Aliens, pandas, bamboo & your balcony.
1 Biodiversity Action in 1 Minute
I am looking outside of my window. From the desk I sit every day. Sun is shining. Summer is coming.
Right in front of my window? A massive bamboo. 5 meters tall.
Spoiler alert: I am not sitting in Asia, Africa or South America.
I am writing these lines from Biarritz France.
Home to 0 native bamboo species.
We brought them here because they are damn pretty & grow quickly.
But there 2 problems:
1) They are aliens here. Meaning the local insects, birds etc. are not adapted to benefit from them (called alien species).
2) Even worse. They are invasive alien species. Soon as they arrive in gardens they sprout like wildfires. They started in gardens, and now they are everywhere in the local forest right behind our house.
Taking space, soil, light, water & co., thereby outcompeting our native plants.
So what can you do?
Buy and plant local plants. In your garden, balcony, public grass patch, etc.
This will benefit your local soil, insects, birds & co. and you will start to see much more of them.
To get an idea of what to buy & plant, simply google "native plants (INSERT YOUR COUNTRY)”. Here a site for USA, UK, France, you get the idea.
I know it can feel counterintuitive to remove alien species to make space for other plants. Yet it's crucial to have your local nature flourishing.
As promised 1 biodiversity action in 1 minute.
Happy digging & have a wild week!
Best,
Oli
🎁 Herd Perk: Marion designed our brand. She gives you 1h for free if you book a package & tell her you are our herd member.
📖 What I read: Europe’s Forest Plants Thrive Best in Light-Rich, Semi-Open Woodlands – Kept Open by Large Herbivores
🦸♂️ Biodiversity Builder who inspired me: Ivo Degn
🐘 Next speaker on Wildya: Lily Maxwell-Lwin (Commonland) Regenerating Landscapes at Scale: Lessons from the 4 Returns Framework
📹 What I watched: Underdogs
P.S. Next week we will launch our 1st FREE Nature Impact Scaling Workshop for nature companies & NGOs. Join us.