HOW IT BEGAN
Our story began in 2023 at a gathering at the Eden Project in Cornwall. There, we were shown the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of nature.
‘The phenomena of the physical world collectively; esp. plants, animals, and other features and products of the earth itself, as opposed to humans.’
It stopped us in our tracks. To be told that we were not part of Nature felt like being told we were not part of our own family.
At the time, Lawyers for Nature and House of Hackney were already working together to appoint Nature and Future Generations to the House of Hackney Board. That moment sparked a deeper collaboration—to challenge the language that reflects, and reinforces, our disconnection from the natural world.
Because when we see ourselves as separate from Nature, we stop protecting it. But when we see ourselves as Nature, we begin to care for it - just as we would care for ourselves.
We are not outside Nature. We are Nature. Our fingerprints echo tree rings, our lungs mirror the shape of forests. We are part of the web of life, sharing breath and biology with the world around us.
Over time, our culture - and our language - has pushed Nature further away. But change is happening. Thanks to the We Are Nature campaign and the growing voices behind it, the Oxford English Dictionary has now reinstated an older definition of Nature; one that includes humans as part of the natural world.
Since our launch in the UK, the campaign has expanded to the USA, connecting with a global community working to restore our relationship with the Earth. From legal rights for ecosystems to companies giving Nature a seat at the boardroom table, the movement is growing.
We believe that redefining Nature is a powerful step toward reshaping how we live with the Earth—not apart from it, but as part of it. Because what we do to Nature, we do to ourselves.
We Are Nature.
— Jessie Mond Wedd and Frieda Gormley
