I would like to suggest a few ways that we can permanently support the abundance, fertility and thriving nature of the land and that are common elements of all of human mind as parts of our history, and also to show that just by our presence we are able to benefit the land. Two—gratitude and rest—are cultural. The rest are physically things we can do to help.
I think that three of these—biochar, gratitude/nourishing, and rest are common to all indigenous cultures of the world. They are our collective heritage as a human species and it’s only in recent centuries that these things came to be disregarded and scrapped.
The last two are earthworks and the spreading of seeds. I believe that all societies dig the earth for root vegetables. Some might not? However it is not necessary to build intentional earthworks to survive as a human being. Neither is the intentional spreading of seeds necessary. However these things were still very widely known to our ancestors.
Biochar is the first. All human societies have made biochar! There is no other species that can work with fire like we can. Around traditional village sites there is most often a black earth composed of manure, food scraps, ash, potsherds, and charcoal that is among the most fertile soils of the world. In the Amazon, it is called “Terra preta”, but it can form anywhere. I have a patch of my garden that’s terra preta, currently occupied by a young peach tree, a marshmallow, and some garlic chives and regular chives. From what I remember, the way it got to be that way is, a big bucket of ash was dumped there one fall day.
Gratitude means being grateful for all the wild beings around us, medicines and cultivated plants, wild plants and weeds, trees, herbs, grasses, for each other, for our parents and ancestors, for the sun, for the moon and stars and all celestial entities, to the winds, the mountains, the valleys, earth, colors of earth, the river, the lake, the spring, the rain, the snow, the ocean, the animals, the stones, and so on—recognizing each their essential role in the wider thriving of life. When we are grateful, we are careful about working to nourish and sustain that which sustains us.
Rest also ties into gratitude but it is more explicit in that when we allow ourselves to rest from work and disturbance, and when we allow the ecosystem to rest from work and disturbance, then the landscape of ourselves and of Nature is much more abundant, fertile and diverse. The ancient Hebrews put a lot of emphasis on this because of agricultural and social practices including Sabbath that were incorporated into their culture, but also little known ones such as shmita or the sabbath of the land, a seven year cycle wherein the land is allowed a year to rest. (See Alexander’s thread here—
https://permies.com/t/192561/Sabbatical-Year)
Earthworks, including ponds, swales and terraces. Naturally, when a big tree is blown down in a windstorm and uprooted, a swale is created. In my climate this used to cover almost the entire landscape, moistening it and allowing a greater diversity and fertility. Where this structure still exists, the ecosystem is much more abundant; erosion is slowed dramatically, and leaves have a place to gather and rot into soil. And where I have dug these structures the land thanks me with abundant life and fertility. In dry climates it works too by creating shade and places where water can pool and soak in, and where seeds can germinate and grow. Even if a pond goes dry most of the year, it is still soaking in and fertilizing the land with water. Such structures need only be made once in a while, for they can last a very long time.
Movement of plants and seeds… the last and most controversial! Native people on this continent moved lots of seeds around. Most definitively the Jerusalem artichoke has been introduced to New England and has thrived here for maybe a thousand years. I believe that the movement of species has the ability to permanently enrich, enliven and diversify the land. Many people would say it is good to have as much diversity of well-adapted crops as possible. But, the whole invasive discussion is for another time and another thread.
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