My hard-working permaculture designer friend, owns a forest. After spending the bulk of her savings to protect the forest, she gifted it to the world in perpetuity. In her care, this forest thrives. The delicate fire flies are visited by a controlled numbers of visitors (mostly international tourists). This pristine forest water runs slowly to the nearby bustling city. The platypus pool gleams bright orange, full of natural tannin.
But there is a paradox of saving something as delicate as tranquillity. Tranquillity requires respect. A forest asks to be unharmed. So, how do we find a way to generate income for the forest long after my friend shuffles off in her slippers?
Mining Tranquillity
Every forest sits within a world where everything, except tranquility, has value. Forests don’t ask for money to protect them. The pressures of real estate surround the forests. Even forests owned by National Parks authorities need funds for basic works to maintain the fencing and access paths. To maintain tranquility, the stresses of the world need to be shut out. Yet people need an opportunity to get in. Tranquility leads to peace. And peace benefits the wider environment and the wider community.
What does a Peaceful Forest Cost?
The full cost of a tree is very modest yet the benefits are numerous.
Cost of Trees for the future:
Trees need:
- diverse genetic material (everyday genetic material is being lost through extinctions)
- space to grow
- long term peace even during times of war
- clean air and water
Benefits of trees are numerous
The benefits include carbon sequestration, nitrogen cycling, cloud seeding, micro-climate creation and water harvesting. Add to this their powers for pollution absorption, Tsunami and flood refuge, and complex nutrient cycling.
As well as those amazing feats, trees offer soil stability, water clarification, erosion reduction, de-salination, and soil conditioning. But best of all they offer generous habitat for many creatures and micro-organisms. Recent research shows the microbes in the bark of trees also eat carbon dioxide.
Today we know a lot more than we did just a few years ago. Yet we only know some of complex life of trees. The value of trees to society include: fuel, lumbar, medicines, shade, fruit, nuts, oils, paper, rayon clothing, temperature control, clean air and water. And the animals that shelter in trees also provide a lot of value.
Canopy of Hope
Permaculture strives to reduce the pressures of farming on the remaining forests. By bringing food production into the cities, into the hands of the consumers we can all give the forests space. Through the development of community initiatives we can build interconnected societies that are richer than neighbouring mega-mansions with so little social interaction.
Pioneering social enterprise and cooperative initiatives, can continue funds for access. Small events in the forest offer unique experiences of tranquility without disturbance to the forest.
The survival of a forest provides hope worldwide. And the growing of food forests in the city reduces food miles, offers fresh flavours, nutrition and moments of wonder.
Learn more with Permaculture Visions