Commensalist - Future Proof Landscape Design

What if you combine a modern villa with an aesthetically pleasing edible eco garden? Our beloved client wished to connect more with the garden through edible plants, make it a place where the dogs can run free, and have a nice view from the home office. The paths are nicely lined with lawns, and the food forest zones are lush. They provide plenty of tasty treats throughout the growing season. It ranges from herbs to make tea with, delicious dogwood fruits, strawberries, and other berries to put in your granola in the morning, to classics such as apple and pear. Very proud of the hard work by head landscape architect @Frederik De Bondt Read more at: https://lnkd.in/gTHDB96d #regenerative #landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #agroecology #regenerativefarming #agroforestry #farming #tuin #tuinarchitectuur #permacultuur #permaculture #voedselbos #commensalist #climate #nature #regeneration

🌳 The best time to plant most trees is in the winter But preferably, no freezing temperatures In the autumn, all the juice from deciduous trees goes to the roots, preparing them for winter time and stocking enough energy for next spring. It is when all the energy is in the roots, and the leaves fall off you can plant the trees. Sometimes, the best time to plant a tree is never to plant it, but let rewilding do its work. Trees come automatically in a lot of places. 🍎 Personally I am in love with edible trees; most of them are grafted, so these need to be planted. NOW is the time to plant a food forest! You plant it once and can potentially harvest for the rest of your life, even your grandchildren might be able to enjoy their fruits. Even if you have a balcony, have an apple tree! Or grow kiwis that can grow a couple of floors higher, delighting your neighbors. 👉🏼 What are you going to plant this winter? #regenerative #landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #agroecology #regenerativefarming #agroforestry #farming #tuin #permaculture #voedselbos #nature #climate #health #gutmicrobiome #guthealth #foodforest

🌱 What have we done in 2024? A little overview of our highlights 🌳 Collaborated with Domaine De Graux, The Nest, and OOO to design a 100-hectare regenerative farm in Belgium. 🎙 Joined Raphaël Esterhazy on the Deep Seed Podcast for an inspiring conversation about regeneration. 🏨 Started designing a boutique hotel on Pico Island, Azores, blending architecture with nature at the base of a volcano. 🏛 Guided Howest architecture students in creating a museum garden for Musea Brugge during the prestigious Triennale. 📰 Featured in HLN with a double-page spread on edible gardens, spotlighting our work in food forestry. 📖 Recorded Eating Ourselves to Death, an audiobook soon to be shared for free with the world. 🎤 Delivered keynotes at Innovation Zero in London and a sustainability conference in Stockholm, Sweden + many more in Belgium. 🐋 Explored the Azores, observing majestic whales and connecting land regeneration with ocean health. 🎧 Hosted inspiring voices like Alan Savory and Geoff Lawton on the Green the Desert Podcast, focusing on desert regeneration. 🏅 Honored to join Belgium's 40 Under 40, a network of ambitious change-makers working on sustainable solutions. 📽 Wrapped filming for Eat More Trees, a Netflix-style documentary on food forests, set for release in 2025. 🎬 Filmed and finished a short film: Dune Forest 🌍 Dreaming of a 30,000-hectare restoration project in southern Spain, tackling significant environmental challenges. 🏆 Won the Best European Ecosystem Restoration Prize for one of our ecological designs. 📚 Started writing a book on the connection between climate, food, and health, an essential topic for our time. 🎓 Delivered a guest lecture at Howest University and co-hosted food forest design workshops in the Ardennes. 🌱 Hosted successful food forest training courses, both week-long and online, empowering participants worldwide. 🤝 Welcomed talented new team members to Commensalist, strengthening our capacity for impactful projects. 📢 Launched the Edible Now! campaign, featuring an online lecture series on regenerative agriculture. ✏️ Did a lot of design work with Commensalist for projects worldwide. 🏝️ Saw the first signs of regeneration of an island we are regenerating in Argentina. 🇧🇷 Ended the year immersed in the Brazilian rainforest, writing, reflecting, and preparing for an exciting 2025. Picture: my temporary writing location in Botafogo, Rio De Janeiro, with a stunning view of the Sugarloaf Mountain These accomplishments are team efforts, and I'd love to thank the Commensalist, Food Forest Institute, and Eat More Trees team. More specifically Mathis Vanrenterghem, Frederik De Bondt, Katinka T'Kindt, Carol Reznor, Annelies Buggenhout, Lukas Masson, Tim Wierks, Jonas Mallisse, Arne Focketyn, Pieter Dewinter, Ilse Schooneknaep, Camille Claeys, Lieve Ferdinande, Bart Van Parijs, Ben Brumagne, Wouter van Eck, Diederik Claerebout, Clara Hanssens, Liener Van Hauwaert and Joke De Pauw.

Long live high-tech But don't forget low-tech You can make filters at home to filter your water. Many people drink rainwater, which is still considered one of the best waters in the world. A word of caution: there are forever chemicals in rainwater as in most of the water in the world nowadays... also, be sure you don't have acid rain. Many people I know are happy with the Berkey water filter; I use a Coolmart filter myself. Nice DIY project though :) #regenerative #landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #agroecology #regenerativefarming #agroforestry #farming #tuin #permaculture #voedselbos #nature #climate #health #gutmicrobiome #guthealth #foodforest

Do we need another awareness campaign to drive safer? Or should we create safer streets? We probably need both, but... A lot of the problems in the world exist because of bad design. 🏘️ If we designed our society with safer roads, there would be less accidents. 🌃 If we designed our cities better, people would live healthier lives 🎓 If we designed the school system better, we'd have more balanced people 🗑️ Waste exists because of badly designed products 🚜 If we designed our gardens, landscapes, and farms better, a lot of our climate and biodiversity challenges would be gone When looking to solve problems, ALWAYS look at the underlying design. But don't be fooled, a lot of the time, underneath there is another underlying design. Keep digging until you find the true source of the problem. Some flawed designs cannot be fixed; in that case, just create an entirely new design. 👉🏼 What's the biggest design win we could do for society in your opinion?

The Standard American Diet is affecting your brain 🧠 It's making us dumber over time 🧐 A study from Brown University reveals that unhealthy food patterns lead to decreased mental performance. As a society, we face more health issues each day, thanks to the foods we eat and our toxic environment. 💪 Luckily, we can do something about it: 1. Start by reading the ingredients of the processed food you buy, and ditch the majority of things you need a chemistry degree to understand 2. Buy less processed food 3. Buy regenerative organic, biodynamic, or agro-ecological food 👉🏼 Did you ever experience becoming more foggy in your head after eating certain foods? #regenerative #landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #agroecology #regenerativefarming #agroforestry #farming #tuin #permaculture #voedselbos #nature #climate #health #gutmicrobiome #guthealth #foodforest

Did you know there is no single bridge across the Amazon? More than 6.500 kilometers, the mightiest river of all, is one of the motors behind our well-being on this planet. And yet, not a single bridge. Reflecting on this during my recent trip to the jungle, I couldn't help but think about this. In a world where we bridge almost everything, the Amazon stands as a symbol of unbroken wilderness. Maybe it reminds us that some things are better left untouched. In this case, it is very important we do so: almost 20% has already been cut down, and if we cut down 25%, the Amazon system collapses and becomes a savannah, creating a tipping point for the rest of the earth's ecosystem. To think that we need to kick humans out of the Amazon is a very wrong idea, too: the Amazon was co-created by humans and is a 12.000-year-old food forest. People still live there in harmony with nature. By working together with them, creating sustainable industries, we can create a bio-economy that makes humans & nature thrive at the same time. The main bridges across the Amazon are boats, limited by how much water there is. When there is a significant drought, it becomes almost impossible for many people to reach their homes. The people are very resilient, but the Amazon is a fragile place too. Being there reminded me how important it is to protect it. Foto source: Eos #regenerative #landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #agroecology #regenerativefarming #agroforestry #farming #tuin #permaculture #voedselbos #nature #climate #health #gutmicrobiome #guthealth #foodforest

✨ Sometimes, you need to disconnect to reconnect 🌳 Enter the Amazon It was more than 1.5 years ago since I was cut off from the digital and electronic world, and it felt really good. I swam near pink dolphins and felt the softness of the brown-colored water of the largest river in the world. Tasted delicious fruit I picked myself. Slept under the forest's canopy in a hammock (with some rain protection). Jungle life has something magical. But jungle life has something terrifying as well. One moment you get stung by a thousand mosquitos, the next ants attack you. Then you might be surprised by a huge rain event, and if you're unlucky, a caiman might bite you if you wash your hands in the river. You can survive by eating only wild plants and animals and building a shelter with what you find, but being in the jungle makes you realize how easy we have it in the modern world. After a fantastic trip, I got back to Manaus, the Brazilian jungle capital, once called the Paris of the Tropics in its heyday of rubber exploitation. I strolled on the plaza, which was still transformed into a Christmas village with a thousand lights, with food vendors selling everything from corncobs to popcorn to chips. I enjoyed a pizza, had some churros and a donut for dessert (I know), and pondered what it means to be a human. We originated from the forest. Now we're eating pizzas on stone pavements, watching beautiful enlightened architecture (the Amazon Theater, shipped from Europe btw) and enjoying the shade under a ...tree. How rejuvenating and purifying a jungle visit might be: I can't deny I enjoy the luxuries of the modern-day world. The cultivated plants that give us the most incredible food diversity, the recipes we created to make fantastic dishes out of them, yes, even pizza. While enjoying the euphoria of our rich modern culture, being back in the world of stones and electronics made me feel a bit morose, too. Who are we? Are we still nature? Or did we lose something along the way? Leaving the forest behind? While still in the forest, in a moment of solitude, I asked the trees this question. The answer was clear: we are nature. But we also must give space to the wilderness. The actual wilderness out there, but also the wilderness in ourselves. It's okay to fly around, eat pizzas, and enjoy movies and good music. This is still nature. But we must retreat in nature in it's purest form, from time to time, to remember ourselves what the source of all life is. Only then can we live a truly rewarding life. Hustle and bustle during the day, breathing in clean forest air in the evening. Modern life and nature don't need to be enemies of each other. They can perfectly coexist. Because as long as we obey some natural laws, who says that modern life isn't natural? We created it, aren't we nature? #regenerative #landscapedesign #agroecology #agroforestry #nature #climate #foodforest

A little report from a deep-dive in the Amazon My first days of 2025 Sometimes, you need to disconnect to reconnect completely It was more than 1.5 years ago since I was cut off from the digital and electronic world, and it felt really good. I swam near pink dolphins and felt the softness of the brown-colored water of the largest river in the world. Tasted delicious fruit I picked myself. Slept under the forest's canopy in a hammock (with some rain protection). Jungle life has something magical. But jungle life has something terrifying as well. One moment you get stung by a thousand mosquitos, the next ants attack you. Then you might be surprised by a huge rain event, and if you're unlucky, a caiman might bite you if you wash your hands in the river. You can survive by eating only wild plants and animals and building a shelter with what you find, but being in the jungle makes you realize how easy we have it in the modern world. After a fantastic trip, I got back to Manaus, the Brazilian jungle capital, once called the Paris of the Tropics in its heyday of rubber exploitation. I strolled on the plaza, which was still transformed into a Christmas village with a thousand lights, with food vendors selling everything from corncobs to popcorn to chips. I enjoyed a pizza, had some churros and a donut for dessert (I know), and pondered what it means to be a human. We originated from the forest. Now we're eating pizzas on stone pavements, watching beautiful enlightened architecture (the Amazon Theater, shipped from Europe btw) and enjoying the shade under a ...tree. How rejuvenating and purifying a jungle visit might be: I can't deny I enjoy the luxuries of the modern-day world. The cultivated plants that give us the most incredible food diversity, the recipes we created to make fantastic dishes out of them, yes, even pizza. While enjoying the euphoria of our rich modern culture, being back in the world of stones and electronics made me feel a bit morose, too. Who are we? Are we still nature? Or did we lose something along the way? Leaving the forest behind? While still in the forest, in a moment of solitude, I asked the trees this question. The answer was clear: we are nature. But we also must give space to the wilderness. The actual wilderness out there, but also the wilderness in ourselves. It's okay to fly around, eat pizzas, and enjoy movies and good music. This is still nature. But we must retreat in nature in it's purest form, from time to time, to remember ourselves what the source of all life is. Only then can we live a truly rewarding life. Hustle and bustle during the day, breathing in clean forest air in the evening. Modern life and nature don't need to be enemies of each other. They can perfectly coexist. Because as long as we obey some natural laws, who says that modern life isn't natural? We created it, aren't we nature? #regenerative #landscapedesign #agroecology #agroforestry #nature #climate #foodforest

💦 Wishing you a splashing 2025 🥳 Water is going to play a significant role this year. Like there is no such thing as "the world is getting hotter", there is no such thing as "there is not enough rain" or "there is too much water". The planet is such a beautiful system with interesting games going on. Checks and balances. Take these two motors behind our climate for example: We have the NOA (North Atlantic Oscillation) game: that makes northern Europe wet and southern Europe dry, or vice versa. The ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) game, that will create droughts in eastern Australasia and floods in Peru, or vice versa. We will have too much water in one place, not enough water in the other place, and vice versa. One region will get hotter, another colder. And this all happens in cycles. When one region wins, another one loses, or both can win or lose at the same time. This is why we need world peace, to help each other when in need. The water cycle plays a major role in creating a more stable game. And this water cycle is hugely influenced by vegetation on land. Vegetation on land is hugely influenced by you and me. AND also by the availability of water. Another cycle. Let's restore water cycles by regenerating land and creating more vegetation. Wishing you an incredible new year, where you can stand in your power and go for what you stand for! Picture: boat to an island we're regenerating in Argentina, with @Katinka T'Kindt and @Juan Vitali & co #regenerative #landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #agroecology #regenerativefarming #agroforestry #farming #tuin #permaculture #voedselbos #nature #climate #health #gutmicrobiome #guthealth #foodforest