There’s good ideas, and then there’s great ideas. Ecosystem Restoration Camps is the latter; a hands on, active, participatory approach to battling climate change, by empowering local communities and farmers to heal areas of degraded land — one piece at a time.
Still growing as a grassroots movement, Ecosystem Restoration Camps works with local communities to empower them with the knowledge and practical help needed in order to transform their lands back from the brink.
Image from: https://www.ecosystemrestorationcamps.org/wp-content/uploads/Ecosystem_restoration_infographics-min.jpg
The approach uses regenerative farming principles, incorporating permaculture, agroecology, closed-loop systems, composting, and swales for water management. Focusing on restoring the soil health, the camps use volunteers from all walks of life to assist in the projects.
The camps will help to create action towards this solution by teaching large numbers of people how to restore degraded land, whilst giving them the opportunity to work with local farmers who need support in transitioning to regenerative agriculture. At the camp, people will acquire the knowledge and information they need in order to put theory into practice. This gives farmers who are struggling financially the ability to try regenerative techniques, thanks to the voluntary manual labour, and gives people valuable experience in landscape restoration. Ecosystem Restoration Camps has the potential to give millions of people around the world the chance to reconnect with the natural world, causing ripple effects as they bring this knowledge and connection back into towns and cities across the globe.
Need to know more? Check out their incredibly interesting First Year Report from Camp Altiplano.