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24         The Portugal News · 21 Nov 2020           Renature Section


      The pig poop plant plan                                                                                                          N     Jake Cleaver





      Last week I went in search of a man with a plan. My directions took me into a beautiful

      hidden valley between Monchique and Silves.



                                                                                                        were one? Since I consider the   in which life can once again
                                                                                                        carob tree a true mascot of the   spring.
                                                                                                        Algarve, I said no. But as Se-  It’s now time to bring into
                                                                                                        bastian pointed out - they’ve   play Sebastian’s philosophy
                                                                                                        only been here for 900 years.   of “make your enemy your
                                                                                                        How long does a foreigner   ally”. The other problem we
                                                                                                        have to live somewhere before   have is the eucalyptus trees
                                                                                                        they become accepted as a na-  which given the opportunity
                                                                                                        tive? The landscape has always   dominate the landscape and
                                                                                                        been constantly changing.   bully the other trees into
                                                                                                        There’s no reverting back to   submission. However, as
                                                                                                        the past. Nature doesn’t look   Sebastian says, like all bullies
                                                                                                        back. We need to learn to   if you stand your ground they
                                                                                                        work with what’s here now.   will normally back off, settle
                                                                                                        Sebastian feels that there is no   down and become easier to
                                                                                                        such thing as invasive species,   get along with. He says that
                                                                                                        there are simply ‘opportunists’   in order to stop them getting
                                                                                                        and the key is - not giving   too uppity we should radically
                                                                                                        them the ‘opportunity’ to get   cut back their branches in
                                                                                                        too big for their boots, or shall   autumn. This will serve to
                                                                                                        we say, too big for their ‘roots’.  make them less greedy and
                                                                                                        In order to get anything to   stop hoarding the resourc-
                                                                                                        grow we need water. Wa-  es. We can then spread out
                                                                                                        ter after all is where all life   their freshly cut branches
                                                                                                        springs from. When rain falls   and leaves over the land.
                                                                                                        from the sky the trees act as a   Particularly over the swales
                                                                                                        barrier stopping the rain with   and gullies, as the leaves will
                                                                                                        their branches and allowing   act as a ‘mulch’, which before
      Sebastian is passionate about doing his bit to help re-plant and renature                         it to then slowly drop to the   it decomposes into the land,
                                                                                                        ground (the original drip   helps trap in the moisture
             ollowing          Sebastian is South African   mind is now swimming with   the bottom up and create a   irrigation system). Without   caught by the rainfall and stop
             instructions I turned   with loads of energy and   all the different things he   network of friendly neigh-  the trees literally ‘standing in   it evaporating.
             up a little dirt road   enthusiasm. He moved to   could be spending his time   bours that will help create   the way’ it lands with huge   Sebastian says we humans
      F that seemed to fit     Portugal 10 years ago and ran   planting instead.  shade, put nitrogen back into   force and quickly disappears   have the need to tidy and
      the description “It doesn’t   a successful surf school, but   He is passionate about doing   the soil and create root space   down the mountain side   clean up areas and put them
      look like it goes anywhere,   he decided to give that up   his bit to help re-plant and   for others to grow. The plant-  taking the precious fertile   into order. But what we
      but we actually live up there”.   as he started to feel like he   renature the now quite ‘deser-  ed forest should be ‘stratified’,   topsoil along with it.  don’t understand is that the
      I really hoped that it was the   wasn’t doing enough to help   tified’ (on its way to becoming   which means to have different   We therefore, Sebastian   natural world is naturally
      right road and not a road that   the beautiful natural world   a desert) area around Mon-  layers and heights. This will   says, need to make contours   chaotic, and the leaves you
      in fact - goes to nowhere.   here in the Algarve that he’s   chique. The hills and valleys   create a canopy which will   or “small swales” (curvas de   might have swept up in your
      Luckily, as I emerged    grown to love so much. I   used to be full of trees such   protect the soil, help prevent   nível in Portuguese) along the   garden actually provide the
      through a corridor of trees,   asked him if he still surfs and   as cork oaks, and Sebastian   forest fires, and cool the land.  mountain sides. They don’t   ideal microclimates for many
      low and behold the man I   he says occasionally, but to be   explained as he pointed to ar-  For this Sebastian says we   have to be huge ditches but   different kinds of species of
      was looking for was busy   honest, whenever he is sat out   eas on his land that were still   can enlist the help of what   they should catch the water as   plants and bugs to thrive. It’s
      working on his land.     on the ocean on his board, his   thick oak forest that it used   lots of people call ‘invasive’   it runs down the hillsides and   good to allow things outside
                                                       to all be like that but people   species (like the eucalyptus   give it enough time to soak in   to be a bit of a mess, or even,
                                                       started to cut down the trees   that has no trouble growing   and infiltrate the soil. It’s in   dare we say it - make a little
                                                       in order to have space to grow   on its own). Sebastian doesn’t   this way that we start to turn   mess ourselves.
                                                       crops like corn and now with-  like the term invasive species   the tables, as this will bring up   As we climbed up the hill
                                                       out a canopy of trees to help   and he asked me whether I   the groundwater table, help-  Sebastian showed me all his
                                                       keep the water from escaping,   thought the Alfarroba trees   ing to create the conditions   little swales and gullies where
                                                       the torrents of rain that we
                                                       do get simply tears down the
                                                       mountain sides and the water
                                                       escapes back into the sea.
                                                       There’s been many attempts
                                                       to re-grow native trees like
                                                       the Chestnut, Cork and
                                                       Medronho trees, as well as of
                                                       course the Monchique Oak,
                                                       but Sebastian says they’ve
                                                       been largely unsuccessful
                                                       as just planting them in the
                                                       now degraded soil on their
                                                       own they will find it hard to
                                                       survive, and what needs to be
                                                       done is to grow them in con-
      Sebastian showed me all his little swales and gullies where he   junction with other kinds of
      has already put this plan into action.           species. We need to start from
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