{"id":14567,"date":"2023-03-31T15:44:28","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T13:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crowdfarming.com\/sin-categoria\/regenerating-the-landscape-with-trees-crowdforest\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T13:45:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T12:45:27","slug":"regenerating-the-landscape-with-trees-crowdforest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdfarming.com\/what-the-field\/regenerative-farming\/regenerating-the-landscape-with-trees-crowdforest\/","title":{"rendered":"Regenerating the landscape with trees: CrowdForest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A few years ago, agronomist Pedro Li\u00f1an decided to shake things up at his family farm Do\u00f1a Marina in Granada, Spain. Inspired by what he seeing through his partner\u2019s work, CrowdFarming Farmer Analyst Antonia, and driven by his own ideals and passion for sustainable agriculture, he decided to start his own CrowdFarming almond project, and set out on the path converting some of his family\u2019s fields to organic – together with Antonia of course. More recently, the pair – having both learned about regenerative agriculture – also realized that they wanted to do more, that they wanted to actively foment biodiversity and regenerate their area. Knowing how important the support of a community is, they decided to actively involve their CrowdFarmers in this process. This is how a new project was born: CrowdForest.

Let us share with you a first-hand account of Pedro, detailing his journey:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cFor years now, as an agronomist, farmer and human, I have had a bug in my stomach. Something that eats at me. I have the feeling that there are too few trees in the countryside. Think about it, either we have trees, in the form of forests, or agriculture, but not both together. In other words, most of our rural landscapes are very specialised, no longer mixed or combined. And this worries me.
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Having done my research homework, there is a very clear reason, the tree is an element of the landscape that for many years now, has become a nuisance to agriculture. Therefore, it has been gradually disappearing, to make it easier for agriculture to be done without disturbance.
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Within our region, our farm, Do\u00f1a Marina<\/a>, is a very special place. Around the houses, it is full of trees, of different types, colours and shapes. Thousands of birds can be heard, the wind is slowed down and the summer heat is best endured in the shade. A litmus test is to sit in the middle of any plot, close your eyes and listen. And then repeat the same exercise in the middle of the farmhouse. The difference is spectacular, it’s alive!

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But this was not always the case. After many years of very intensive farming practices and extreme land use, the farm and its fields had lost much of their trees. This was especially noticeable around the houses – it was like the Wild West! With a lot of effort and love, my father started planting a few trees every year for 40 years. The result of all that time is the refuge, the oasis, we enjoy today. 
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My idea is to take it to the next level: What if we could extend this paradise of biodiversity to our fields, can we generate even more positive impact than in our little refuge?\u201d

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So Pedro called us up to see if  Crowd Farmers could participate in our dream of regenerating the landscape – the CrowdForest project was born.<\/em>

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Pedro explains:

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\u201cPlanting trees is not something you can just do, you have to think it through, the types, how and where to plant them… it\u2019s a whole science!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tree is a fixed element in the landscape, so you have to think very carefully about where you put it, because it will be there for many years. And if you want to put a lot of them, you have to plan it even better. You can’t just put them there at random. There are actually seven established patterns of tree planting (KeyLine Systems, Dehesa\/Savannah Systems, Orchards, Riparian Buffers, Windbreaks, Avenue Planting and Forest Blocks) and it is important to not only choose the right pattern for your specific situation, but also the right kind of tree.\u201d


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What did we want to achieve?<\/strong>

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To us, planting trees is a great way to achieve the following objectives:

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