Regenerating Native Forest from Happen Films.

A good lunchtime vid about reforesting a tract in New Zealand

That was nice. A great way to recharge after a long hot day.

There's an example of: 'Think Globally, Act Locally'. He should be on the Queens Honours List for the work done to restore marginal land and it being used as a case study for others.

He's certainly getting talked about. My son's class was on a nearby farm today helping to plant several thousand native trees along a stream, and the principal was telling one of the teachers about how gorse is a great nurse plant. He even  mentioned Hugh in passing.

Phil Stevens wrote:He's certainly getting talked about. My son's class was on a nearby farm today helping to plant several thousand native trees along a stream, and the principal was telling one of the teachers about how gorse is a great nurse plant. He even  mentioned Hugh in passing.

It is a small world, isn't it?    Very cool that your son got to help plant natives and that they recognize Gorse isn't the devil.

I just finished watching this for our first Permies Movie Night.  That looks like it would be a very cool place to explore.  I was struck by the attitudes toward the gorse as invasive, and how the fellow in the movie suggested it's role was that of a nurse plant helping to transform grassland into forest.  It made me think of a plant that grows around me, autumn olive or autumn berry, that most here view as an evil invasive.  Like the gorse it too can take over, esp. in open, degraded land.  Also like the gorse it is a nitrogen fixer.  While I don't know for sure, I suspect the autumn olive if left alone would probably help create an ecosystem to nurse other later succession trees that would eventually grow taller and shade out the autumn olive.  I say this because while I see it a lot in open fields and edge zones I don't really ever see it in forests.

I also enjoyed how the fellow doesn't have a cell phone!  A man after my own heart.  Personally I wish I could get rid of my land line too.

I loved this, a person going out to do what he believes in, entering in to a dialogue with the natural world.

I’m so glad it’s working well

Amazing that the gorse areas burned but the established hardwoods did not.  That was a real surprise for me.

I love it that the regeneration itself is enough for them, and they are not monetizing it.  When I have spent money building a chicken house, or buying soil regeneration seed, a friend of mine used to comment that I was never going to get that money back.  He stopped saying that when I started pointing out that when he goes on a vacation or out to dinner, concert, movie, he’s never going to get that money back.  

Lovely interlude after some exhausting days.

It put me in mind of a movie that might a good program another night.

Should I put my suggestion on the other thread?  or here?

Great idea Beau 😊, thanks

My 8 year old liked how the woman in the red head-band talked, and my 5-year-old liked the squiggly river-creatures.  Anyone know what those are?

I lived in New Zealand for a couple years at one point earlier in my life. Watching this film, I could smell the gorse.  Lovely picture of a very specific ecosystem, and its ability to recover itself.  

Thekla McDaniels wrote:
Amazing that the gorse areas burned but the established hardwoods did not.  That was a real surprise for me.

Same.
Reminded me of the long leaf pine ecosystem that dominated the Southeastern quarter of the US, and its period cleansing by fire, both naturally occurring, and stewarded by the first peoples. Interesting that both that system and the area Hugh stewards are now diminished to 1% their original size.

I love it that the regeneration itself is enough for them, and they are not monetizing it.  When I have spent money building a chicken house, or buying soil regeneration seed, a friend of mine used to comment that I was never going to get that money back.  He stopped saying that when I started pointing out that when he goes on a vacation or out to dinner, concert, movie, he’s never going to get that money back.  

I think that's one of the most helpful realizations in this journey for me, too.  I remember planting our first garden at our rental house in midtown, KCMO.  I remember a sudden, distinct understanding that any investment sown into a specific place for its own good is always, always worthwhile.  That posture has served us well through many transitions.

Should I put my suggestion on the other thread?  or here?

Over there would be lovely, thanks Thekla.  

Great idea Beau 😊, thanks

Thanks for coming!
We had popcorn with truffle-salt.  Mmmm.

David Huang wrote:
I also enjoyed how the fellow doesn't have a cell phone!  A man after my own heart.

here here, David.

Also, interesting correlations with Autumn Olive.  Thank you for bringing that up.

My own success story at neglecting parts of my garden is the emergence of one of my favourite decorative plants: the Chinese Lantern. I wouldn't have been able to find it let alone propagate it even if you held a gun to my head. It still pops up now and then which is a welcome sight.

Mum had been uprooting anything non-grass for years. We stopped her doing that which in retrospect was the wrong thing to do because she developed Alzheimer's from lack of brain activity. She is no longer with us. The brain x-ray showed that her brain mass had shrunk by 50 percent. I don't know how humans survived without instinct and training at being a kid/teenager/young adult/parent/grand-parent.

Here is the kicker. We spent a month in Australia because at one end was a wedding and the other end was the confirmation of our godchild.

When we came back, we saw unexpected plants and shrubs. We have been leaving things alone much to the disapproval of our neighbours. Some approve but most disapprove(and these are the ones whose dogs leave their dung about).

Looking forward to the next movie.

Wonderful film - thanks for the recommendation Edward and thanks for organizing this group event Beau.
The thing that stuck with me was the statement of intention: “to do the right thing in our corner of the world.” Regenerating a native forest is a monumental undertaking! Even though my ecosystem project is seriously tiny compared to this project, the idea that we all can do something felt really affirming: “If [doing the right thing] is repeated over and over all over the world, the possibilities are immense.” We don’t have to do it all, just the best we can do.

I am curious, was this video only available for a short time?  I kind of thought it was “always” there

Watch it when you can, and join the discussion!

Should be available as long as it stays live on youtube.

I've spent too much of my life reading "professional" reviews so sorry if this comes off as a bit too pedantic.

I've noticed documentaries have for a while achieved a plateau in film making. The vast majority seem to have been made by the same crew. I'll assume this is a product of film schools churning out more graduates every year. This has many positives as it means the media becomes invisible and the viewer is left to focus fully on the subject matter. However, I also value being fully aware of a presentation, knowing who is doing the recording, and why. Anyone interested in one of the best examples of a documentary where the makers are blended artfully into the presentation should watch Mondovino (not permaculture focused but does mesh with it IMO).

This movie had the 'invisible', well polished presentation style I've seen from most documentaries lately.

As for content, I like what was done with the reforestation and would certainly tour the preserve if I were ever in the vicinity. One point that caught my attention was when Hugh made a comment about classifying himself as "homo sapiens", in contrast to the earlier statement that 'we need more fools and dreamers'. I had thought of that as translating to 'man the wise' and wisdom to be an antonym of foolishness. Looking up "sapient" I found: "Attempting to appear wise or discerning", with the actual possession of those qualities being considered "dated". It appears somewhere recently the English language has been changed to alter the meaning of Lineaus's categorization of humanity! I could see that as it's own form of wisdom, or maybe something darker...

Beyond semantics, the disappointing aspect of the project presented was the lack of what I would recognize as sustainable community. Everything seemed to be operating as a tourist business. I didn't notice anything integrated that involved families or other individuals sharing at more than a superficial level. Not necessarily a bad thing- perhaps that is what it takes to create and sustain zone 5 activity for tighter community to manifest nearby. It's just my preference in seeking out permaculture projects to find integration with community as that seems the key to the future permaculture development we need, and it is severely lacking.

Beau Davidson wrote:My 8 year old liked how the woman in the red head-band talked, and my 5-year-old liked the squiggly river-creatures.  Anyone know what those are?

Tuna (eels). The most beloved and important of our native fish.