A genius way to restore dead soil

Did you know that soil is home to 60% of all species on Earth?

Soil is vital for plant growth, supports biodiversity, filters water, and keeps ecosystems balanced. But in Kenya, worsening droughts have left the soil damaged and dry, threatening both nature and local communities.

In our 20th Planet Wild mission, we're supporting a surprisingly simple method to help transform these barren lands into thriving ecosystems.

A special thanks to Dr. Rob Thompson / University of Reading for providing us with additional footage.

Chapters
0:00 Digging Earth Smiles
0:29 Why we need to save the soil
1:16 Welcome to South Eastern Kenya
1:55 The problem
3:27 The solution
4:40 How to dig a bund
6:21 Our support
7:05 Benefits of the bunds
_______________________
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EVERY MONTH, we work with wildlife pioneers worldwide to
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EVERY MISSION is documented in videos like this. 100% transparency.

EVERYONE can join. The bigger the community grows, the bigger these missions will get!

Find all sources here:

[hallysis]

I remember seeing this happen directly in real time in front of my school in spain, in an area that had eroded extremely.... after rain started gathering in a divot in the land that surrounded an older tree it just started to become green and grassy somehow. It was practically an oasis that just kept spreading.

[Garblegox]

I get goosebumps when I picture the satisfaction these people will feel when they're old and grey, looking at a green pasture, reminiscing to kids about how dry and barren it once was.

[neuronaut_]

"And we are done!"
"You are not done..." 😂

Awesome mission! I bet all those insects are super happy that they can live inside an Earth Smile!
I also love the "Custodians of the land" expression 👏

[CritterKeeper]

Hoofed animals coming back helps break up the hard surface of the soil in between the smiles, allowing water to soak in everywhere. When we slaughtered the bison in North America, people didn't realize how vital their roaming was to the prairie ecosystem.

[leedza]

It's a shame Yacouba Sawadogo left this earth before he saw his innovations and hard work spread across Africa.

[dragnatlas]

its heartwarming and refreshing to see local, native communities being worked with and empowered to work on their own land, rather than working around or against them. Love everything about this!

[JibHyourinmaru]

the sad things is when you work in conservation, your salary is low and you always work overtime. but I think the result is the most rewarding

[dashingheights]

DAMN. All your macro shots of the soil, and the time lapses. ARE MAGNIFICENT. Paired with your fantastic storytelling, this is gold. Thanks for posting this

[tt]

this is incredible. in theory this would work on a smaller scale in our own localities as well, i can’t wait to try it !!

[sanjuburkule]

This is done at a big scale in India villages. There were 'Water Cup' competitions between villages.
Huge mega stars in India - Aamir Khan, Nana Patekar and others made this a huge event.

I and my team also participated. We were assigned a project that was happening on that weekend. We got a bus, went there, had fun, dug some trenches. And that helped us to keep track of that village. 'Our village' did not win the cup, but it has water for all 12 months for all farms :)

[ManuelCam]

This community can do a 100 times more good for the wild than my government with 500 times less money

[susanr]

A relative of mine is a PhD agriculturist and he and his colleagues and many smart farmers are doing similar things all over the U.S. Delightful video. Take care of the soil and the soil will take care of the plant.

[williamwade]

amazing video!!! In environmental science we were taught that soil is a non renewable resource that takes 10s of 1000s of years to regenerate, and while i guess that is true on the scale of the entire lithosphere, this video has been enlightening to me as it shows how quickly we can restore soil fertility in a matter of years!!! You guys are doing gods work, I wish this channel had millions of subs and supporters why is everyone sleeping on your channel you guys are

[martylund]

Till the soil, seed grass, and irrigate - yup, that's how to do it. The bund design here is very practical and keeps the costs low even at a very low scale. Great work!

[bethanyhunt]

I've seen this done on a much smaller scale in Australia - semicircular divets about a foot wide dug into the soil catch seeds and water and restore scrubland beautifully.

[karlsjunior]

I drove through South Dakota, Nebraska, Eastern Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona this last week. The entire time thinking how simple it would be to catch the water and green the place up. I have seen similar techniques and am always amazed that we haven't done this EVERYWHERE!! The water shortage would be solved along with better food production and more wildlife. It should be a huge project.

[GaiaCarney]

We can do this in North America to help mitigate our droughts 🌱 Thanks, Planet Wild!

[lizzfrmhon]

How is this not a bigger channel? Your work is invaluable

[DeinosDinos]

I've seen this on YouTube videos before, and the idea something as simple as a carefully angled semicircle - something all of us can do - could have such a huge impact on the environment is really heartwarming to see!

[fuzzypockets]

Probably the most fun video you’ve done so far?! LOVE the energy in this, and the editing!!