Guided Permaculture Walk

Wednesday, 8 June 2005

Address: Kamenkarka 10, 10000, Zagreb Tel: +385 91535-1693 Fax: +385 12338-316
Email: drazens@zamir.net
Website: http://www.zmag.hr/

Format: Participatory guided walk around town wall.

Observation of many points and local explanations with some national themes of rural Croatia.

Truffles in local forest so would see evidence of hunting dogs & pigs in gardens
Local forests replanted across most of landscape and now very protected due to truffles
River is now confined to artificial channel – big project planning to free it.
Motovun is a small hill top town situated over crossing of leylines
Big wine making area, mainly monocultures, field sizes of around
Town walls south side full of flowers and the occasional fig tree – natural vertical colonisation.
Croatia is green on satellite images lots of native forest, very high level of ecological awareness with national forestry management, never any clear felling. For every tree felled, two are planted.
Concern expressed over fear of privatisation of Croatia's water and forestry departments
Lots of organic and independent small scale farms in Croatia
Quercus Nigra, special evergreen oak discussed
Japonica mispellus – loquat, shown as an indicator species of the severity of previous winter by quantity of fruit and flowers. Evidence that the coldest temperatures had probably been around -5ºC, below this and there would be no fruit.
Big problem of second home ownership, pushing prices above local affordability.
New problem with Horse Chestnut trees discussed – a worm eats leaves from the inside. Robins are the only IPM controllers of these worms identified so far.
Bamboo growing so frosts not below -10ºC

[Scribe: Hannah Thorogood]