WILD GARDENS
Rethinking Agricultural Production and Ecological Restoration in the Context of Climate Change
With climate change, the relationship between humans and ecosystems today appears not only as an environmental issue, but as a multi-layered problem area that directly affects production systems, livelihoods, and the continuity of life. Increasing drought, changing precipitation regimes, declining soil fertility, and biodiversity loss make it necessary to reconsider this relationship, particularly in areas where agricultural production takes place.
The Wild Gardens approach is a field-based framework that aims to reread and rewrite the human–ecosystem relationship within the context of the current climate crisis, along the axis of agricultural production and ecosystem restoration. This approach does not treat nature as a domain separate from human activity; rather, it considers nature a living system that can be balanced by respecting its functioning, even when shaped by human hands.
Where Does the Problem Begin?
Many ecological restoration and agricultural production models developed to date have often remained within the boundaries of a single discipline or a single perspective. Some practices have focused solely on ecological indicators, while others have concentrated only on production targets, struggling to establish a lasting relationship between these two domains in the field. Interventions that fail to adequately consider socio-economic dimensions and are not aligned with local conditions have limited the long-term impact of restoration efforts.
Wild Gardens identifies this disconnection as a fundamental problem. Ecosystems are not composed solely of plants and soil; they exist together with the people who interact with them, their modes of production, and their livelihood practices. Therefore, lasting ecological improvement can only be achieved through site-specific and holistic approaches.
What Does Wild Gardens Propose?
Wild Gardens does not offer a single standardized model that can be applied everywhere. On the contrary, it addresses each site within its own ecological, climatic, and socio-economic conditions. Ecological restoration, agricultural production, and socio-economic integration are not considered separate processes, but components that must be addressed together.
Within this approach, agricultural production is not an activity independent of the ecosystem. Production is evaluated within a network of relationships among soil, water, plants, animals, and humans. The goal is not short-term yield increases, but rather to strengthen long-term ecosystem resilience and production capacity together.
What Do We Do in the Field?
The Wild Gardens approach operates through specific ecological relationships in the field, and its applications are based on concrete processes.
One of the primary focus areas within this framework is the relationship between bees and pollination. Bees play a critical role not only in honey production, but also in the continuity, yield, quality, product diversity of plant-based production, and overall ecosystem health. For this reason, creating bee-friendly habitats and distributing pollen and nectar sources throughout the year are among the core objectives of Wild Gardens applications.
Planting practices are addressed through a polyfloral (multi-species) approach. Medicinal and aromatic plants, wild fruits, forest fruits, bee plants, companion plants, tree and shrub species, and even mycorrhizal fungi such as truffles are evaluated together in ways that both support ecosystem functions and provide multiple benefits for production. This approach aims to reduce the vulnerability created by single-crop systems and to increase product diversity on-site.
Wild Gardens also brings the agroforestry (agriculture–forest interaction) perspective into the field. Trees and perennial species are considered fundamental components that regulate microclimates, protect soil, increase water retention capacity, and support production diversity.
Soil is regarded not merely as a physical substrate, but as a living system. Soil biology and microbial activity are key reference points for applications. Interventions are designed to support the living structure of the soil, strengthen organic matter cycles, and enable water to be retained more efficiently within the ecosystem.
Adaptation to Climate Change and Drought
The increasing risk of drought associated with climate change is one of the main problem areas addressed by the Wild Gardens approach. Changing climatic conditions make it necessary to reassess the species and methods used in plant-based production. For this reason, Wild Gardens considers production not as a process based on fixed conditions, but as one that is compatible with changing climate dynamics.
Geography–crop matching is carried out by jointly evaluating climatic data, ecosystem characteristics, and local conditions. Practices such as regenerative agriculture, sustainable agriculture approaches including permaculture principles, and biodynamic agriculture are considered tools that strengthen climate adaptation and ecosystem resilience. Within this approach, agricultural production is an inseparable component of ecosystem sustainability.
What Makes Wild Gardens Different
The fundamental difference that distinguishes Wild Gardens from similar ecological restoration or regenerative agriculture practices lies in its holistic and site-based approach. This approach:
- does not rely on a single discipline,
- addresses ecological, agricultural, and socio-economic dimensions together,
- adopts a mode of work that learns from the field and adapts according to site-specific conditions.
Rather than repeating existing practices, Wild Gardens aims to reread accumulated knowledge within the context of climate change and rewrite it according to site-specific realities.
The Origins of Wild Gardens
The Wild Gardens approach originated from the initial field studies conducted between 2012 and 2013 by Dr. Nilüfer Erdin. These studies began in Denizgöründü Village in Çanakkale and encompassed flora research and polyfloral (multi-species) planting practices alongside beekeeping activities. In the field, more than sixty plant species—primarily bee-friendly species—were implemented, and their adaptation processes, ecosystem interactions, and production potentials were monitored over the long term.
This early field experience demonstrated that bee–flora–production relationships could be addressed together and that ecological restoration and agricultural production could support one another on-site. The Wild Gardens approach took shape through these observations and applications.
In 2017, the Wild Gardens project participated as a developed field model in the international agricultural entrepreneurship competition organized under the Future Agro Challenge and was selected as the Turkey Champion. In the same year, Turkey was represented through this approach at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress held in South Africa. This period marked the first time Wild Gardens began to be introduced at both national and international levels.
Alongside field applications, product development activities were also carried out within the scope of Wild Gardens. The production and processing processes of plant-based and bee-derived products produced in the field were handled with great care; bee products, olive products, and plant-based products were developed as tangible outputs of this approach. Under the "Muhr Natural Products" brand, these products were introduced, produced, and marketed as corporate gifts as part of the Wild Gardens project, generating funding for research.
In subsequent years, through applications carried out in different sites, Wild Gardens has continued to develop as an approach that jointly addresses ecological restoration, agricultural production, and rural development. This accumulated field knowledge and implementation experience eventually laid the groundwork for the establishment of Muhr Ecological Restoration. Muhr was founded to sustain the research, application, and consultancy experience generated through the Wild Gardens approach within an institutional structure.
Why "Wild Gardens"?
The name "Wild Gardens" draws direct inspiration from natural ecosystems. "Wild" refers to spontaneously developing natural vegetation, flora–fauna–microbiota relationships, the intrinsic functioning of ecosystems, and the reference systems provided by nature. Species selection and applications are determined by observing and preserving these natural structures. "Gardens" inspired by these ecosystems, refers to systems established by human hands and points to dimensions of production, livelihood, and economic contribution.
Wild Gardens does not seek to imitate nature; rather, it defines sites created by learning from nature, shaped by human intervention while respecting ecosystem boundaries. It expresses an approach to ecological restoration and production that both protects natural systems and provides meaningful contributions to people.