Episode 15 – The Wonder of Rewilding

There is magic in nature, and we are part of it!

Listen in to hear how our natural world is fighting to tackle climate change, and how we can step back and let it help solve our problems for us!
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World Organic News Podcast: worldorganicnews.com/
(specifically check out episodes 172, 171, 168, 167, 157)
Then also check out the new Regen Earth Podcast
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How re-introducing wolves has changed the Yellowstone National Park:

The tree stump above in part inspired this episode on re-wilding. That sounds a little ridiculous, so let me give you the backstory…  the stump sits on the Nile River, between my house, and my office. This section of the Nile used to be free flowing whitewater. In 2011 it was flooded as part of the reservoir of one of a number of mega dams here in Uganda. The tree ended up underwater and died, but a stump remained sticking out of the water. I noticed a couple of years ago a tiny shoot coming out the dead tree. I thought it was recovering, but on closer inspection it was a completely new tree, using the river for water, and the dead tree for nutrients, probably dropped off by one of the many birds that perch on the stump. I’ve watched it grow on my daily commute and basically a complete mini ecosystem build up around it. Grasses, moss and ferns, when I cross early morning I can see spiders webs glistening, and dragon flies perch there in the afternoon sun. A Malachite kingfisher, a beautiful incredibly vibrant bird, now fishes from the branch of the new tree. The undergrowth, now highly competitive covers every inch of the top of the stump.  I just love how resourceful everything has been, nature fighting back from human disruption. It has a kind of melancholy feel to it too, knowing that ultimately the ecosystems built on a tree stump that’s going to eventually rot and fall in the river. If nature can fight back here, it can do it almost anywhere, if only we let it.
Another incredible example of letting nature back in is Jenny Farmer’s (episode 9) plot. She bought it about 5 years ago now, it was completely degraded, they cleared the invasive species off the plot and they had one tree. Now I kayaked past it whilst coaching a group the other day, and snapped a picture, it doesn’t take an ecological specialist to spot the boundary line between Jenny’s and the neighbours plot on right of shot. 
A final example of how wild can be integrated into living spaces. The same plot as above, this is from Jenny’s parking lot, and shows the paths between her kitchen, sleeping area (right) and eating area (left). There is some grass, but there’s no shortage of wild either.

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1 Comment

  1. No clue how, but so glad that I managed to stumbled onto your podcast! And started with this episode, something that connects at such a deep level. Thank you for sharing about rewilding in the city – ‘animals finding respite in your little patch of wild’ – how beautifully put!
    In India, some people are trying to rewild and create community spaces and gardens (with of course political interference looming on their future). Do check out this amazing rewilding project done in the middle of a busy, bustling, polluting cities Delhi and Gurgaon. Posting this as an admiring visitor to this lovely space.
    http://iamgurgaon.org/portfolio/abdp/


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