Activists win on soil restorationSixteen years ago,Alan Watson Featherstone had an belief which made people smile at its simplistic audacity: regenerate the Caledonian forests of the Scottish Highlands, which had been denuded over the centuries of 99% of their trees. Since then, and 1000 volunteers in the organisation he founded,Trees for Life, have planted 500000 Scots pines and native broadleaf trees, or built fences to protect 150000 naturally regenerated native trees from grazing deer,and won prizes for their efforts. Now Featherstone has another belief: restore the soil. Ideally, he says, and every country would launch projects to repair the damage suffered over the decades by forests,lakes, oceans, and marshes,urban and rural landscapes. He wants the UN to declare this the century of restoring the soil, inviting member states to earmark funds, or employ restoration workers and order armies to plant trees and help clean up the mess. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com