Ecosystem Restoration Camp

Education, International, Methods, Projects

OUR VISION:

We envision a fully-functional, peaceful, abundant, biologically diverse Earth brought about through cooperative efforts for the ecological restoration of degraded lands.

OUR MISSION:

To work together to restore ecological functionality, to build Research, Training and Innovation Centers for Ecological Restoration, to engage people in inquiry into ecological restoration, and train people in how to restore degraded lands in perpetuity.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. To train people in techniques for restoring land and provide practical opportunities for people to practice new approaches to landscape restoration.
  2. To build research, training and innovation centers to engage people in ecosystem restoration.
  3. To manage a flow of volunteers of all ages to restore agricultural and natural ecosystems.
  4. To increase the organic matter, carbon content and water retention capacity of the soil to stimulate large scale carbon sequestration.
  5. To improve the livelihoods of farmers, landowners and local communities around the camps.

OUR PRINCIPLES AND VALUES:

We believe that all beings are equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights. We voluntarily, joyfully and with peaceful intent wish to restore basic ecological function so that all people and other living things can live together in harmony. We choose to work together to restore the fundamental ecological integrity of the Earth and to train large numbers of people to do this so that methods learned can be adopted throughout the world.

WHY WE NEED TO REHABILITATE DAMAGED ECOSYSTEMS

Ecosystem Restoration Camps member, environmental filmmaker, and soil scientist John D. Liu documents large-scale ecosystem restoration projects in China, Africa, South America and the Middle East, highlighting the enormous benefits for people and planet of undertaking these efforts globally.

  • Over the past 150 years, poor land management practices, driven by industrial agriculture, has resulted in the loss of half of the earth’s topsoil1.
  • Soil is becoming so degraded that some scientists are predicting that in some parts of the world, such as the UK, we only have 60 harvests left.
  • More carbon has been emitted from degraded soil than from the entire transportation industry. Since 1970, the amount of wild animals living on earth has decreased by 58%2, and ecosystems on every continent are collapsing.
  • Wetland and river species have suffered a staggering decrease of 81% in the same period3.
  • Tropical forests are now releasing more carbon than they are absorbing.
  • Methane under the siberian permafrost is beginning to be released. Without immediate, large scale action, many parts of the world will become uninhabitable in the next 50 years.
  • Conflict over resources such as water and farmable land will become common. Millions of people will either starve, or, if they’re lucky, migrate, causing rising tensions in areas where land is still safe to live on.

These changes are having a major impact on the living systems that we need to survive. Healthy ecosystems are essential to regulate our climate system, ensuring that there is enough water and nutrients for all of the creatures that depend on them.

WHY ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION CAMPS?

Sequestering the excess carbon in our atmosphere on a massive scale is one of the last remaining solutions to staving off the worst effects of climate change. By rehabilitating degraded ecosystems and helping farmers convert from industrial to regenerative agriculture, we can sequester enough carbon to create a safe level in the atmosphere (350ppm).

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.

To find out more visit: https://www.ecosystemrestorationcamps.org