See that patchwork of blue that spans the Great Plains? It is the Ogallala Aquifer — one of the largest and most important groundwater systems on Earth.
Next week, Penny Heiple, Will Masters and I gather in Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado to explore how to #RegenerateTheOgallala. We know that this a region that has been profoundly transformed by colonization, displacement of local people, destruction of grasslands, and the creation of a profoundly unsustainable industrial agricultural system.
This will be a different kind of bioregional activation tour. Our focus is less on who the humans are that we might come into contact with — and much more about how to feel the hidden aquifer under our feet that is so important for the future of North America.
We know that roughly a billion humans are fed by this massive industrial food system. We also know that the water is being drained much more quickly than it can be recharged. And that the land-use practices are depleting soils just as fast. The Great Plains can only continue to be America’s “Bread Basket” for a few more decades at best.
When we look at efforts like the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative in Wyoming, we see that deeply regenerative practices can restore perennial grasslands across the Great Plains. It will require the removal of fences, restoration of indigenous lifeways, and a wholesale transformation of cultural practices at large scales for this to occur. Yet it IS possible!
With this understanding, we will dream into the regeneration of the Ogallala Aquifer. Will is planning a series of excursions into sacred landscapes throughout the southern part of the groundwater system. This is a humble beginning to plant seeds in our souls for what may someday come to pass.
Would you like to dream with us? Join us in the Design School for Regenerating Earth.
Onward, fellow humans.
Tagged with :