The Nursery Layer for Regeneration
Although Jim's passion is bush regeneration (wild nature) and I concentrate on regenerating nature in urban areas (nature combined with people), there is a lot of alignment in our ideas.
Since the last newsletter, we’ve visited Jim Williams and his bush garden for the group’s monthly verge visit. Although Jim's passion is bush regeneration (wild nature) and I concentrate on regenerating nature in urban areas (nature combined with people), there is a lot of alignment in our ideas.
Jim’s Nursery Layer
Here’s a video of Jim describing his philosophy of working with nature to create what he calls the nursery layer as the first and most essential step to regeneration. It’s a respectful collaboration with nature. When the nursery layer has developed enough, bigger plants will germinate and thrive. Please take time to watch it.
The way Jim sees the nursery layer having a fundamental role in creating the biodiverse environment that enables the larger species to emerge and thrive is similar to the way the Shady Lanes Project aims to foster bigger and more diverse collaborations.
My Nursery Layer
We know that if we are to make the transition to a more sustainable future, we need collaborations across sectors and disciplines to address the complex and interlinking issues we face. But we struggle to move from ideas to making it happen in our messy world.
The Shady Lanes’ nursery layer is our verge gardens. That is the first collaboration described in the Guiding Principles, between Councils, Residents, and Nature. The quality of the relationships nurtured within that collaboration will determine the outcomes.
While every verge garden adds to the network of biodiversity and shade in our streets, it also adds to the network of people who are willing and able to collaborate in that messy space where innovation can germinate.
When that network is rich enough with active participants who have practiced diverse skills with this relatively simple collaboration at a hyperlocal level, it forms the nursery layer that nurtures bigger, more complex collaborations.
You can’t skip the nursery layer. You can’t read the theory and assume you know. Only by doing it will you develop the patience and confidence to start slow, hold back and let things brew and emerge. It’s an ongoing journey of observing, reflecting, and learning by doing.
Groups and Scale
When I started my verge garden, it was just me doing my thing, albeit working within council guidelines and working with nature. And that’s where most people stop. It doesn’t inspire everyone in the street to plant theirs. It doesn’t scale.
And just as nature’s nursery layer is made of the combination of plants, for scale we need groups of people sharing ideas, combining resources and knowledge, and compounding single efforts into group outcomes.
There is plenty of material here and elsewhere about going it alone as a verge gardener with advice on how and what to plant. I don’t need to add to that.
Now that I’ve researched and experimented and tested how to make it work for groups, it’s time for me to commit to writing the book that makes it faster and easier for people and organisations who want to use verge gardening to change their suburbs and cities and help that transition to a more sustainable future for all.
The Book
I’ve signed up with the Expert Author Community where I have access to another group with the skills and experience to help me make it happen.
For me, it’s another stage in the Shady Lanes journey. Daunting, but necessary. I want this book to be a useful tool for you, something that you can use to increase support and make changes in your organisations and communities.
How might this book help you get the changes you want in greening our streets and changing our cities?
Inspiring.