Watch Island Paradise, the short film shot by filmmaker and photographer Robbie Dark, where Glyn Mitchell from The Carbon Farm and Lucy Jouault, Conservation Biology Student at Oxford Brookes explore some of Jersey’s soil regeneration techniques.
Glyn Mitchell: “I have worked with soil in Jersey for many years. I’m passionate about the land, and I believe in a brighter future for our island. Unfortunately Jersey faces pollution problems, put down to modern farming methods. Polluted waters, failing biodiversity and too many toxic chemicals in our food system has an effect on our health and wellbeing.
By harnessing the power of the land we can address many of the problems we face. The solution is under our feet. Soil is not a passive medium to grow crops, but a complex ecosystem full of life. If we treat it badly, we can’t expect it to support us.
Healthy soil is alive, full of colour and activity. All life begins and ends in soil, it starts with the smallest bacteria and ends in us. If we disrupt this natural system, it creates imbalance. This has a ripple effect on generations and our island’s economy suffers. We know there is a better way.
By cultivating life in the compost, we extract it and inject it into the soil. By restoring balance to the system we are working with Mother Nature, rather than against it.
Plants photosynthesising, absorb atmospheric CO2, which is then fed into the soil. Understanding this, we know that Jersey’s farmers play an integral role in reducing the island’s carbon footprint. Farmers in Jersey have already benefited from increasing their soil carbon. We want to show other farmers that it’s not just profitable, but possible to grow healthy food by learning from nature.
Young people of the world have the power to make this paradigm shift. It’s your world, we’re only looking after it.”
Watch the full film here: Watch Now