“Fools and dreamers”
Regenerating a native forest
What does it take to transform degraded land into a lush and thriving environment? Fools, dreamers, and maybe a little bit of compost?
BiobiN’s #FilmsForOurFuture selection for this month is a story about Hugh Wilson, a botanist who has championed the reforestation of Hinewai Nature Reserve, in New Zealand.
Why would you want to regenerate an entire forest? Well, humans are in fact totally dependent on biodiversity, the health of ecosystems, especially forest ecosystems. The fresh air that we breathe every day comes from our forest ecosystems around the world.
Hugh let the local community know about his plan to convert overworked farmland back into a biodiverse native forest by introducing ‘gorse’, indigenous vegetation that people considered a ‘weed’. Announcing his mission, Hugh was highly criticized for plans to restore an environment by letting a ‘weed’ grow. Thirty years later, Hugh is considered a conservation hero, managing a densely thick forest that originated from the farmland.
To save a forest, we do not quite need to be as committed as Hugh, but we can at least take a bit of inspiration from his work. Small actions and changes in our daily habits can make a world of difference. Your food waste is a valuable resource that when composted, providing valuable organic content to soils. Choosing to compost your food waste can potentially help to regenerate a piece of land into a diverse environment.
You can watch Fools and Dreamers here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VZSJKbzyMc&t=21s
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Image courtesy of Happen Films