stewarding practices? And how did it differ from the Indigenous nations who had been stewarding this Land for millenia? 

Check out the full article in our Patreon.