01/08/2026
🌳✨ From Food Forests to Landscape Restoration: Growing a Global Community
What an inspiring week.
Over five days, 16 participants from 9 countries came together in the Netherlands for the Food Forests, Agri-Wilding & Landscape Restoration Advanced Masterclass, guided by Wouter van Eck and Eurídice Leyequién. Together, we explored how food forests can contribute to biodiversity recovery, climate resilience, ecological connectivity, regenerative livelihoods and landscape-scale restoration.
From the pioneering food forest at Ketelbroek to the rewilded landscapes of the Millingerwaard, from ecological principles and biodiversity enhancement to business models and community engagement, the week was filled with learning, reflection, exchange and inspiration.
Pim, beautifully captured the spirit of the week:
“The group is like a symbiosis. Information flows between people like nutrients flow through a food forest. That exchange is what helps us grow as food foresters.”
Like a food forest, this group was a polyculture. Diverse backgrounds, experiences, cultures and ideas came together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Through conversations, field visits and shared challenges, new friendships emerged, collaborations were born, and ideas took root.
In a healthy food forest, diversity creates resilience. The same is true for a community. Together we cultivated not only knowledge, but also creativity, vision, strategies, connections and opportunities for future collaboration.
The landscapes we visited reminded us that restoration is not only about planting trees. It is about restoring relationships—between people, nature, food systems and the landscapes we depend on.
“With agri-wilding, we can learn, produce good food, generate income, restore soils and biodiversity, build community, and have fun - all at the same time.” - Matt
Thank you to everyone who contributed their energy, curiosity and experience to this remarkable week. The learning may have ended, but the network continues to grow.
