Off course it is good to start working on our own vision and try to improve the landscape we work in, but if we start collaborating with people in the region we can really start making impact on a bigger scale. And support each other in our efforts. Together we can build a strong supportive community where we share knowledge, tools, methods - and have a lot of fun together.
This is why we are actively inviting the local community to get involved in the topic of ecosystem restoration. We organized a gathering to talk about:
- the timebank system we are using to support each other (https://www.community-exchange.org/home/ces-exchanges/?xid=FLOR)
- inviting people to the 'month of ecosystem restoration': in February where we raise events around this topic where everybody can participate in.
The United Nations declared the decade that starts next year as the era of Ecosystem Restoration https://www.iucn.org/theme/nature-based-solutions/initiatives/decade-ecosystem-restoration.
As our vision aligns perfectly with this message, we want to create momentum around this topic in the new year. This is why we join forces with renowned permaculture farm Vale da Lama to raise awareness by inviting people to join our events in February.
In collaboration with Vinha Velha we (Restore Nature) invite people to participate in our 'Fridays for Future': On every Friday morning in February we make interventions in nature with a group of people. Also, we are planning a 2 day workshop in collaboration with reforestation experts from Eco Interventions to restore the waterline (see more here: https://explorer.land/x/project/vinhavelha_restornature/site/HvQ0oa/news)
And the same goes for the events Vale da Lama is organizing: on every Monday in the month of February they organize workshops as part of their ecosystem regeneration workshop.
We want to make these events accessible for people in the region; people of all levels of experience and all levels of income can participate. This way everybody can benefit and use the learned principles. And together we can make our actions more effective.
Also, we invite people to raise their own events in this month: everybody can organize a workshop, tour, talk, or something else around the topic of ecosystem restoration and invite people to join.
Let's make the new year a good one where we come together and support each other for a common, hopeful cause!