REWILD
AARHUS
We are a volunteer-driven organisation educating citizens on sustainability
and making our city more biodiverse through projects and workshops.
We have said “biodiversity” many times now, but what does biodiversity even mean?
To put it simply, the more species of insects, plants, animals, fungi and bacteria there are;
the more biodiverse the place is.
Why do we need biodiversity?
Biodiversity provides ecosystems that give us oxygen, clean air and water, pollination of plants, pest
control, wastewater treatment and many ecosystem services.
All these are important in making our lives better.
“I love plants, I love gardening, so I said – sign me up, I’m into this!”
– Ewan
With our projects and workshops for the citizens of Aarhus, we educate them to make their gardens and the city greener.
And we have a great time with great people too!
Did we plant a seed of curiosity?
See our projects!
Permaculture teaches a holistic view on how to interact with the beings surrounding us. It acknowledges the self-regulating power of nature, strives to regenerate ecological systems and tries to maximise the biodiversity.
Therefore Rewilds values have many intersections with the values of Permaculture. To promote the ideas of Permaculture in Aarhus and demonstrate how to apply it in the city, Rewild decided to invite people to create a hügelbed in a common effort for the Earth Day 2022.
The event was organised in form of a workshop, where the participants could learn about the theoretical aspects of the topics, to learn how to implement them in practice right after. Besides learning about the Hügelculture, regenerating the soil, microclimates, perennial plants and nutrition accumulation, we created a cosy break area to strengthen the community feeling of the new Rewilders.
With the help of more than 30 volunteers Rewild was able to create a living Seedbank for the citizens of Aarhus.
In the summer of 2021 over a half parking place at the Vesterbro Torv was turned into a temporary square. Rewild Aarhus has been invited to co-create the space by designing and planting in the area.
During three months the space has been a meeting area for the locals of the neighbouring buildings and a cozy outdoor venue for the public events. We designed the space using permaculture principles, planting vegetables, herbs, edible flowers shrubs and trees.
The goal of the design was to educate local citizens on how small planter boxes can be organised in the way that will provide food both for people, pollinators, insects and birds. We made area look lush green and colourful, which made a space more attractive to be and provided shade in hot days.
Additionally, we have created signs for the plants educating on which parts of the plants are edible, and whether they attract bees or butterflies.
A fundraising party has been organized to support the organization's work. The event has been held in one of the city's cultural centers, Institut for (X). Organizing the event we brainstormed on bringing the supposedly two different fields ‘’nature’’ and ‘’urban culture’’.
In Rewild Aarhus we do believe that one of the ways to the city's green transition is by creating the spaces that inspire nature to become a culture. During the event, we made sure that our guests spend a good time together, listening to the earthy live sets of local DJs, having a few alcoholic or not Rewild Style drinks (made with homemade flower syrups and herbal lemonades), having an inspiring talk with our nature-loving volunteers and have a chance to buy seed bombs and little seedlings to take with home.
We had fun and gained new members during that event.
The ancient art of encasing seeds in earthen balls and spreading them in areas devoid of vegetation was revived in the 1970’s by Masanobu Fukuoka, the pioneer of Japanese natural farming.
Since then, there has been a grassroots movement to spread these so-called “seed bombs” in urban and suburban areas, where much of the native vegetation has been removed.
Rewild Aarhus in collaboration with nature passionate participants has created clay balls, full of native Danish wildflower seeds, that have been later given away to citizens on the streets of Aarhus.
In the spring of 1970, one of the USA’s senators created Earth Day as a way to force this issue onto the national agenda. Twenty million Americans demonstrated, which brought the awareness to the world.
Since then, the 22nd of April has become a day to celebrate efforts of environmental efforts internationally. In 2021 Rewild Aarhus joined the movement with an event full of educational content and hands-on work towards a more biodiverse city.
During the event, guests could hear talks from local green actors. Byen Blomstrer presented the solution to helping biodiversity in the city, Bi-Værdi explained the current problems of bees in the city, and Gallo Gartneriet shared the experience of their community garden’s way to help the insects in the area.
Besides the theoretical education, participants of the event enjoyed a creative sign workshop. The signs have been later used to decorate a mini wildflower meadow that has been sowed collectively at the end of the event.
One of the Rewild’s missions is to make a city ‘’home for all’’, a welcoming place both for humans and other species.
To survive and thrive, pollinators need a shelter - to deposit eggs, and hibernate during the winter. To help the importance of the ecosystem for insects and pollinators, a group of Rewild volunteers organized the insect hotel workshop.
The participants were guided in building shelters of specific sizes and materials that are suitable for hosting the city's little neighbors. The hotel frames have been built from reused wood and filled with 100% material originating from nature.
“Rewild gave me an idea of why I was here, in Aarhus”
– Laura