There were articles published when the Oxford Junior Dictionary announced it was dropping some nature words back in 2015.
The words missing were natural words, and there were others which replaced them that were to do with technology. One could argue as well that these technology words were far more ephemeral than the natural words - technology changes and things become redundant.This is a more recent academic paper on the same theme. This is very readable.
It starts with some striking words, which I can see being used as the basis for a section in a textbook:
From our earliest settlements, we have been reliant on plants to provide shelter, fuels, and sustenance and are the basis of nearly all terrestrial ecosystems (Lev-Yadun et al., 2000). Plants perform a huge variety of essential functions, from forming soils to producing oxygen, yet their neglect is costing us dearly (Bardgett et al., 2021). From birth to death, plants dominate every aspect of our existence—they are our silent partners in civilization (Adamo et al., 2021). There is virtually always a plant or a plant product in your field of vision. Despite this significance, plants are currently underappreciated and neglected in many sectors of modern society, and there has been little research into identifying the measurable consequences of our plant apathy toward societies' challenges.It also references Robert Pyle's work referring to the "extinction of experience".
Pyle describes disconnection from nature via a “cycle of impoverishment that is initiated by the homogenisation and reduction of local flora and fauna, followed by disaffection and apathy.” Ultimately, this impoverishment is intensified by a “shifting base-line,” progressively decreasing expectations of the quality and function of the natural areas individuals are exposed to.
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