The moth that pollinates a plant’s flower is often the same species that devoured its leaves as a caterpillar. This is the paradox of ecological interdependence: what appears as damage and what appears as care are two sides of the same coin. This work maps over 40 locally foraged plant species from the Aravallis, among the world’s oldest mountain ranges, that serve as host plants and nectar sources for birds, bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.

For me, hope is not a promise of stability but a practice of tending relationships beyond human life. Planting for pollinators is an act of faith in futures we may never witness. The flower feeds the bee, the leaf feeds the caterpillar, and in this time of ecological fragmentation, restoring these relationships becomes a form of future-making. By planting for pollinators, we nourish lives beyond our own practicing a hope rooted in reciprocity, stewardship, and continuity.