For every IPPS7 attendee a tree will be planted:
The Droevendaal Food Forest project
The Droevendaal Food Forest project started in 2018 as a student managed design project under the supervision of the Farming Systems Ecology Chairgroup of WUR. The aim is to redesign a 1 hectare, 20 year old apple-pear-walnut orchard into a divers food forest. Trees and perennial crops are the base of the system.
In 10 years’ time, the redesign should lead towards a food-system that feeds 10 adults per year, where all ecosystem services like carbon sequestration, soil regeneration and biodiversity is increasing and which offers a living lab for research, education and community building for WUR students and staff. Since 2018 an Ecoliteracy school is functioning in which primary school pupils are following an ecoliteracyprogramme developed and implemented by WUR students.
The Droevendaal food forest is a place where young people find inspiration to start their own regenerative food community project somewhere in the world.
From 2018 to 2021 the project was funded by Greenchoice. In 2021 three graduated WUR students started their own start-up foundation, called Re-generation, to continue the project. The foundation has four aims: developing the Droevendaal Food Forest further, guide (WUR) students in their research and internships projects related to Food Forestry, linking young entrepreneurs with landowners in the Netherlands in developing similar small scale food forest projects as part of creating a new generation of food communities and professionalization of the Ecoliteracy school.
All the results and experiences of Re-generation are disseminated free of charge and in an open source database.
Re-generation is strongly linked to WUR but is independent. Other important partners are Tree Nursery Dependens, Voedselbosbouw Nederland and Unifarm the research farm of WUR. The foundation is funded by private funds and Greenchoice but is still looking for more funds.
For more info: Bentenen het voedselbos | Greenchoice or https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/05/how-a-small-dutch-town-is-shaping-the-future-of-your-food-wageningen-netherlands
Contact: mail to jordy.vanEijk@wur.nl or Kees.vanveluw@wur.nl
Jointly organized by:
