Motivational
New Rewilding Shoes Help Grow Plants While You Jog in Nature
Rewilding Shoes
Imagine going for a walk or jogging in a cool forest, and actually helping restore and preserve the earth every step of the way. Rewilding shoes may look unusual, but this innovative new footwear may do exactly that.
Kiki Grammatopoulos, a master’s student at Central Saint Martins College in London has created a 3-D printed shoe outsole called Rewild the Run that spreads seeds while you exercise, helping people preserve nature while staying active.
How Rewilding Shoes Work
The sides of the rewilding shoes are covered with hooks and loops. The outsole can fit over regular shoes and the design was based on the naturally hooked spines that appear on such plants as the Cocklebur and Grapple Plant.
Many species in the world of plants use hooks to attach themselves to animal fur. They are then carried to a new location where they drop back onto the earth and take root, producing a new plant. This process, called epizoochory, is a common method of plant dispersal and reproduction.
The hooks on the rewilding shoes are designed to pick up these kinds of seeds during the natural activities of walking or running in wilderness areas, allowing new plants to be seeded in other places.
The shoes are also designed to follow in the footsteps of the bison, another critical member of the natural world. The bison is considered a keystone species, a plant or animal that plays a critical role in its environment.
The hooves of the bison are very unique. They churn the soil as they walk, allowing vital air and moisture to enter under the surface and keep the soil healthy and fertile. They also press dropped seeds into the newly aerated soil, allowing them to take root and grow. The rewilding shoes are designed to mimic this cycle.
What is Rewilding?
Rewilding is the act of returning an area of developed land to its natural and pristine state. Scientists estimate that we have lost over 10% of our total wilderness in the last 20 years alone. 3.3 million square kilometers of wilderness have been lost. That’s roughly two times the size of Alaska.
Many people in cities feel disconnected from nature. Eco-roofing—growing trees and plants on roofs and in indoor spaces—has been shown to be very beneficial in giving more life to cities, and now, with Kiki Grammatopoulos rewilding shoes, there is another way to help preserve nature in cities.
How Does Rewilding Work?
A relatively new movement—but not as new as the rewilding shoes—urban rewilding takes place in spaces such as parks or abandoned city lots.
Carefully chosen indigenous plants and trees are planted in the area based on which ones are likely to be most beneficial to the ecosystem. Then, human interference is kept at a minimum allowing ecosystems to restore themselves while plants and animals flourish.
Not too long ago, rewilding was used to restore a large piece of former farmland in Ranthambore. The Ranthambor National Park is now home to endangered species of tigers as a result.
Why is Rewilding Important?
There are many reasons why rewilding is important:
- Improves air quality: Rewilding involves planting gardens and trees or allowing plant life to grow naturally in urban areas. Plant life absorbs carbon dioxide out of the air and leaves behind a cleaner, fresher deep breath for the rest of us.
- Improves water quality: Paved areas prevent rainwater or melting snow from absorbing into the ground. Often, this water winds up in our water supply, bringing with it pollutants that it picks up from whatever street, sidewalk, or construction site it runs through. The existence of plants and soil gives the runoff a place to be absorbed and filtered before it reaches our drinking glasses, creating a nature-based solution for cleaner water.
- Protects from drought, fire, and flood: The moisture held by the plant roots is eventually released from leaves into the air to become cloud cover and humidity. When the moisture levels in the air are kept at a healthy level, the chances of serious events such as droughts, fires, and floods are reduced.
- Promotes mental health and wellness: It has been proven that time spent in nature can decrease stress levels, blood pressure, and physical issues. The act of “Earthing” has even been shown to boost sleep quality and even stop painful inflammation in as little as 15 minutes
IC INSPIRATION
One of the most amazing examples of rewilding is happening in the city of Singapore.
As the second most densely populated city in the world, Singapore is the last place you would expect to find lush greenery and trickling waters. Yet, it’s all there in the middle of the buzzing city.
To make way for the 700-square-kilometer urban centre, over 95 percent of the area’s vegetation was destroyed, along with 67 percent of its bird species and 40 percent of the mammal population.
As buildings and sidewalks took priority, air pollution rates soared. By 1996, Singapore had one of the highest emission rates in the world.
In 2002, Singapore’s decade-old green plan was revitalized with a focus on air quality, land and water quality, and nature and public health. This is very similar to what Vienna has been doing for over a decade. Vienna was ranked the number one city to live in the world, and much like their green roof initiatives, over 100 buildings in Singapore now have rooftop gardens that produce food and promote recreation.
Singapore also has more than 90 miles of canopied corridors that provide unimpeded passage for animals and butterflies from one green area to another.
One of the city’s most distinctive and beautiful features is its Gardens by the Bay. A seaside park, this lush, forest-covered area features 18 ‘supertrees’. These are man-made, roughly tree-shaped structures that provide many of the benefits of the natural trees around them, but also house and shelter many species of indigenous plants and flowers.
So, does rewilding help?
Absolutely!
Singapore has gone from one of the most overpopulated and polluted cities in the world to one of the most inspirational. As other cities around the world look toward embracing the rewilding, you’ll be seeing more of these shoes in the future.