I don’t know about your lawn, but either you had to water a lot due to the persistent drought or you had wet feet after all those ‘tropical rain showers’.
We can pretend nothing is wrong. But it is clear that our climate is changing very quickly. Insects have a harder time standing their ground. They migrate to higher places in search of food. Our plants desperately need these insects to reproduce. Animals have a hard time surviving. Water is becoming a precious commodity and soil life is impoverishing. Our biodiversity is under pressure.
A natural reflex of a person is flight behaviour. Waiting for someone to fix it for us or pretending the problem doesn’t exist. But we could also take action ourselves. It doesn’t have to be that complicated at all. Did you know that, for example, you can transform your lawn into a magical place that is brimming with biodiversity?
We don’t like to talk about ‘your’ lawn because if you look at it from the other side, we don’t really own anything because we don’t take it to our graves. We get our planet on loan and can stay here for a while. As a good renter, we should leave everything in better condition than how we found it.
” Let’s stop talking and start walking ” is our motto.
Together we can emit about 901,712 tons of C02 less if we organize our pieces of greenery differently.
About 8% of our Flemish surface area consists of private gardens. If you know that there are about 11% forests in Flanders, then you know that we also have a lot of power in our hands.
About eight out of ten families have their own garden. But sometimes companies also have a lot of greenery or playgrounds at school are also dead. What if we could create an oasis of biodiversity from this sometimes derelict piece of land. How great would that be. Oh, oh, too much work I hear you think. But nothing is less true.
Do you know the concept of food forests?
That is letting nature take its course as much as possible, but at the same time literally reaping the benefits.
By planting edible trees and perennials and climbers in different layers, we create an oasis of edible goodies. We disturb the soil as little as possible. Only give some water in the beginning if necessary. We use the ‘chop & drop’ principle and leave the trimmings. But as humans we prefer to do as little as possible except harvest and pick. Once you get the hang of it… This is a boon to diversity, which is why we are such big fans.
With bARK.today, we want to encourage everyone to make a full commitment to more biodiversity.
There are food forests in smells and colors. But officially, we only talk about a food forest from half a hectare. Are you an individual, hobbyist or an organization with a patch of land. We are happy to advise and assist you. If you want to farm with edible trees , we call it agroforestry. There, different rules of the game apply that may be of interest to you.
We are happy to help you further and if necessary we will refer you to specialists or other partner organizations. Because with two you know more than alone. Connecting people with nature and each other is our thing.
Is your interest piqued? Then read on here and find out what we can do for you.
