by Florence Micoud, Owner Operator, updated January 2024
I have always explored relationships between humans and nature, studying, working and practicing environmental care. So when I created my guided garden tours business, I wanted it to sustain me AND to add value to my environment and community. So every Thursday, I spend time for my business to be regenerative: “Regenerative Thursday”, I call it.
So what is REGENERATION?
On the left, resources and ecosystem services are declining, while demand and pressures increase. It creates a squeeze. It’s unsustainable.
In the middle, in a sustainable society: we stop extracting, accumulating and degrading, and we share. These are the four sustainable conditions as defined by The Natural Step.
On the right, once we are sustainable, we create ways to become regenerative. We enhance nature and communities. Finding ways to regenerate is fun and rewarding.
Gardens at the core of the regeneration journey
Gardens are good for our health and mental health, they can provide food and resources, which minimises consumption, food kilometers and waste. Gardens enhance biodiversity, providing habitat and food for insects and birds. These factors help mitigating climate change.
Within our business models, gardeners open their gardens to visitors for the joy of sharing, benefitting the community at large, while they get a contribution per visitor, win-win-win.
Gardens are like ourselves, or like home, they are where we make a difference, our sphere of influence, our action. Gardening is a bountiful and beautiful solution to many challenges of our times.
Beautiful Gardens of Wānaka Sustainability and Regeneration statement
We are proud to move beyond sustainability: we are regenerative, contributing more to the environment and community than we benefit from.
- The company is carbon neutral (non certified)
- Our land is drawing carbon down and I share the story in the 1-garden tour and as part of our “Regenerative Lifestyle and Gardening in Harmony with Nature CLASSES” as well as on my Regenerative Lifestyle Blog
- We invite guests to add a tree to their booking if they wish to contribute to the local community native planting initiative Te Kākano. For each tree donated to Te Kakano, we match it with another tree.
- We give back to the gardeners of the tours
- Actively involved in Lake Wānaka Regenerative Tourism by 2030 campaign, we are advocating for regenerative land guardianship in our District
- We are supporting and partnering with community enhancing initiatives
- Read more about our ethics and practice on Our Story page
- As we are developing further regenerative projects, join Regenerative Wānaka facebook conversation or follow our blog (sign up below) to keep informed.
Here below are our latest stories about sustainability and regeneration.
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