What is Holistic Restoration?
What's in a Word
In English there is no word to describe the whole that incorporates both wild and human, yet all landscapes are created by the two. Holistic Restoration is a way of naming and engaging with that whole.
As an approach to land management it offers a practical way to merge rewilding with the production of food, timber, fuel and fibre whilst acknowledging both nature led and human led strands of the whole.
In English there is no word to describe the whole that incorporates both wild and human, yet all landscapes are created by the two. Holistic Restoration is a way of naming and engaging with that whole.
As an approach to land management it offers a practical way to merge rewilding with the production of food, timber, fuel and fibre whilst acknowledging both nature led and human led strands of the whole.
Some of the interweaving crises of our time
Why Do We Need Holistic Restoration?
There are many challenges that the world and humanity face; climate change, pollution, habitat loss and poor human health to name a few. These crises are frequently presented as separate entities, as are their various 'cures', and they are generally approached in isolation from one another.
When we view a single problem, and seek a single cure, conflicts frequently arise - should we reforest land to capture carbon or should we promote farmland to reliably feed local people? Should we conserve cultural heritage or create human free wilderness? It is only by expanding the field of view, to include both nature and people as part of the same whole, that we can see that all of these crises are aspects of the same broken relationship between people and planet.
There are many challenges that the world and humanity face; climate change, pollution, habitat loss and poor human health to name a few. These crises are frequently presented as separate entities, as are their various 'cures', and they are generally approached in isolation from one another.
When we view a single problem, and seek a single cure, conflicts frequently arise - should we reforest land to capture carbon or should we promote farmland to reliably feed local people? Should we conserve cultural heritage or create human free wilderness? It is only by expanding the field of view, to include both nature and people as part of the same whole, that we can see that all of these crises are aspects of the same broken relationship between people and planet.
Dynamic habitats created through the interaction between keystones and vegetation growth
The Ecological Roles of People
So how might we begin to integrate ourselves once more into the ecosystems that surround us? We can start by looking to the past.
Britain has a long history. Ice ages, where mammoths, cave bears, ancient humans and many other species dwelt here, have alternated with interglacial periods like today.
In previous interglacials people, as well as elephants, lions, hyenas and many other species, dwelt here.
In our present interglacial these species are extinct along with many, more recent, causalities - bears, wolves, lynx, wild cattle and beavers to name a few. The loss of these species has created gaps in our ecosystems.
Ancient hunter gatherers, as well as early farmers, filled in for some of these missing species including our now extinct ancestors - cutting down trees that elephants would once have felled, moving plant seeds once moved by rhinos and early humans, creating ponds and pools once created by beavers and hunting animals once pursued by predators. Even our livestock have stepped into the vacated shoes of wild boar, wild cattle and other herbivores.
By viewing the world as a single, interconnected whole Holistic Restoration revives these lost ecological interactions and guides how they can be filled by living species, including people, today.
So how might we begin to integrate ourselves once more into the ecosystems that surround us? We can start by looking to the past.
Britain has a long history. Ice ages, where mammoths, cave bears, ancient humans and many other species dwelt here, have alternated with interglacial periods like today.
In previous interglacials people, as well as elephants, lions, hyenas and many other species, dwelt here.
In our present interglacial these species are extinct along with many, more recent, causalities - bears, wolves, lynx, wild cattle and beavers to name a few. The loss of these species has created gaps in our ecosystems.
Ancient hunter gatherers, as well as early farmers, filled in for some of these missing species including our now extinct ancestors - cutting down trees that elephants would once have felled, moving plant seeds once moved by rhinos and early humans, creating ponds and pools once created by beavers and hunting animals once pursued by predators. Even our livestock have stepped into the vacated shoes of wild boar, wild cattle and other herbivores.
By viewing the world as a single, interconnected whole Holistic Restoration revives these lost ecological interactions and guides how they can be filled by living species, including people, today.
Further Information
If you are interested in learning more about Holistic Restoration check out;
If you are interested in learning more about Holistic Restoration check out;
- The book 'Emergent'. This book provides the context to Holistic Restoration. It delves into the history of people in Britain, where conservation and rewilding came from, how agriculture developed, what roles people play and have played in ecosystems and how humanity and the wild can be united once more.
- Our session at Oxford Real Farming Conference, available here.
- The Integrate Podcast. The podcast takes you on a 50 minute journey through how and why we divided up our landscapes and the benefits of reintegrating plants, animals and people once more.
- There are also courses on offer here, Courses and Talks, and consultancy services here, Consultancy.
- Or download the handy Introduction to Holistic Restoration PDF below.
| Introduction to Holistic Restoration |
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