Guardianship

nature restoration and private property

spiral of regeneration in quinta do bem haja - credit to catarina jesus

The earth is a sacred vessel
and it cannot be owned or improved.
If you try to possess, you will destroy it.
If you try to hold on to it - you will lose it.
Tao Te Ching

Nature constantly regenerates itself - independently of us. But this restorative processes can be greatly enhanced and magnified if our actions are to be attuned with the natural world.

There’s so much forest lost to wildfires, monoculture and logging. In less than two decades, more than half of the green cover in Portugal has disappeared. It’s hard to see this, for what really is. Most people ignore the ripples of such events, specially on a medium and longer term. There’s a insisting collective numbness about the legacy we are leaving for generations to come. And if one doesn’t feel such reality, one won’t care either.

For most of his life, British naturalist Sir David Attenborough, marveled at the wonders of nature. However, what he saw 100 years ago is surely very different from what can be observed today. Sir David emphasizes that protecting nature is essential. And that to protect, personal experience is needed.

No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced. David Attenborough

When we consider that more than 85% of forest cover in Portugal belongs to private owners… what does that say about care and nature restoration?

We are one of those small landowners. And we care. For us, purchasing land near Alcobaca - Portugal goes beyond the usual confines of private property. Because having a title does not mean we can exploit the land as we wish.

By developing a regeneration project in this place we want to ensure protection, nurturing and care for a small ecosystem where soil, plants, animals and people support each other. As teachers, we can involve, educate and share experiences with the surrounding community .

click to access regeneration project

This way, we hope that nature restoration can thrive soon enough in here. And eventually spiral outwards, to other private properties, organizations and the region in general.

One of the main pillars in our regeneration spiral is guardianship.

Differently from ownership, guardianship centers on direct experience and relationship. For us, this place is not mere property or commodity. But a living entity. As such, holds wisdom, complexity and coherency in itself.

As guardians our primary role is to bond. Very much alike parents with their children, we listen and stay with. In stillness, attentiveness and presence we get to hear the story and feel into the vitality alive in this environment.

Humans simply cannot connect from their heads. For that, we need bodies. And a resonant heart. Thus guardianship starts from within.

One very significant aspect is that we must step down from being the ‘organisers’ to become more ‘organic’. Allerd Stikker, mentions in his book that the separation between organic and organised is at the root of our ecological crisis.

Humanity excelled at organization but we had begun to ignore our organic roots. And this is precisely what stood in the way of potential solutions to global environmental problems and the restoration of balance between economy and ecology.
Sacred mountains - how the revival of Daoism is turning China’s ecological crisis around - Allerd Stikker

But to assume our organic roots, we need to be more embodied. Perceptual awareness, grounding skills, nervous system regulation, postural alignment and movement are practices that tend for our organic roots. Common to all of these, is direct experience.

TREE TIME chi kung is a program being developed by Raquel and Peter that facilitate experiences and embodiment in synch with nature.

Although it helps, we don’t need to be biologists, ecologists, agronomists, designers, artists or hold any other expertise for supporting nature restoration and taking the role of guardianship. However it’s certain that we do need a different way of looking at our world.

Humans have grown used to assume that they are above nature. But by possessing and destroying the earth we are loosing life force in our lands, water, air and food. Moreover, we too are suffering - because our bodies are not separated from it’s environment.

Guardianship is not a hip trend. It’s an ancient role of great responsibility, assumed and still practiced by aboriginal and traditional families, communities and cultures worldwide. In Portugal roles such as these are greatly unseen and undervalued. Forest guardians, river guardians and light guardians are jobs in decline. Yet they are possibly the ones we need the most.

Back to private ownership. Can you imagine what would change when landowners would realise that it’s the job of it’s family, community and the country to look after all the richness of our places for future generations?

Remembering Lao Tzu’s wisdom:

A tree as great as a man’s embrace
springs up from a small shoot;
A terrace nine stories high
begins with a pile of earth;
A journey of a thousand miles
starts under one’s feet.

Big dreams begin with small, seemingly unimportant action. And we have taken our first steps.

Interested in guardianship? Get in touch with us. We are happy to share and exchange more.