In Remnants: Reveries of a Mountain Dweller, writer and educator Natalie Virginia Lang offers a vision of Sumas Mountain throughout the seasons to expose the impact of toxic progress on Place. Through poetic prose, Lang meditates on the social, historical, cultural, and environmental losses suffered at the hands of infringement upon natural areas. Remnants ventures into the natural spaces on Sumas Mountain, illuminating the errors of the modern colonial approach to progress and posing philosophical queries for alternate pathways into the future.
With whimsical descriptions and close encounters with creatures, forests, and climate change, Lang brings us an embodied experience of nature and bridges the gap between science, philosophy, academic theories, and the social sphere. Remnantsoffers a shift in the way environment is perceived and celebrates the value of interconnected relationships with and within ecosystems. The result is a fresh lens through which to see our relationship with that natural world, one that inspires us to join an ever-growing conversation about finding balance with our environment, even in the midst of growth.
Natalie Virginia Lang is a Canadian writer and teacher, living on Sumas Mountain in Abbotsford. She is ardently dedicated to the preservation of natural spaces and continues to reflect upon the beauty and mystery of nature. Natalie has written several book reviews for The BC Review and has won multiple awards from Simon Fraser University for her work in the Graduate Liberal Studies department. She has a forthcoming master’s degree in liberal studies.