Seeding a landscape for biocultural stewardship: fertile grounds to nurture diverse relational values

A cornerstone of biocultural stewardship is the connections people and communities have with places, ecosystems, and species — or in other words, their relational values. There has been recent excitement about the potential for plural values (including relational values) to underlie sustainability transformations. Yet what do relational values need to thrive? I offer three suggestions for ‘fertile grounds’ that might nurture relational values for food system transformation. Each centers the idea of biocultural stewardship. One: foster agency to enable stewardship practices and the relational values they embody. Two: create spaces for receiving reciprocal contributions. Three: weave together the connections needed to sustain and grow reciprocal practices. I end by pointing to new forms of research that center on reciprocity and relationality.