(pensive music)
- Next, we have Laura.
How could we approach reforesting an area
with perhaps some selection of species
but not total design,
kind of like patterning 50/50 or 25/75
with natural process of reforestation?
Self-replicating systems sound essential
in the reforesting of larger land spaces
that have been degraded,
especially on a limited budget and/or work force.
We have both old growth oak forest
and also areas in various stages of reforestation
after it's been abandoned.
Okay, Laura, you can do that.
This is a pretty wild section here.
We're in a swale and I've got some high-viz tape
because I'm going to raise the height
of our swale banks in a swale workshop soon.
But just over here, we have native regrowth
with novel, non-natives and natives mixed together
and combinations and that's how the landscape
of this part of Australia regens.
But right here,
here there's a red cedar that I've planted,
which was the old-growth tree
that was first logged in this area.
I've planted over 300.
Behind it is a silky oak, which I've planted,
which is a great light-demanding rainforest tree.
There's quite a few different regen trees here.
Regeneration trees.
And then as we go along, bear with me,
we go down the swale,
we've got ice cream-bean
and then we've got another red cedar here.
And another one, there's a couple there.
But just behind's the jackfruit.
And then over here,
we have a huge climbing yam
going up an ice cream-bean.
But next to that's a Bunya pine,
which is a native tree here.
And then right next to is a Blue Quandong,
Elaeocarpus grandis, one of the great rainforest trees
in the area.
So what we have here is a real blend.
And there's a foam bark,
which was already here
next to a really old stump.
And that was already here
when we put the earthworks in.
And then as we go along,
we've got going on the ground,
we've got a bush lemon citrus,
we've got another Bunya pine.
And we've got all kinds of assemblies going through here.
Pretty wild, pretty wild stuff.
There's a whalebone tree hanging over the swale.
Here I've got it clear.
This is a wild section
of Zaytuna Farm's swale food forest assembly.
I reckon it's doing lovely actually, I love it.
It's got a kind of wild look
and it's got a kind of understory window.
Climb up this way, cameraman.
We'll go this way.
(Geoff chuckling)
And there are areas here with the bamboo giving leaf litter
that makes it sort of clear around.
Here's a big whalebone here,
which is a native tree
and there's another one snapped over
with a giant vine on it.
I can see another Bunya pine.
And there's a really wild assembly here.
I could start discovering new things myself I think.
But it's not been attended to much.
It's just part of that farm.
But it's still doing its thing.
There's a Brazil cheery, another citrus.
Combinations, they work fine.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with a novel ecosystem,
as long as you select the assemblies.
Even having a little bit of allopathy
of the leaf falling on the bamboo gives you an edge.
Allopathy to fertile ground edge.
It's all about little bits of edges.
Nature will take up its gap.
You'll still get areas
that you could maintain a bit more
to get a bit more production, opening up to light.
It's entirely up to you.
Nature has no prejudice.
It's a fine thing.
(pensive music)
(birds tweeting)