I can’t remember how it happened but I signed up to watch a webinar about the underground forest with Australian Tony Rinaudo. It was hosted by JRI, the John Ray Initiative.
The John Ray Initiative (JRI) is an educational charity with a vision to bring together scientific and Christian understandings of the environment in a way that can be widely communicated and lead to effective action. It was formed in 1997 in recognition of the urgent need to respond to the global environmental crisis and the challenges of sustainable development and environmental stewardship.
JRI
I missed the actual day of the webinar but was sent an email to say that I had a link to watch it. What an inspiration and something positive about creation care which can be spread around to inform as many people as possible.
Tony is a Christian farmer who tells his story on the webinar and where that led him. What came over in the video is Tony’s radiance, his joy and enthusiasm which made what he was saying even more real. He believes in what he’s doing and his approach is a simple one but still profound. He has a website where you can see other videos where his main role currently is to promote FNMR Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration* – similar to what took place in Britain years ago and still does in conservation areas, managing through coppicing or pollarding.
If you want to see the webinar which is a little over 51 minutes see below:
The story is not without pain and suffering but that’s what makes the outcome even more amazing. Tony and his wife Liz start out in Niger in an area which was very degraded in terms of soil and any kind of production. They spent the first couple of years not making much impact in the local area. The people in the area thought Tony was a crazy white man. Then one day after seeing a scripture that stood out for him and not initially paying attention to it he made a discovery.
When you send your Spirit they are created and you renew the face of the earth.
Psalm 104.30
He noticed a stump which had regenerated and it was from that his thinking changed.
You can see the out workings of the story as well as what he’s doing currently in promoting a billion hectares. This is a real story of hope and who doesn’t need hope in these times!
If you just want to read about the Forest Underground story instead of watching videos it can be found here
* FNMR Manual (English) [French and Spanish also available]