How bumble bees inspired a network of tiny museums | Amanda Schochet

Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Camille Martínez

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Carol Wang

If you told me five years ago

如果五年前你告訴我，

that today I'd be delivering a talk

說今天我會站在台上演講，

about our individual power to make a difference,

講述我們個人的力量 如何創造不同，

I would have cringed.

我一定會退縮。

It was my job to study huge global systems.

我之前的工作是 研究大型全球系統。

I was a researcher at NASA using satellite data to study the big picture.

我是美國太空總署的研究員， 用衛星資料來研究整體狀況。

You can see a lot of things from space,

從太空中可以看見許多東西，

like every ecosystem on Earth

比如地球上的每一個生態系統

being threatened from pretty much every angle

幾乎是全面受到威脅，

and global inequality in air and water safety.

以及空氣與供水安全 在全球分佈有多不平衡。

These kinds of things would keep me up at night.

看到這些，常讓我晚上無法入眠。

And then outside of work, I'd use this bird's-eye view

而在工作之餘，我會用鳥瞰圖，

while thinking about our huge social structures

配合思考我們大型社會結構，

like education and media and health care,

比如教育、媒體、健康照護，

and it looked to me like they were all really struggling, too.

從我看來，它們也面臨困難。

So I felt like the world was just trapped in this huge self-amplifying system

我覺得似乎這個世界

被困在這巨型自我放大系統當中，

that was just spiraling towards destruction.

不斷被捲向毀滅。

And of course I wanted to do something about this,

當然，我想要盡一份心力，

and I felt so small and utterly powerless.

我覺得自己好渺小， 完全無能為力。

But I started to feel a little differently as my perspective shifted

但是，隨著我的觀點 從宏觀轉變到微觀，

from the macro towards the micro.

我開始有了些不同的感受，

It began with bumblebees.

這一切始於大黃蜂。

I was using satellite imagery and field research

我當時用衛星圖和實地調查

to study these amazing, cute pollinators

來研究這些可愛 又不可思議的傳粉昆蟲，

to see how they were doing in the midst of their own environmental crisis

看看在南加州牠們自己的 環境危機中是如何做的。

in Southern California.

And from the macro view, I saw 22-lane freeways,

從宏觀的角度，我看見 二十二線道的高速公路、

endless suburban sprawl

無邊無際的雜亂郊區，

and water being diverted from parched rivers

以及水從乾涸河流導向沙漠，

to grow lawns in the desert.

供草地生長。

It was pretty grim.

這一切都很嚴酷。

But on the ground,

但在地面上，

there were actually some small opportunities for optimism,

其實有一些樂觀的小機會，

these tiny patches of resources

這些小塊的資源，

known as "habitat fragments."

即一般所知的「零碎棲息地」。

If the right kinds of plants were growing along the edges of a Costco parking lot,

如果好市多停車場周邊 種植適當的植物，

and if in the neighborhoods nearby

且如果在附近的鄰坊

there were native plants in people's gardens,

有些居民的花園中有原生植物，

and in the canyons that were too steep for people to put their suburbs in,

在太陡峭無法被人類 變成近郊區的峽谷中

there were native plants instead of grasses

有原生植物而不是草，

then all of these in-between spaces

那麼，所在這些夾在中間的區域

would actually add up to create a network of habitat fragments.

結合起來就可以創造出 一個零碎棲息地的網路。

And this network meant that the bees could traverse through the concrete desert

有這個網路，就表示 蜜蜂可以橫越水泥沙漠，

feeding from and pollinating the native plants.

找到原生植物來覓食和傳粉。

And these plants that the bees depend on and that the bees sustain are essential.

蜜蜂賴以為生且由蜜蜂 來維護的這些植物相當重要。

They stabilize our steep hillsides.

它們能讓陡峭的山坡更穩定，

They provide food and homes to thousands of amazing species of animals,

它們為數千種各式各樣的動物 提供食物和家園，

and, critically, they are helping to curb our devastating cycle of wildfires

且，很重要的是，

它們能協助遏抑 破壞性極大的野火循環，

by preventing the growth of those invasive grasses

因為它們可以防止 入侵草類的生長，

that fuel the vicious flames that we're all too familiar with.

而入侵草類可以助長 我們太熟悉的惡火。

It's a really vital and interconnected system,

它是個非常重要 且相互連結的系統，

and some people could see how they were a part of it,

有些人很清楚他們 是這個系統的一部分，

and so they acted as habitat fragment gardeners.

所以他們會去當 零碎棲息地的園丁。

They planted native plants in their yards,

他們會在自己的院子裡 種植原生植物，

and they even were tending to the land in corporate parks

他們甚至會照顧在商業園區裡 及公共峽谷裡的土地。

and in public canyons.

In my research, I could actually see the impact

在我的研究中，

可以看到每位熱情園丁 所造成的影響。

that even one passionate gardener could make.

And then, repeated across the region,

接著，在該地區各地都有 像這樣的零碎棲息地，

their habitat fragments were adding up to make a more resilient ecosystem --

結合起來便形成了 更有恢復力的生態系統——

not a perfect system, not by a long shot,

長期來看，它不是完美的系統，

but at least a system that was less likely to totally collapse

但至少在開發和乾旱 繼續發展下去的迫切壓力下，

under impending pressures like further development and drought.

它還是個比較不可能 完全崩壞的系統。

So I was looking at the world through this lens

有一次，當我和伴侶查爾斯

when I found myself in the waiting room of a public hospital in Brooklyn

在布魯克林一間公立醫院等候間時，

我也透過這樣的鏡頭來看世界。

with my partner, Charles.

We were sitting across from a group of teenagers

我們坐在一群青少年的對面，

who were slumped in their chairs

他們癱在椅子上，

and bored out of their minds

無聊到一個極至，

and just refreshing their phones over and over again.

不斷地滑著手機。

And in a neighborhood

這個鄰里中的一些高中

with some of the lowest high school graduation rates in the city,

畢業率在全市中吊車尾，

this waiting room felt like a social habitat fragment

這個等候間感覺就像是 一塊社會零碎棲息地，

just waiting to happen.

只是在等著發生。

So, we did some research to see what kinds of resources could we add

於是，我們做了些研究，

看看我們能在這樣的空間中 增加什麼樣的資源

to spaces like this one

that would make an impact.

來造成影響，

And we settled on museums.

我們最後選定用博物館。

Museums are the most trusted source of public information,

博物館是最可靠的公共資訊來源，

more than the media and more than the government,

勝過媒體，勝過政府，

but they also cluster in wealthier neighborhoods.

但它們通常都聚集在 比較富裕的鄰里。

New York has 85 museums in Manhattan,

紐約有八十五間博物館在曼哈頓，

and the Bronx has eight,

八間在布朗克斯，

even though these two boroughs have almost the same size population.

但這兩個行政區的人口數差不多。

And then expensive tickets mean that a lot of people can't go to museums

還有，昂貴的門票讓許多人

就算住在附近也無法造訪博物館。

even if they live nearby.

And these little injustices, they just go on and on

這些小小的不公比比皆是，

and they add up to create sweeping inequalities

它們結合起來， 就造成了全面的不平等，

in knowledge and empowerment.

知識上和賦權上的不平等。

Across the US,

在全美各地，

almost 90 percent of visitors to art museums are white,

藝術博物館的訪客 有近九成都是白人，

and even at the Smithsonian's network of free museums,

就連史密森尼的免費博物館網路，

almost half of their adult visitors have graduate degrees,

也有近半的成人訪客 有研究所學位，

which, like, 10 percent of the broader population has.

在整體人口中大約只有 一成的人有研究所學位。

So it became clear to us

所以，我們清楚知道，

that even though museums are these amazing educational and social resources,

雖然博物館是 很棒的教育和社會資源，

they're not reaching everyone.

但並沒有普及到每個人。

And a lot of museums are aware of this, and they're trying to change it,

許多博物館有意識到 這個狀況，且想要做出改變，

but there's all these structural hurdles that are slowing them down.

但有太多結構上的障礙 在扯它們的後腿。

So we set out to create a distributed network

所以，我們著手 建立一個分散式網路，

of museum habitat fragments.

由博物館零碎棲息地組成。

Working from a donated shipping container

我們的工作基地是個捐贈的貨櫃，

with the volunteer help of our friends

我們的朋友以及數十位 慷慨科學家都志願協助我們，

and dozens of very generous scientists

from all across the globe,

這些來自世界各地的幫手

we built our first prototype:

和我們合力建造了第一個原型：

the Smallest Mollusk Museum.

最小的軟體動物博物館。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Mollusks are these tentacled, slimy shape-shifters

軟體動物有觸手、 會分泌黏液、能改變形狀，

like oysters and octopuses and the giant squid,

比如牡蠣、章魚、大烏賊，

and if you've ever seen an alien in a movie,

如果你看過電影中的外星人，

then I'll bet you it was inspired by a mollusk.

我敢說靈感就是來自於軟體動物。

Their slimy sci-fi vibes

這些黏答答的科幻情境

make them really fun tour guides for a biology museum,

讓軟體動物成為 很有趣的生物博物館導遊，

and they can teach us about the systems that we all share,

且牠們能教導我們 那些我們共有的系統，

with a wake-up call.

打醒我們。

Of all the animal extinctions documented since the 1500s,

從十六世紀以來 有記錄的絕種動物當中，

more than 40 percent have been our friends, the mollusks.

我們的朋友軟體動物 就佔了四成以上。

So we tested this museum across the city

於是，我們在城市各地 測試這座博物館，

to see if it resonated with all kinds of visitors,

觀察是否能和各種訪客共鳴，

and it did.

結果的確可以。

People really liked learning from it.

大家真的很喜歡 從這個博物館學習。

So we built a fleet of tiny science museums,

於是我們建造了 許多小型科學博物館，

each one small enough to fit into preexisting locations

每個都小到可以融入到 既有的地點當中，

with information dense enough that they could still pack a punch.

且館內資訊的密度夠高， 能夠有足夠的效力。

And they're modular, so they can be distributed

且它們是模組式的，

可以大規模進行散播， 以觸及到每個人。

at a scale that can reach everyone.

And then we partnered with libraries

接著，我們的合作 對象轉向圖書館、

and community centers and transit hubs

社區中心、交通運輸樞紐，

and the public hospitals

以及公立醫院，

so that we could transform their in-between spaces

這麼一來，我們便能 將它們內部的空間轉換

into habitat fragments for social learning.

成為社會學習的零碎棲息地。

And, fittingly, we named our fleet of museums "MICRO."

我們為博物館集群 取了個很適合的名字：

MICRO（微）。

Even though each habitat fragment is small,

雖然每個零碎棲息地很小， 但提供的資訊都很重要，

it provides the essentials.

It draws people in so that they can explore

這就吸引大家前來探索，

and learn together in a social way.

以社交的方式一起學習。

And then, distributed across the landscape,

接著，因為分佈在各地，

we're able to invite people everywhere

我們可以邀請不同地方的人

into conversations around science.

來參與關於科學的討論。

When we partnered with a public hospital in the South Bronx,

當我們和南布朗克斯的 一家公立醫院合作時，

we became the Bronx's first and only science museum.

我們便成了那裡的第一間 也是唯一的科學博物館。

Yeah, that's really weird. (Laughs)

是的，那很詭異。（笑）

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And really quickly,

且，很快的，

families started coming by with their kids

開始有家長帶著孩子來，

and schools started arranging field trips,

學校開始安排校外教學，

all to this tiny museum in the front lobby of the public hospital.

通通都來到這個公立醫院 前大廳中的小小博物館。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And the museum became so popular

這個博物館紅到

that we started hiring local students to be museum docents,

我們得要開始僱用當地學生 來擔任博物館解說員，

so they could lead tours and activities for all the talented kids.

為這些有才華的孩子 提供導覽或組織活動。

And every spark of curiosity that we're able to fuel

我們能夠激起的每一份好奇心、

and each new fact learned

每一個新學到的知識、

and every new friend made at the museum

在博物館交的每一個新朋友、

and every kid who can have a meaningful and important after-school job,

放學後能從事重要 且有意義工作的每個孩子，

it all contributes to a stronger system.

全都促成一個更強大的系統。

So today, I try to keep the MICRO view in mind.

現今，我努力牢記 使用 MICRO 的觀點，

I'm always examining how small actions can add up

隨時查看小小動作疊加時，

to create shifts

在系統的宏觀規模上

at the macro scale of systems.

會如何造成轉變。

And honestly, I'm seeing a lot of really good things.

老實說，我看到許多好現象。

There are habitat fragments everywhere, nurtured by talented, passionate,

到處都有零碎棲息地， 由有才華、有熱情、

有策略的人所組成的 大大小小團體來維護，

strategic individuals in groups of all sizes,

who are building towards systems with more equal access to food

他們建造的系統能讓大家 更平等地取得食物、

and employment, health care, housing,

工作機會、健康照護、住房、

political empowerment, education and healthy environments.

政治賦權、教育，及健康的環境。

One by one, together,

同心協力，我們正在 把這些缺口一個一個補起來，

we're filling gaps,

strengthening the systems that we're all a part of.

強化我們大家所屬的系統。

We have to work on the big institutions too, of course.

當然，我們也得 在大制度上花心力。

It's just that they're so slow,

只是它們非常緩慢，

and we're living in the midst of rapid change.

而我們卻身在快速改變當中，

It's a defining feature of our time.

這是這個時代的關鍵特色。

So maybe in some cases our small actions

也許，在某些情況下，

我們的小動作可以扮演 OK 繃， 直到這些大傢伙趕上來。

can be Band-Aids until the big guys catch up.

But without us, what are they going to be catching up to?

但，若沒有我們， 大傢伙們要趕上什麼？

Am I still scared about the world?

對這個世界，我仍然感到驚恐嗎？

Yes. (Laughs)

是的。（笑）

That's why I'm talking to you.

那就是為什麼我要跟大家談。

The world needs so many more habitat fragments.

世界需要更多的零碎棲息地。

So, if you've been feeling overwhelmed or powerless lately,

如果你最近有感覺到 招架不住或很無力，

then I'm asking you to please try this very small strategy on for size,

那麼，我要請你試試看 這個小策略合不合身，

and let's see how it goes.

咱們來看看它怎麼進行：

Step one: zoom in.

步驟一：放大。

It's not one huge system

並不是一整個大型系統

that's just barreling unstoppably towards destruction.

在無法阻擋地快速走向毀滅，

What we have are many overlapping systems,

而是有許多重疊的系統，

and the ways that they interact determine everything.

而它們互動的方式決定了一切。

Step two: look for the resource gaps,

步驟二：尋找資源缺口。

because that's where you can make the biggest difference.

因為那就是你最能 創造不同的地方。

And do some research to understand how your ideas are going to interact

並做些研究來弄清

你的想法和既有系統如何互動。

with the systems that are already on the ground.

Step three: find the other habitat fragments.

步驟三：找到其他零碎棲息地。

Find out how they can support you and how you can support them,

找出它們能如何支持你， 及你能如何支持它們，

because we're building a network together.

因為我們要一起建立一個網路。

And step four: transform your fragment.

步驟四：轉換你的部分。

You might not have the leverage to change multiple systems at once,

你可能沒有能力 一次改變多個系統，

but there are so many small, meaningful and strategic things

但有好多有意義的策略性小事

that each of us can do.

是我們每個人都能做的。

And there are a lot of us,

我們人數很多，

so it will add up.

加起來就很可觀。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）