Robin Wall Kimmerer‘s “The Serviceberry” (Indigo-Chapters, Amazon.ca, Bookshop.org) is on my list of books to read during my study leave, and seemed like a good one to start with. The book is quite small (112 pages, including a few pages of lovely illustrations by John Burgoyne), though I hadn’t been aware of that when I bought it. I ordered the book as soon as I learned it would be available, based on how much I appreciated her previous one, “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants” (Indigo-Chapters, Bookshop.org). I had not read any reviews nor much background (such as the fact that the book originated from an essay), so the dimensions were a surprise!

I wasn’t sure how much I’d get out of the tiny tome in terms of my professional development, but I love Kimmerer’s writing, and thought it might be an easy read. In some ways, it was – it didn’t take long to finish – but it shares serious ideas. Kimmerer did not disappoint me as an author – she has a rare gift for sharing stories, facts, ideas, and suggestions in clear and beautiful writing, applying light humour or revealing weighty points as appropriate.

As the title indicates, the Serviceberry plant is the central example and a model in the book. Serviceberries have many names – I’m most familiar with them in the form of Saskatoon berries, as I spent my early life in Saskatchewan. (They are so good in a pie! And jam. And … well, lots of things.)

The Serviceberry scaffolding is used to share some biology, and a model for economic systems (re: reciprocity and abundance, vs. their flip-sides, selfishness, and scarcity). Kimmerer presents the case for change in our society and economic systems, showing how the market economy generally promotes and drives scarcity and transactional commodification of natural resources while harming the planet. She endorses the gift economy, and provides examples of it in action (in ecology, and in human communities), while exploring the underlying concepts of gratitude, reciprocity, and shared abundance. Many of these ideas will be familiar to those who read “Braiding Sweetgrass”, but in “The Serviceberry”, there is less focus on the biology and more on economics.

Reading this book on Jan. 23, 2025, I suspect I felt different than I would have if I had done so a few months (or years) earlier. I often found myself skeptical/pessimistic about how the book’s messages will be received, and the likelihood of action being taken. (I briefly checked Goodreads … most people who posted reviews seemed to appreciate the book, though there were a couple who were not happy about an anti-capitalism agenda, as well as a few complaints about the price for such a small book. It is a beautiful little hardcover book … but at $20, I can understand why some folks might feel it is a bit much.) Even with my skepticism, I am glad that Kimmerer was willing to put her messages out into the world in this way. It should be noted that Robin Wall Kimmerer is donating her advance payments from this book “as a reciprocal gift, back to the land, for land protection, restoration, and justice”.

As a biology educator, I appreciated the examples in the book that could be shared in microbiology, microbial ecology, or economic botany courses. The biological descriptions are always engaging and clear. Kimmerer’s “Tragedy of the Commons” discussion (historical and new aspects) shifted my views of this in the context of symbiosis. Insights into some Indigenous approaches to science are also included in the book, as well as examples of Indigenous relationships with Nature. (This is spurring me to re-read Braiding Sweetgrass, in preparation to teach Economic Botany, as there are a LOT of relevant examples in the earlier book.)

As a human in our society, the book prompts many questions for me. Even with all the examples of gift economies in human groups that Kimmerer provides in “The Serviceberry”, the idea of revolutionizing the economy to include a gift economy component in the US (or Canada, etc.) seems fantastical to me. It is difficult to imagine how changes to the massive financial and corporate systems would be made, in large part because of the powerful and extremely wealthy individuals who demonstrate values that are opposites of the gift economy, fighting against efforts towards democracy, justice, equity, and reciprocity. It’s hard to look at what’s happening in the world and not despair about humanity’s future.

I recognize that my despair is partly a reaction to recent political events. I also ask myself if my skepticism is actually cynicism (something else I’ve been thinking about lately). I do hope the book and its messages will be read and shared widely. The book itself is a reminder that there are people working towards a better future, and there are strategies from the natural world and Indigenous knowledge that can be drawn upon. Migwech, Robin Wall Kimmerer.