Co-designing a Wild Herb Sanctuary
Co-design
Wild Herb Sanctuary
Globally, our reserves of wild herbs are disappearing. Culinary herbs are particularly under threat, due to commercial exploitation of stocks of wild plants; foraging; over-development by building, as well as degradation of the land through use of pesticides and insecticides. Wild herb stocks are dramatically lower than they were 30 years ago; some are now at a critical level.
In Greece, wild herbs and flora form part of the ecosystem supporting the survival of olive trees and local oil production, which is culturally as well as economically important. The Wild Herb Sanctuary project on the island of Paxos, Greece is scoping a CBA Living Lab which will provide training for regenerative farming, sustainable land management and wild flora and herb identification and growth.
About the project
The Wild Herb Sanctuary project aims to:
• Work in partnership with landowners to assist them to maintain the land in a sustainable, regenerative state, removing invasive species and encouraging the growth of wild herbs.
• Wild Herb Sanctuary status will be given to land which complies with, and where the landowners practice, principles of active preservation and regeneration.
• Provide training in regenerative farming, sustainable land management, wild flora and herb identification and growth.
• Demonstrate how naturally mulched, living soils retain moisture and support trees during hot, dry summers and climate change, boosting olive yield and increases in quality production.
• Enable community-led learning based on traditional practices for sustainable foraging, harvesting and using wild food safely.
Photos: Jonathan Lovekin
