Rewilding Business - A Thorny Issue

04:54

04:54

Rewilding Business - A Thorny Issue

by Polly Hearsey

Rated

5

Type

talks

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

15

Rewilding Business is an exploration of business through nature's lens. In this track, I muse upon the lessons shared by some thorny brambles and what they can teach us about creating businesses that contribute to global well-being.

Rewilding Business Nature Environment Growth Well Being Environmental Balance Environmental Awareness Slow Growth Business Metaphors Cultural Change Cultures Nature Meditations

Meet your Teacher

Hereford, UK

Meet your Teacher

Hereford, UK

Transcript

In our garden you will find all kinds of weeds because we don't see them as weeds. Nonetheless the public garden on the other side of the fence was getting a little bit overgrown with brambles which were beginning to work their way through our fence. A quick trim might have sufficed but for the fact that they were also the perfect cover for a family of rats who had taken to stealing the bird food we put in our garden and sending our dogs loopy in the process. So I set to with my hook and began to clear them away. I was in awe of this simple plant's ability to thrive. It roots wherever it touches the ground meaning it can spread quickly to create an impenetrable barrier that only the boldest or smallest would dare to risk. The thorns struck back and I wondered why it needed them when it was so capable of growing quickly. Science might have us believe that it is to protect its tasty and highly nutritious leaves from browsing animals but what if those thorns are not for the bramble itself? Nothing exists in isolation. Ecosystems are founded in cooperation not competition. Where I live natural tree regeneration is non-existent and brambles are foe to be fought at all costs and those two things are inextricably linked. Bramble patches are vital habitats for our endangered hedgehogs and dormice. Birds nest in their safety and they provide a vital source of nectar for insects. They are also a nursery ground for young trees. They provide dense cover but not too much shade which is exactly what the saplings need. As the trees mature the brambles move slowly out and become safe havens for the seedlings of the trees they protected. Historically brambles were cultivated as field barriers before wire fencing was invented. It's incredibly effective as a barrier but it's also a refuge for wildlife. I wondered how many trees stand today because they could begin their lives in the safe arms of the thorny bramble. An obsession with scrub bashing has resulted in a landscape with little growth because those thorny brambles are perceived to be untidy or a risk to livestock. Bramble patches are a rare sight now which did not make me feel better about tackling this particular patch. In the UK there is a famous rewilding experiment at the Nepp Estate. Isabella Tree wrote a book about their experiences which is a fascinating insight into how environments work as the sum of their parts rather than individual species. And there are photos of the regenerating scrub that speak directly to the images anchored somewhere deep in my DNA from times gone by when the landscape was managed as a whole or just allowed to be whole. There is wisdom in our past that we have eclipsed with technology, Industrialisation and fast-paced consumerism. What healthy looks like has been forgotten with generational amnesia. The slowness of regeneration has faded from our collective understanding. Discussions about solving environmental challenges always seem to be based on fast solutions but this isn't how life works. Nor can we fix one thing and expect it to fix everything. Each slice of the bramble thorns brought another thought about where we are and how we move forward in harmony with the earth. Turning to work our obsession with achieving six, Seven or eight figure businesses is the corporate version of scrub bashing. We need more diversity. In particular we need businesses that are incubators and safe havens for those early years and a recognition that early stage businesses need to be nurtured. Not all businesses are meant to explode onto the scene and dominate the market. Some are pioneers without a doubt but those that form the backbone of the business landscape need the space and support to grow in their own time. We need diverse businesses and structures not just a race to the highest income and largest share of the market. Social equity will be built by supporting businesses to take their natural shape in their own time which will require significant shifts in policy and some deep cultural changes too. Perhaps if we make space for this in our thinking we can begin to make space for this in our reality. It's a thorny issue but as ever a little time in nature will inspire our solutions. Sometimes with a gentle whisper and sometimes slicing until you pay attention.