Remembering Nature: Ecological Memory and Environmental Ethics in Bond's Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra

Abstract

Ruskin Bond's Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra is frequently discussed as nostalgic nature writing, yet its ethical engagement with everyday ecological relationships remains insufficiently explored. This article addresses that gap by examining how ordinary landscapes, memories, and human–nonhuman encounters cultivate ecological responsibility beyond romantic appreciation of nature. Adopting an ecocritical approach informed by environmental humanities, the study employs close textual analysis to investigate the interconnected themes of ecological memory, place attachment, and everyday environmental ethics. It argues that Bond transforms familiar Himalayan spaces into sites of ethical reflection, where environmental care emerges through lived experience rather than ideological discourse. The study contributes a fresh perspective to Indian English ecocritical scholarship and contemporary sustainability debates.