Spring Gardening on the Basque Coast: Working with Water
A rugged place with a changing water reality Even before the climate started changing more rapidly, the Basque Country was known for its unpredictable weather, torrential rain, and microclimates. It has never been the easiest terrain for agriculture. Its ruggedness made farming harder, and for centuries that helped keep much of the land of little […]
Spring Gardening on the Basque Coast: Trimming, Pruning and Mowing
The cost of tidiness. Our obsession with tidiness is out of control, and it puts ecological pressure on the Basque coast. The Basque Coast is depicted as a post card, traditional, clean and an authentic tourist destination. White houses, orange rooftops and Basque red, green or blue shutters and other woodwork. Hedges are squared, lawns […]
Spring Gardening on the Basque Coast: Native Plants and Invasive Species
Why the Basque coast needs its own garden logic The Basque coast is not England and it shouldn’t look like it. We have a different climate, different ecosystems, different wind, different soils, different seasonal rhythms. Yet our gardens often look like they were copy-pasted from London suburbs, with the occasional palm tree thrown in to […]
What is rewilding?
Rewilding is an approach to nature conservation that focuses on restoring self-sustaining ecosystems by reconnecting habitats, restoring key species and reducing human control over natural processes. It is about giving nature the space and conditions it needs to function again — and removing the obstacles that prevent this from happening. Healthy ecosystems are not static. […]
Five Ways Rewilding Improves Daily Life in the Basque Country
People often ask me: why should I care about rewilding? It’s a fair question. For many, conservation sounds distant or symbolic—something for scientists, activists, birdwatchers and tree huggers. But the truth is simpler: rewilding directly improves daily life here in Euskal Herria. It makes our food better, our water cleaner, our homes healthier, and our […]
How to Garden Nature-Friendly in the Basque Country
For many of us, a garden is a retreat: a place to relax, to grow vegetables, to share meals in summer. But in Euskal Herria, especially along the coast, gardens are more than private spaces. They make up a large part of the green terrain between houses, roads, and villages—meaning they form one of the […]
The Oak of Euskal Herria: Symbol of Law, Loss, and Renewal
If one tree carries the soul of Euskal Herria, it is the oak. From assemblies under broad canopies to today’s scattered giants in meadows and mountains, oaks have been our shelter, our timber, our emblem of freedom. Their story is both cultural and ecological: a symbol of self-governance, a witness to centuries of use and […]
Rewilding Euskal Herria
Nature conservation and restoration in the Basque Country. Why rewilding? The Basque Country—Euskal Herria—is defined by a deep relationship between people and nature. For centuries, this rugged region between the mountains and the ocean sustained local communities through its natural resources. This co-existence shaped both local culture and ecosystems. While most of Europe has lost […]