This is The ChangeUnderground
I’m your host, Jon Moore
Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!
Welcome to episode 5 of season 9:
Regenerative agriculture continues to gain prominence as a sustainable and environmentally conscious approach to farming. While it’s often associated with large-scale operations, the principles of regenerative agriculture can be successfully applied to small-scale farming, community gardens and even backyard growing. In this blog post, we’ll explore small-scale success stories, highlighting how regenerative agriculture is making a significant impact and creating positive change in local communities.
Regenerative Agriculture: A Brief Overview
Before diving into the success stories, it’s essential to understand what regenerative agriculture entails. At its core, regenerative agriculture is an approach to farming that seeks to restore and regenerate the health of ecosystems. It focuses on sustainable and holistic practices that prioritise soil health, biodiversity and carbon sequestration. Some of the key principles of regenerative agriculture include:
- Minimising Soil Disturbance: This involves practices such as no-till farming to maintain soil structure and prevent erosion.
- Cover Cropping: The use of cover crops like legumes and grasses between cash crops helps prevent soil erosion, suppress weeds and enhance soil health.
- Diverse Crop Rotation: Regularly changing the crops grown in an area helps break pest cycles, improve nutrient cycling and enhance soil health.
- Livestock Integration: Integrating livestock into the farming system can help with nutrient cycling, adding organic matter to the soil and even pest control.
- Compost and Organic Matter: Adding organic matter through compost and mulch enriches the soil, making it more fertile and better at retaining moisture.
Small-Scale Success Story 1: Urban/Suburban Community Gardens
In many urban/suburban areas, community gardens are thriving examples of regenerative agriculture on a small scale. These gardens are often established on vacant lots or in urban parks, where neighbours come together to grow their food. Using regenerative practices, these community gardens enrich the soil, provide fresh produce to local residents and foster a sense of community.
For example, the Katoomba Community Organic Garden, in Katoomba, NSW, is a vibrant urban farm using regenerative techniques to grow a wide variety of crops. This example is driven by Permaculture principles. It not only provides fresh, organic produce to local residents but also serves as a gathering place for the community. One of the highlights of this Garden is the collection of heritage/heirloom apple varieties planted in an archway forming the spine of one section of the garden. These are available for cuttings and represent a significant resource for both the local community and wider horticultural industry.
Small-Scale Success Story 2: School Gardens
School gardens are another fantastic example of regenerative agriculture in action, teaching the next generation about sustainable farming practices. These gardens are often integrated into school curricula, offering students hands-on experience with growing food and connecting them to the environment.
In Australia, The Kitchen Garden Foundation, has been hugely successful in integrating food gardens into primary schools across all states and territories. From the website:
Quote:
As well as instilling positive food habits in students through growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing fresh produce, a kitchen garden program offers:
- life and practical skills
- student wellbeing and connectedness
- alternate ways of learning for increased engagement
- investigations into sustainability and food security.
For schools and educators the program provides:
- curriculum-integrated materials adaptable to any school environment
- personalised support and guidance for the Kitchen Garden Foundation Support Team
- professional development opportunities
- community of practice for support and inspiration
- increased community and social inclusion.
End Quote
A program that does so much more than “just” grow food!
Small-Scale Success Story 3: Backyard Gardening
Even on the smallest of scales, regenerative agriculture practices can make a significant difference. Many people are taking up gardening in their own backyards to grow their vegetables, herbs and fruits. By using regenerative techniques such as composting, mulching and no-till gardening, individuals enrich their soil, conserve water and produce food.
The horticulture program I run at a local disability support service is a good example of this. We use raised beds, compost and open pollinated seeds. Clients who have passed through the program have their gardens at home. Small steps but many small steps all leading to great strides in reducing fuel and poison consuming, CO2 producing lawns and more food grown by the people for the people who actually eat it.
Small-Scale Success Story 4: Permaculture Homesteads
Permaculture, which is a particular type of regenerative agriculture, is gaining popularity among those seeking self-sufficiency in a sustainable manner. Small-scale permaculture homesteads blend agriculture with elements of sustainable living, renewable energy and integrated land management.
Geoff Lawton’s Zaytuna Farm in NSW, half an hour or so outside Lismore, serves as an excellent example. This 66-acre permaculture farm showcases how regenerative practices can create a thriving ecosystem while meeting human needs. With techniques like swales for water management, perennial food forests and natural building, Zaytuna Farm demonstrates the potential for small-scale regenerative agriculture to be a self-sustaining and harmonious way of living in tune with the environment.
Small-Scale Regenerative Agriculture Matters
These small-scale success stories demonstrate that regenerative agriculture is not limited to large commercial farms and nor should it be! It can be embraced by communities, schools, families and even individuals in their backyards. The impact of regenerative practices on small scales is significant, ranging from increased access to fresh, healthy food to environmental benefits like improved soil health, carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation.
Regenerative agriculture offers an inclusive and adaptable framework that can be embraced by anyone who seeks to make a positive impact on the environment. By encouraging small-scale regenerative agriculture in our communities, we contribute to a more sustainable and ecologically sound future while nurturing a profound connection with the land and the food we eat. These success stories serve as examples that regenerative practices thrive at any scale, making a real difference in the world.
LINKS
JM Podcasting Services
No Dig Quick Start Course
https://changeunderground.net/the-no-dig-gardening-course/
Email: jon@jmps.au
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1546564598887681
In show links: