God says multiple times in Genesis 1 that the creation he has made is good. The sky, the waters, the land, the animals, and humankind are all good. As one giant ecosystem, all the components of nature that interact with each other are individually good. God ends his work during creation week with declaring it is all “very good.” The fall in Genesis 3 does not negate the goodness of creation. Creation groans and suffers, but it is still good. Something inherently good is worth caring for.
I really like the observation, that I think may have been original with St. Francis of Assisi, later repeated by the likes of Chesterton or Lewis … that nature is not our mother. She’s our sister. And just as one cares for a dear sister, so nature’s travail is our travail too - for the sufficient reason of love alone, quite apart from the practical overlays of being interested in our own survival.