Desertification & The Rewilding Stick

Throughout geological time, the development of deserts has occurred naturally. However, in recent times human activity, such as in improper land management, deforestation and climate change have accelerated the process of desertification in many areas.

When land is losing it’s capacity for biological productivity there is a loss of biodiversity, and also a loss of potential food production capacity. Not only are the local animal species threatened, there is ultimately a risk to human life too. The threat to human life may begin as a disruption to the food supply, and the damaging effects this has to the local economy. Ultimately this can lead to the total collapse of any human settlements in that area and can contribute to poverty in the surrounding areas.

Causes of Desertification: Part of the problem is that when biological productivity is consumed in an unsustainable way, not only are the local plant species greatly reduced or lost, but also the animals which had been helping to maintain that local ecology are also lost. Animals help to spread the seeds of plants via their normal actives of feeding, foraging, burrowing and so on. As those animals are lost to an area, there is no replacement of the local plant species so eventually only old specimens are left until even those die off – leaving only barren land or a desert.

In order alleviate this situation and to offset Desertification, it is up to us humans to intervene and take on the role of “seed spreading” and “seed planting” the indigenous animals once did.

A Rewilding Stick lets you plant about 500 seeds per hour directly into rough ground, while walking upright at a normal pace. There is no need to bend over while planting with a Rewilding Stick, so less chance of a sore back at the end of it.

In many situations this saves all the time and effort of needing to set up and maintain a plant nursery, and all the attendant activities. Instead the seeds are simply planted into the ground where they are intended to grow.  If an individual decided they wanted to plant, say, 10 thousand trees, it would normally be an expensive, time-consuming (and back-breaking) proposition to do so with seedlings. They would either have to grow, or buy, the seedlings. Then, because they spent so much time and / or money on the seedlings they would feel that they have to protect them from predation by using fences or Spiral Tree Protection Guards. This would take even more time, and add even more to the costs. Yet, using a Rewilding Stick the same amount of planting can be done in just 20 hours of “walking”. If a percentage of those plants are consumed by the indigenous animals it does not matter (and is arguably a good thing) because when the plants that survive mature the animals will help spread their seeds.

-William
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William Fergus Martin, Founder: The Global Rewilding Initiative.
& The Global Forgiveness Initiative.