We need to grow trees, not just plant them
‘All the lumins were crying; it was their instinctive and habitual response to every report of a wounded, burned, or dying tree.
‘No,’ Ottilyn groaned, ‘I had to tell you, but please, stop. Every single one of your tears is a precious resource for trees. You must not waste them. You know, if you allow this to become an Anguish, your tears will take many lunar cycles to regenerate. ‘ from Chapter 9, the Dark Dominion, Min Barklin and the Silver Radiants
SAD FACT: It is one thing to plant trees and another to make sure trees grow.
The planet needs trees that will grow into their full majesty to help sequester tons of carbon dioxide from the air.
When you plant a tree in your garden you’re there to water and feed it. But, when trees are planted in their millions in harsh desert like environments, they often die long before they have a chance to send their roots down in search of water.
They don’t have lumin tears either that magically ensure that they are nourished as they grow.
For us humans/gawples, it’s wonderful to know that a very clever company, Land Life based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands has come up with a solution.
They describe themselves as achieving ‘technology driven reafforestation at scale.’
Apart from using drones to better survey damaged landscapes, they’ve created a recycled, cardboard seed cocoon to provide 3 months of water and the right nutrients to help trees grow in harsh climates. The video shows how it works.
GLAD FACT: The cocoon boosts trees survival from 10 to 90 per cent, while reducing irrigation from 1,500 to 37 litres per tree. Then it bio-degrades when the job is done.
How brilliant is that?
One of their projects, dear to our hearts, is in our home state, Victoria, Australia.
Land Life are working to restore historic Aboriginal land and wildlife habitat in a badly eroded landscape as a result of the gold rushes in the 1850’s.
This degradation threatens wildlife, including the Powerful owls, and the culture and livelihood of the Aboriginal tribes local to the area.
Land Life’s project grows trees successfully, which will halt soil erosion and create healthy eco-systems to support the original bio-diversity of the area.