How to Build a Planet: wildebeest pubs, skydiving beavers, salt marsh sausages, and seabird discotheques

See the blueprints!

Work in progress: Annabelle Tan for The Manuals 

We’re making blueprints: we’ve always thought of The Manuals as a visual project — and now we have something to show for it. These new illustrations, blueprints and how-to guides will be the backbone of the project — an accessible, universal way of communicating the often mind-numbingly complicated research.

These have been created by Annabelle Tan, a fantastic artist/architect/urban planner (you should check out her work on Instagram). Annabelle has been designing the look and feel of how The Manuals might look on the page. In the coming months, we look forward to showing you more!

Andrew Merritt - from Storm Warning (forthcoming)

Along with images, we’ve been making things. Andy will be debuting works at Focal Point Gallery in Essex on 4 October. ‘Storm Warning: What does climate change mean for coastal communities?’ will feature Something & Son’s seagrass-planting guns and more, including the coastal defence insignia you see above. “Seed, Spores, Spats, Sausages” is the motto - find out more about salt marsh sausages in the “toolbox'“ section below.

MIT Technology Review

For MIT Technology Review, I’ve had the chance to review three recent books in this area: The Book of Wilding from the people at Knepp Farm; Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science by Jessica Hernandez; and Wild by Design: The Rise of Ecological Restoration by Laura J. Martin. It’s one of the best things in the world to get paid to read books on this subject and it was a real chance to look at the future of restoration and ask some questions about the narratives emerging — rewilding and restoration; conservation and indigenous stewardship. The question, today, is: how can we make the world more biodiverse and more just?

I’ve also had the chance to interview Nalini Nadkarni, one of the heroes of this project, about her work protecting cloud forests, designing a scientist Barbie, and working with prisoners to restore mosses, frogs and butterflies (subscription, unfortunately, required for that — but message me if you want to read!)

Finally, I have been waiting for the publication of a couple more very exciting ecosystem restoration stories… but I’m still waiting. More soon!

THE PLANETARY REGENERATION TOOLBOX:

Ceramic spawning poles, traditional payaos, tree reefs, the ex-neighbourhood of Brownwood, salt marsh sausages, habitat banks, living snow fences, tengefus, urban reefs, sculptural coral bank, artificial logjams, offshore kittiwake hotels, crustivoltaics, plant field hospitals, wildebeest pubs, seagrass allotments, dingo-proof fence, seabird discotheques, artificial rockpools, Amazonian dark earth, dead logs, artificial rocks, restoration schools, plant speakers, coral robots, possum hideouts with microchip-activated doors, and skydiving beavers.

And PLEASE forward this email on to people who might be interested!