2.3.10. Use Small and Slow Solutions

Why should we start small and slow when drastic remedies are so needed for the most serious problems facing us? 

I’ll give you an example. A man I met in Los Angeles was a wealthy business owner who was concerned about the environment and wanted to give back. He decided to help Afghanistan and planted 2 million trees in the country. Within a year or so, 1.5 million were dead. Most of the remaining trees were dead within 3 years. Why?

He hadn’t found out enough about how to ensure they survived. They were the wrong trees for the ecosystems, there was not sufficient support worked out, and most of all the warring tribes in the region felt that the trees created cover for their enemies so they cut them down and used them for firewood. This is a great illustration of why whole systems design is so needed. Ensuring trees survive must include the people component as well as thoughtfulness in ecological design. 

An example of successful reforestation is a man in Africa who noticed one type of  tree able to get a foothold on the edge of the Sahara in Niger. He continued to observe the conditions under which these trees grew themselves, if allowed to do so. He also spent time educating local villagers on why they should want these trees, and actually showed them the benefits so they could see for themselves.

Some villagers recalled techniques they and their ancestors used to use, such as passive irrigation systems, to grow trees in the region. The trees created more grazing for their goats, not less. They provided other economic benefits, shade, more water in the soil, actually helped springs come back, and fed the soil and made it more fertile.  

In the first example, this man spent a lot of money importing trees that almost all died. He likely made it harder for the next person to come in and do something environmentally friendly by not working with locals to find out what they would actually consider valuable and would work with. 

In the second example, the individual used his observation of the system to find a way to work with existing resources to reforest the area. He used trees already growing there, and got agreement from villagers to protect them long enough that they could get larger. These trees were easily propagated, so expense and use of fossil fuels was very minimal. He made the least amount of change for the greatest effect. 

Mollison found that diverse smallholder gardens were some of the most productive in the world. He felt that this was because there was a lot of observation and interaction and ability to tweak the system to maximize efficiency and yield. 

On our project, we planted 80 fruit trees that were all of different cultivars and types. We fed and watered some of them at different rates. The idea is, we wanted to see which ones would thrive on our unique sandhill before committing to a full orchard. We’re planting trees that haven’t been extensively studied in Florida, especially in our ecosystem. So we wanted to ensure they would work out, before investing in a full orchard. This approach takes patience, but the result will be a more regenerative and resilient orchard than we otherwise would have had. It’s paid off because we’ve learned so much about these trees in 2-3 years both by observing how they’re doing on our sandhill and having the time to reach out to others growing the same trees, that we have much more robust and deep knowledge of all aspects of stewarding a variety of fruit trees that will thrive on this site.