Emmental valley regeneration: restoring soil, water, and wildlife

Roots of the Emme: Restoring a Living Valley

In a small valley in the Bernese pre-Alps, a patchwork of tired pasture, drained wetland, and thinning hedgerow is waiting to come back to life. We are a group of farmers, ecologists, and neighbours from the Emmental who have spent the last two years quietly mapping every spring, every soil profile, every surviving hedge from the last century of intensification. Now we are ready to put that map into the ground.

This project will restore 42 hectares of working farmland into a regenerative mosaic: rotational grazing on living soil, 8 kilometres of new and rehabilitated hedgerows, three rewetted spring-fed wetlands, and a continuous wildlife corridor linking the forest above to the river below. Everything we plant is locally sourced and climate-resilient. Hornbeam, field maple, hazel, wild service tree, alder along the wet ground.

Why it matters: Switzerland has lost over 90% of its lowland wetlands and most of its traditional hedgerow networks. Our soils are tired, our water cycles are broken, and our pollinators and farmland birds are running out of room. But the land remembers. With patient stewardship, a single valley can hold water again, breathe again, and feed the people who live in it without depleting what comes next.

Your contribution funds the seedlings, the fencing, the soil tests, and the first three years of monitoring. Every franc goes directly into the ground. We work in the open: quarterly progress reports, public soil and biodiversity data, and seasonal farm walks where you can come see what your support has grown.

We are not asking you to fund a vision. We are asking you to fund a plot already planned, a team already in place, and a community already at work. Join us in bringing one valley back. The land is ready. We are ready. Now we just need you.