If you look down on the Netherlands from the air, one thing immediately stands out: its organised landscape. The land is divided into living space, roads and railways, farmland, and also land for nature. At first glance, forest gardens, where plants and animals can live freely, seem to clash with the rigidly regimented landscape. ‘Initiators of forest gardens rebel against the existing reality, against systems such as capitalism and monoculture that also influence how land is structured,’ says philosopher Elize de Mul.
De Mul explains that there are several types of forest gardens. There are ‘rational’ forest gardens, focused on production, and smaller so-called ‘romantic’ forest gardens that De Mul is studying for her research. ‘Within those romantic forest gardens, there are also several types. Think of forests focused on education, recreation, socialising, or health.’
Separate from polluting systems
De Mul sees forest gardeners, the initiators behind forest gardens, as wanting to create new worlds. ‘The desire for a little paradise, separate from the systems that are currently causing us to be in a climate crisis.’ It is one of the reasons why forest gardens fascinate De Mul so much. ‘But they also create space for other ideas about organizing our society, including with other species.’
De Mul finds the implicit assumptions behind the choices forest gardeners make at least as fascinating. ‘How do they view the position of humans in relation to other living creatures? Why do they want certain plants and animals in the forest but not others? What do they consider forest gardens and what do they not consider a forest garden? And how do they deal with the behaviour of non-human creatures?’
Researching while strolling
To research these kinds of questions, De Mul draws inspiration from a research method used by American essayist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau: 'walking or sauntering, through theory but especially through practice. ‘A meandering way of looking and researching in which you have an eye for anything and everything and where you do not necessarily come to one clear conclusion.’
Starting in May, De Mul will conduct field research in the form of a workalong, interviewing forest gardeners as she walks and works with them in the forest garden. Over the past two years, she has also taken two forest garden design courses and completed an internship in a forest garden project in Gelderland. This year, she will do another internship in a different project.
How can you reveal implicit assumptions of forest gardeners in this way? De Mul provides an example. ‘One afternoon, I was helping someone harvest, sow and mulch (covering the soil to improve its quality) during a visit to a forest garden. Arriving at a small Japanese wine berry bush, I asked if I should also cover the soil there. After a moment's hesitation, the man, who had worked for Staatsbosbeheer (the Dutch forestry commission) for many years, replied that we could skip that bush. Due to his background, the volunteer was very aware of this shrub as an ‘invasive alien species’ and the problems that could arise in nearby ecosystems as a result. He would therefore have preferred not to see it in the forest garden. ‘He tolerated the shrub because it had been introduced by a local resident, but then the resident had to manage on his own.’
When it comes to the animals that people want in forest gardens, there are similar dilemmas. ‘Are all animals welcome, even beavers that eat all the young apple trees? Why should we want them around? Are unappealing or inconvenient ‘others’ also considered, or do charming ‘poster animals’, animals that provide a pretty picture, such as bees, get a share? Choices also need to be made when planting crops: ‘Should all edible crops be allowed to grow freely for different creatures, or should you be guided by the dictatorship of the human tongue and only grow food that people like and can eat?
A forest garden on campus?
Forest gardens are long-term projects. ‘In fact, you can only really talk about a forest in its infancy after five to ten years.’ That is why De Mul would prefer to continue to follow the same forest gardens and forest gardeners over a long period of time to see how forest gardens contribute to changing perceptions of the relationship between humans and their environment. Whether she will be able to do this after her temporary appointment as a postdoc remains to be seen: ‘In any case, I hope to encourage the discovery of new ways of thinking. And wouldn't it be nice to realise a forest garden on campus?’
Programme about forest gardens during the InScience film festival
During the InScience film festival, Elize de Mul will join a panel discussion (in Dutch) about the role that forest gardens can play in new forms of food production. Curious about this discussion or other programmes during InScience?