Muse Ecology

Episode 2 consists of some fascinating interviews conducted by John Liu at the Global Landscapes Forum in Bonn, Germany. I've arranged them into five parts. Part 1 focuses on Commonland Foundation, an organization that catalyzes regenerative projects around the word. We heard of Commonland in Episode 1 at the ecosystem restoration camp in Spain, and how it had played a crucial role in the context that facilitated that project. We hear from Willem Ferwerda, founder and CEO of Commonland Foundation. I found his words to be clear and insightful, as John Liu's questions ranged from advice to youth seeking to enter the emerging regenerative economy to the relation between ecosystem health and social stability. Willem and the Commonland Foundation have done much to facilitate better relations between economy and ecology, and to restore ecosystem function in degraded landscapes. www.commonland.com We also hear from Eva Rood, Director of the Positive Change Initiative at Rotterdam school of Management, Erasmus University and project leader of the ENABLE-consortium (European Network for the Advancement of Business & Landscape Education). She works with Commonland and Erasmus University to help create ways to educate folks on how to do business in a way that benefits ecosystem function. www.rsm.nl/enable

The Ecosystem Restoration Camps movement has begun with the pilot camp in the Altiplano of southern Spain. In this episode I visit the camp to hear from the resident restoration volunteers and the land owner, Alfonso Chico de Guzman, cofounder of the Alvelal initiative. Links: Find out more and become a supporting member of the Ecosystem Restoration Camps at ecosystemrestorationcamps.org You can find scholarly work and films of John Liu at knaw.academia.edu/JohnDLiu Find out more about the AlVeLal Association at alvelal.net At ecosia.com you can set up Ecosia as your search engine where your searches pay for trees for restoration projects around the world. The banjo bird jam in the intro and outro was recorded in the woods by nature artist Michael DiGiorgio. If you'd like to order a CD of this album he says to email him at the contact on his website, mdigiorgio.com You can find more of Jo's acoustic music at soundcloud.com/jo-graham-denham You can find more of Ides' experimental electronic music at soundcloud.com/foundlingx Resident volunteers in a phone meeting with an expert consultant Alfonso showing me on of the many construction projects on the land Jo serenading while Kirsten takes her turn preparing dinner Some green popping up at the restoration camp site where earthworks have collected some precious rainwater. Alfonso and his father and brother standing near one of the ruins on their land La Muela, the mountain nearby where ecosystem restoration camp volunteers were helping Alvelal to plant 50,000 trees donated by Ecosia (You can't see the new trees yet)