Sage Szkabarnicki-Stuart, Immature Earthworm (unidentified), 2020
An earthworm emerges from between two hands. Chances are, if you come across an earthworm in Canada or the US, it is an imported species from Europe or Asia: before the arrival of European settlers, North America’s soil was almost entirely worm-free. Earthworms are beneficial for farms and gardens but they also have a profound impact on North American ecosystems, which had previously evolved without earthworms for the past 10,000 years. These invasive worms disturb forest nutrient cycles and pose a significant threat to the health of forests across Canada and the US.