Natures Power. Could 2023 be a year of abundant regeneration?

I want to look at why 2023 could be, and needs to be pivotal for the regenerative transformation needed to heal people and planet, and why nature holds the key.

2022 was a year of multi crises, but also many positive shoots. 2023 can see a positive tipping point, we even have energy prices coming back to less crazy levels, with the price hikes having got businesses focused on efficiency, another silver lining.

Investing in nature, on site, in supply chains, connecting and building communities and local regeneration is probably the most cost effective investment you can make in 2023 and for your business future.

Take a moment and think about the time you spend looking at screens indoors, how does this compare with time spent in nature??

The powerful mental and physical health benefits provided by time spent in blue and green spaces or bringing nature into our home and lifestyle is clear.

And the best part?

Nature is accessible for all and can be invested in for free, providing abundant gifts which not only sustain, but make things better for people and planet.

So, what is ‘nature’ and how does human nature fit in?

People are nature. Technology and culture is nature, from fire, art, writing, to coal fired power plants and solar panels.

We are the pinnacle of evolution it could be argued, yet paradoxically, our behaviour on a systemic level more closely resembles that of more primitive beings - bacteria.

Below is a growth curve, instead of a petri dish, humans have a planet, and like bacteria, once we got a handle on extraction of resources, we really accelerated our growth, all the time polluting our environment. What comes next for humanity is likely to be similar unless we get a wriggle on with real climate solutions.

Replacing fossil fuels with renewables, technology, solar panels, electric vehicles and zero carbon emissions will be meaningless if nature collapses.

We have the technology needed...

but what about culture?

We rely utterly on nature and our fellow creatures, yet have caused extinctions, ecosystem destruction and turned our waters and air into a plastic and chemical soup.

But the tide is turning, with regeneration and ecosystem restoration projects shining a light both here in the UK, where we led the exploitative ways, and around the globe.

For too long we have sought to control nature, and also to control people, taking the nature out of the person.

‘Those who go into wilderness, into Nature that has not been tamed, are no longer under (arbitrary) human law, but under the all-encompassing, inevitable law of Nature. They go out from under human law. They are no longer citizens, they are not orderly, they are not civilised – they are outlaws. When you go into wilderness, something happens, something that civilisation does not like. (That’s why they cut it down, you know).’

Stephen Harrod Buhner

Check out this inspiring video "Documenting the Biophilia Project, an experiment in re-introducing young people to the natural world."

Relearning forgotten knowledge, listening to Indigenous people, reconnecting with nature, place and community is where sustainable solutions abound.

Humans & Nature - Let's stop the separation!

The pace of change has rapidly accelerated over the recent small chunk of time, a mere nanosecond of earths history. Technology and artificial intelligence provide so much potential, yet nature provides salvation.

Now, we need our spark of conscience or whatever it is that made us different to our fellow creatures, and collective powers to cause an even more rapid change, take our last chance to leave a positive legacy and survive as a species.

The technology causing so much exploitation of earths resources only exists because of a cooperative hive mind: hundreds of scientists and engineers working together.

The same unique intelligence and cooperation also underlies more positive advances, such as modern medicine.

Lets ensure our great grandchildren look back at our generation as the ones who bucked the selfish gene trend and regenerated nature, human nature included!

Over millennia we co-evolved amongst earths species, past and present, from the microbes that spawned everything, and before that the big bang, or whatever wonder seeded our universe and all of the atoms that make the cells in your eyes as you read this.

When life first appeared on earth, in simple forms, collaboration and working together was the catalyst for evolution and diversity.

Single celled organisms combined forces, with each of your cells containing a legacy from the primordial soup and shared amongst millions of species - our brothers and sisters and distant cousins, from majestic birds, to weird and wonderful dinosaurs and fungi.

The first known single-celled organisms appeared on Earth about 3.5 billion years ago, roughly a billion years after Earth formed. More complex forms of life took longer to evolve, with the first multicellular animals not appearing until about 600 million years ago.

What makes humans different?

We evolved c 200,000 years ago - mere newbies, yet we have changed life on earth like no other before us, and just as we think about colonising other planets, which is quite possible, we are close to making our only mother earth inhospitable for ourselves.

Every human is weird, wonderful and uniquely full of unlimited potential.

Together we have moved mountains and climates, created wonders and amazing constructs of love, health, sport, art, music, dance, cooking, healing, curing, nurturing, growing.

Working together with our fellow creatures and getting back #insynq with nature, humans have all the help we need as we embrace the opportunity to heal people and planet.

Billions of creatures interacting in a magnificent dynamic symphony with human ingenuity used positively, in balance with ecological systems can heal with the urgency needed.

Humans, the pinnacle of evolution? Time will tell and we have just enough time!

Our ever increasing and accelerating ingenuity creating technological wonders, we have accelerated out of control.

From polluted rivers, air and soil, mass species extinction and extreme weather, to supply chains, food systems and energy markets, 2022 was a year of unprecedented chaos and disruption.

Yet even the darkest parts, wars, human rights abuses and systemic failures create new light and opportunities to change, and change we will, and change is needed, nature is fighting back as new weather impacts and diseases increasingly disrupt the extractive and damaging status quo of western and capitalist mainstream culture.

The inharmonious chaos of our geo political systems is laid bare, top down dictatorship is clinging to power, just.

Yet a new world order is forming, regeneration is happening and a growing army of companies, organisations, councils and citizens are driving regeneration.

Away from Binary to Holistic & Systems Thinking

Regenerative?design uses whole?systems thinking?to create resilient and equitable systems that integrate the needs of society with the integrity of nature.

Humans, or at least the current norms of the system like binary problems, with binary solutions. Ergo the calling out of CO2 'tunnel vision'

Carbon is bad? Cows are bad?

Not at all. The problem is unrestrained exponential extraction and pollution, lobbying and greenwashing, big chemical and pharmaceutical companies, corrupt actors, unfit political systems and leaders have led us to the brink of a crash at 100mph, suddenly reaching for the handbrake.

Yet the handbrake hasn't been pulled, not before now, when it could have, and if 'they' 'listened to the science' years ago we wouldn't now be ricocheting off obstacles as we crash through floods, droughts, fires, disease, food insecurity, mental wellbeing and health system crises.

But it isn't too late.

And the tide is turning... the binary elements getting more solution focused and the joined up thinking being catalysed from the ground up.

Demonization, black or white, this is not the stuff of nature or human nature is it?

Humanity is an infinitely colourful, unimaginably diverse wonder of nature!

"It turns out that humans really are unique among the animal kingdom for having such a tremendous diversity in our faces. No other mammal, bird, or reptile that we know of has as much variance in facial features as do humans.?"

We (the system and mainstream society) have hardly celebrated this diversity, with indigenous peoples, people of colour and feminine leadership killed and stymied, to the belated increasing acceptance that gender, sexuality and brains are not binary.

In my last newsletter I talked about the mainstreaming and genesis of biodiversity as a buzz word, which is hugely positive.

Living creatures and nature is immeasurably more tangible than CO2 or climate change as concepts.

That being said, isn't it crazy that we are only now getting serious about stopping plastic pollution, with the omnipresence of plastic waste scourging our environment at an exponential rate since I can remember as a kid back in the 80's!

The system is the issue, with recycling systems woefully failing industry and citizens, but the tide has turned, again we need a rapid acceleration to nature based solutions and circular systems, even coca cola has started TALKING about deposit return schemes.

Bit late, and as Greta would say, please less bla bla bla and instead invest billions in creating the infrastructure, also admit that the core product is bad for health and planet if consumed regularly.

The diet version also bad, with synthetic sweeteners linked to pervasive negative health and environmental impacts.

What about a glass of water, or some fresh juice from berries grown at home or picked from the local community garden.

How about Coca cola invests in creating a regenerative and nutritious alternative to its current fares?

They are following trends and talking about stuff which is relevant but not leading, this is simply greenwashing and the farce of Cop27 being sponsored by them, then dropping them, telling a woeful tale of the credibility of these Cops.

And then we have the biodiversity COP15 - with some experts labelling it a resounding success, others deriding it with good reason, the truth is somewhere in between.

But as we live in the Anthropocene era, controlled by money and capitalism, does life on earth needs a price?

System change would be nice

but looks unlikely

So life on earth is being given a price, and a carbon price, for those with the most money and power, such as large finance institutions and global markets to see value.

Carbon markets are relatively new but rapidly growing, already far too complex and lacking in standards, but we are getting there, but focusing on biodiversity is the way forward.

Despite well publicised failures, successes abound and funding nature restoration and protection is so much more than just carbon!

Financial institutions and analysts are working to make natures value fit into carbon markets and financial systems.

Research from International Monetary Fund's Ralph Chami et al:?Financing conservation by valuing carbon services produced by wild animals

" Humanity faces a dual threat to its existence: climate change and biodiversity loss. The two risks are linked through human activity and an economic system that promotes growth at the expense of nature. Creating a nature-based economy can mitigate the dual risks and bring sustained, shared prosperity. The research shows how markets can be developed around the protection and regeneration of nature."

So, whilst a carbon price on Whales and Elephants, hardly fills me with joy, it may be a necessary and important step to get capitalism aligned with reality - we are just one species on one planet, amongst millions, and we must value each and every one of our fellow creatures, our survival depends on it!

Here are some hugely positive stories which show nature and human nature can recover.

We can heal people and planet!

"At the end of the last ice age,?Scotland?was a truly wild place, where the?Highland tiger, a distinctly banded?wildcat, and the?wolf, lynx, and bear roamed among Caledonian pine forests. The Romans called the country’s north “The Great Wood of Caledon.” But over time, humans purged the land for timber, charcoal, and agriculture. Native species such as wild boar, polecat, and elk vanished. By the turn of the 20th century, only 5 percent of Scotland’s land area was covered by forest.

Now the country is experiencing a zeitgeist moment for rewilding—in essence, the rebuilding of ecosystems to their natural uncultivated states—with new efforts and a matrix of wild lands and natural corridors spreading across the country. The actions of those responsible are aligning and, if successful, would make Scotland the first rewilded nation in the world."

Food in the City - Learning from Leeds

"Cities and urban areas are complex and provide a home to 72% of Europe’s population. If we want a regenerative food system we need to make city food systems work for people and planet.

In this session, we will look at a case study of how permaculture is used in the city of Leeds. In the north of England, Leeds has around 800,000 residents with many food initiatives working to tackle social, environmental and health challenges."

The reintroduction of Beavers in the UK is a huge success story.

"The beaver is a?keystone species?and one of nature’s most awesome ecological engineers. Through the building of dams, the digging of canals, and the creation of dead wood, beavers create and maintain habitats where an abundance and diversity of life can flourish. Dams prevent soil eroded from fields from being lost to the sea. Carbon and nutrients are trapped, improving water quality downstream. The flow of water is slowed, helping to ameliorate flooding.?

Beavers are vegan and don’t eat fish or other animals. Studies have shown that young salmon grow faster and are in better condition in areas where beavers live. A?host of other creatures benefit from their presence including insect, amphibian, bird, and mammal species."

Despite ongoing river pollution, there is hope and positives!

If we protect and regenerate quickly, the future is bright ??????

Here is another example of what can be achieved:

“It was like flicking a switch, the natural process switch. As soon as the water started flowing through the winding channel, nature was back in charge again, and all of that diversity came back, almost as if by magic,”

And a bunch of inspiring and educational stories and articles hand picked for you :)

I hope you found value?

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