Knowledge Base
Detailed guides for every project topic: what's worth doing, and how to get started step by step.
Can't find your topic? Suggest a new one →💧Water stewardship
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Stream damming
Building small, water-permeable "beaver-dam-style" weirs from natural materials (branches, stone, stakes) on small streams or ditches, which slow the flow, raise the groundwater table, reduce erosion, and create wetland habitat.
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Depaving action
Removing unneeded, impermeable concrete or asphalt paving so the soil can breathe and absorb rainwater again, turning the spot into green space or a garden.
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Stream revitalization
Restoring a weedy, polluted, or artificially channeled stream section to a more natural state: removing litter, naturalizing the bank, and planting native riparian vegetation.
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Garden & tree mulching
Covering the base of garden trees and community green spaces with organic mulch (bark, wood chips, straw, leaf litter) so the soil retains moisture longer, weeds are suppressed, and soil life improves.
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Cover cropping
Sowing fast-growing cover crops (e.g. vetch, phacelia, mustard, alfalfa) into resting or harvested beds in community gardens and orchards, to protect the soil from erosion, suppress weeds, and enrich it with nutrients.
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Rainwater harvesting
Setting up a rainwater harvesting system (barrel, cistern) on a building's gutter downpipe so runoff can be reused for irrigation and other purposes.
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Rain garden creation
A shallow, planted depression positioned to catch and soak up runoff from a roof or paved surface, reducing pressure on stormwater drains and letting the water recharge the soil instead of running off.
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Greywater reuse
Naturally treating and reusing a household's greywater (shower, sink, washing machine — never toilet waste) on site, through a simple gravity-fed filter system (settling tank, aerator, planted filter trench, polishing pond) instead of letting it run needlessly into the sewer or a soakaway.
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Compost toilet building
Building and setting up a simple, flush-free dry toilet (a "litter toilet") that collects human waste mixed with litter (sawdust, wood shavings, chopped garden waste) in a form ready for composting — replacing a flush toilet entirely, saving up to 16,000 liters of water per person per year, and producing nutrient-rich compost for the garden.
🌳Greening
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Tree planting
Planting saplings in public spaces, at the edge of a forest, or on private land to increase green cover, reduce soil erosion, and capture carbon.
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Miyawaki forest planting
Based on the method of Japanese professor Akira Miyawaki, creating a dense, multi-species "mini forest" of exclusively native plants on a tiny plot (as small as 3-50 m²) that becomes self-sustaining within 2-3 years and grows far faster than a conventional planting.
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Green wall & guerrilla vine planting
Greening bare, grey wall surfaces (firewalls, fences, concrete) with fast-growing climbing plants, often as a grassroots "guerrilla gardening" action, with the owner's permission or consent.
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Green pergola & shade arbor
Building wood or metal pergolas and arbors and training climbing plants (grapevine, honeysuckle, ivy) over them to provide shade and cool community spaces in summer.
🐝Animal care
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Wildflower meadow
Turning a neglected, frequently mowed, or bare patch of public lawn into a long-flowering wildflower meadow sown with a native seed mix, providing food for bees and other pollinators.
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Community birdhouses & insect hotels
Building and properly installing nest boxes for birds and insect hotels/small habitats for pollinators and beneficial insects, to make up for the lack of hollow trees and wild nooks in towns, helping both birds and insects breed and overwinter.
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Wildlife watering points
Setting up simple, safe watering points for wildlife, especially during a dry summer when natural water sources dry up.
♻️Waste management
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Community litter cleanup
An organized litter-picking action in a public space, along a stream bank, forest edge, or roadside ditch, to remove illegally dumped waste and prevent soil and water pollution.
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Community composting
Setting up a jointly run composting system for a housing community, street, or garden that processes kitchen and garden organic waste on site, cutting down on waste hauling and producing nutrient-rich soil.