In my most recent post on the theology track, in commemoration of the season of Creation 2025, I gave a very broad overview of the theological perspective behind Creation Care among Christians. Since this blog is meant to document my thoughts on how my journey as a believer and an ecologist intertwine with each other, I thought it would be suitable to write a second post that considers how science feeds into Creation Care.

Among all the fields of research within academia, the environmental and biological sciences seem to invoke the wrath of certain groups of Christians the most. Christians regularly challenge the consensus of climate scientists that the climate is indeed destabilizing and we are to blame. Others reject evolution which is the cornerstone of biology and ecology. Finally, in spite of all the evidence that shows how humanity has devastated the natural world and the need to course-correct ourselves, these same researchers become labelled as “tree huggers” or “pagans who worship nature” and reject all calls to action.

Yet, if we are going to make it out of this environmental crisis, we are going to need all the help we can get – especially environmental scientists, ecologists and a whole plethora of researchers working on both human and natural systems. Here’s why Creation Care needs the input of these scientists.

We can’t protect what we don’t know exists

How many species are there on Earth? Who are they, what is their ecology and where are they found? These are some of the major questions ecologists worldwide tackle through their research daily. If practitioners of Creation Care desire to expand their sphere of care into the natural world, there is a need to know what’s out there, and who needs protection the most.

The latter point is especially important, especially if one is a believer who feels that all life and species on Earth is sacred to God. In the realm of conservation, critical decisions are made by stakeholders to divert resources into protecting vulnerable species and ecosystems. At least in the current age, conservationists are hardly blessed with sufficient funding to protect most species; this necessitates them to focus primarily on the ones that need protection the most. Ecologists, through their in-depth knowledge of the reproductive behavior and ecology of specific taxa, guide this process of identifying and highlighting key species that require the most help.

Science sheds light on environmental issues hidden from the public eye

In a recently published book by Ben Goldfarb, Goldfarb documents his experiences with numerous conservationists, urban planners and engineers and scientists on how roads have transformed and shaped ecosystems and animal populations across the US landscape. Some of the experiences he reports include the issue of roadkill on notable US highways, such as the I-90. As obscure and weird as it may sound, there are ecologists out there who are extremely determined to quantify said roadkill and collect information on plant and animal communities colonizing road edges. How many of us even recognize that there even exists a community of plants and animals surrounding our roads?

Only through the obscure interests and keen eyes of ecologists can we uncover the hidden impacts of our actions on the natural world. While many of us may be well-informed of major issues through mainstream media such as climate change, deforestation and overfishing, there exists a whole host of impacts that many have never heard before. Issues such as loss of genetic diversity, edge effects; even the sex of reptiles and the nutritional value of our crops are affected. Our abuses on the natural world often run deeper than we think; only through the thankless efforts of ecologists can we shed light on humanity’s past mistakes to start making corrections.

Repairing our past mistakes requires specialized knowledge of ecosystems

Assuming one acknowledges that humanity has grossly degraded natural ecosystems through our past actions, how can we make amends for it today? Enter the field of restoration ecology.

Unlike most other fields in ecology, restoration ecology is a relatively new kid to the block – only formally appearing sometime in the late 20^th century. And unlike conservation, restoration ecology strives to reverse the damage done to ecosystems caused by our neglect and ignorance. However, repairing ecosystems is far different from repairing a car – it is not as simple as assembling communities through planting individual tree species together. In fact, there is much that we have yet to understand regarding the restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (see here and here for examples). Addressing these knowledge gaps is a central goal of restoration ecologists to unravel new ways to rebuild communities that are both biodiverse, resilient to future disturbances and self-reliant.

In alignment with Creation Care theology, God is inviting His people to participate in His efforts to renew and restore Creation alongside Him. The “what” to do is clear. Exactly “how” we do it is a complicated task, requiring the expertise of many ecologists and policymakers working in harmony together. As an example, how does one restore a logged forest once used for agriculture? Which species do we plant? How do we ensure that the soil is “healthy” enough for plant growth? And who stands to benefit from such a restoration project? These are details that every restoration practitioner has to consider, informed by the very best expertise that science has to offer.

Science assists us in predicting and preparing for the future

There is a large body of researchers and stakeholders invested in understanding how climate change today impacts natural and human communities. Yet, focusing too much on the present will likely be insufficient to prepare us for what is to come in the next few decades as climate change continues.

Here is where science can offer us its most valuable ability – the power to model and make educated guesses on the state of the climate and ecosystems in the future. These models can often produce insights into the long-term behavior of complex ecosystems under the influence of multiple global change scenarios; many of which will be indiscernible based on a limited set of observations in a single point of time. For example, a common myth in anti-environmentalist circles is that more CO₂ in the air promotes plant growth. This has been shown through a series of long-term free-air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) experiments on plant communities that the fertilization effect does not always take place and is highly dependent on a multitude of other environmental constraints such as soil nutrient limitation. In the future, this could mean that plants’ ability to act as carbon sinks may be increasingly compromised, weakening the capacity of large forests such the Amazon in mitigating climate change.

While ecologists still have a long way to go in the modelling department (see my previous blog post), having an educated guess on the future state of ecosystems is still immensely helpful in planning out policies related to biodiversity and ecosystems today. As more data comes in to validate our existing models, our ability to model and predict complex ecosystems should hopefully improve and gradually enhance our ability to make impactful decisions in managing ecosystems.

Closing remarks

While secular environmentalists and scientists don’t necessarily share the same motivations as believers when it comes to why we want to protect, conserve and restore the natural world, there exists a huge overlap in interests between the two groups. Both groups desire to see biodiversity conserved and left to flourish once again. Both groups seek to protect and restore healthy, functioning ecosystems that can sustain future generations to come.

In my view, it is folly for Christians to reject the works and expertise of these environmentalists considering the above common interests. There is nothing in the bible that tells us to avoid working with the secular world. In fact, Scripture explicitly exhorts believers to find allies and advisers for wisdom when needed.

Where there is no guidance, a nation falls, But in an abundance of counselors there is safety. (Proverbs 11:14 NRSVUE)

Without counsel, plans go wrong. But with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22 NRSVUE)

In the face of something as complex as the environmental crisis, who else would make better allies than those who dedicated their lives and careers to studying the natural world? Let’s not needlessly build walls against the scientific consensus and actually get started on the urgent task at hand, before we lose more of God’s precious creations.