Ei Rewilding Urban Landscapes Pilots

Beyond regenerative agriculture and landscape practices, rewilding land restores the natural ecosystem that evolved over thousands of years. Rewilding land requires the restoration of native plants and cultivates food for indigenous insects. Strong insect populations are the foundation for restoring wildlife-predator/prey hierarchies that once thrived prior to human intrusion.

Inherent within rewilding urban landscapes are three primary benefits:

• Restoration of vibrant soil ecosystems and urban-wildlife populations; production of nutritious food destined for wildlife and humans.
• Drawdown of carbon from the atmosphere into the soils via plant photosynthesis.
• Establishment of food-secure neighborhoods within a community.

Ei Founder & CEO Holly Elmore donated her front yard for an Ei Native Plant Landscape Pilot and her backyard for an Ei Permaculture-Oriented Landscape Pilot. The Holly Elmore Images (HEI) Ei Rewilding Urban Landscapes Pilots album chronicles the pilot development and progress.

The RiA Magazine article, Ei Rewilding Urban Landscapes Pilots, announces the pilots and emphasizes their importance within the Ei Nature Prevails platform.

Native-Plant Landscape Pilot
Native-plant landscapes provide urban wildlife access to food and habitat. When pesticide, herbicide, and fungicide free, native-plant landscapes provide urban wildlife a safe haven amid city life filled with buildings, roadways, and often sterile and/or toxic open areas.

Local wildlife evolved to thrive on native foliage and, in general, do not eat or nest in non-native plants. Additionally, many non-native plants are invasive and choke out native plants, further challenging urban wildlife.

The HEI Ei Native-Plant-Landscape Pilot album documents the pilot progress from soil preparation to installation to maturing into an urban-wildlife haven.

Permaculture-Oriented Landscapes (POL)
According to Doug Tallamy, author of Nature’s Best Hope, A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard, POL or ecological landscapes, provide the following four purposes:

• Support food webs, human and wildlife.
• Sequester carbon.
• Clean and manage water.
• Support pollinators.

Ei partners with Zach Zildjian Design Services (ZZ Design) on promoting POL. Per Zach Zildjian, an ecological landscaper, POL have three main components:

• Food forest (perennial food production.)
• Vegetable & herb gardens (annual food production.)
• Compost of landscape debris as well as home-food waste.

Under Zach’s guidance, the POL Pilot contains the three components and is thriving with daily nurturing by Holly.

The HEI Ei Permaculture-Oriented Landscape Pilot  album documents the pilot progress from soil preparation to installation to maturing into a thriving hyper-local food source.

The Rewilding Urban Landscapes Pilots are projects within the Ei Regenerative Working Group / Environmental Resources Focus Area.