A British Agricultural Systems Ecology (BASE)
An Ecology of Agricultural Systems that take Wilderness as the Template within the British Context
In my most recent article (Should Conservation Exclude Agriculture?) I started to describe what an ecology of agricultural systems could look like where wilderness is taken as the template in Britain.
I started this visioning process with the Forest Gardens, Holistically Planned Grazing and Knepp systems. As seen below I envisioned these three systems emanating out of each settlement to form Local BASEs.
I then discussed how by adding two or more Local BASEs together that a Bioregional BASE could be formed in which the natural cycles could be enhanced through working at their scales. This I proposed would give context to conservation and agriculture, allowing us to only take half and thus fulfil E O Wilson’s wish.
Wilderness is key to this as it provides the most efficient way of doing things. By using symbiotic relationships rather than automation, we can compete with and regenerate upon the diminishing returns of industrialisation. All we have to do is stop and listen.
“our relationship with land cannot heal until we hear its stories” (Kimmerer 2013, p.9)
The below is a case in point. By managing the land how we think it should be, we are doing so at ours and Nature’s expense. By taking wilderness as our template we can save ourselves time and resources, restoring farmer’s work life balance.
However the BASE as it currently stands is not sufficient to sustain a British population. In the coming articles of this collection I will identify deficiencies within it’s vision and propose solutions. Over time it is my hope that this vision will become clearer, more expansive and rich, providing a guide for those lost within our ensuing collapse.
Crawford, M., 2014. Creating A Forest Garden: Working With Nature To Grow Edible Crops. 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Green Books.
Kimmerer, R. W., 2013. Braiding Sweetgrass. 1st Edition. Canada: Milkweed Editions.
