Mass extinction
Extinction is a natural part of life. 98 % all species that have ever existed are now extinct. However, at this moment the extinction rate is 1-10 thousand times bigger than the natural extinction rate, which would be 10 to 100 species per year. So, at current rate we are losing ten thousand to a million species every year. Or 5 to 50 % of species every hundred years.
What is causing this?
The primary cause for the current mass extinction event is unsustainable land use. This is mainly due to agriculture. Agriculture uses 40 % of land, 70 % of fresh water and it causes 90 % of deforestation. For reference 40 % of land is all of Eurasia.
What can you do?
You can build a dead hedge! It functions as a fence and supports massive biodiversity. A dead hedge is a food source and shelter for a whole range of different decomposers and insects. Which in turn will attract reptiles, birds and small mammals. It is possible to find a bird’s nest in your dead hedge or even a hedgehog’s nest.
How to build a dead hedge?
Step 1 is to make the posts. Use at least 2 cm thick pieces of wood for the posts. Pick or cut a piece of wood that is the height you want the dead hedge to be plus about 5 cm. Then sharpen one end of the post.
Step 2 is to lay the posts to the ground. The posts are laid in two rows to the ground. The space between the rows is the thickness of your dead hedge, a good thickness is 30 cm but this is up to you. Space from one post to another should be about 50 cm. You need something to hit the posts to the ground with, the best tool for this is a wooden hammer.
Step 3 is filling the gap. In this step you fill the gap between your posts with waste wood. If it seems that you have more waste than you can fit, you can go back to step 2 and continue the dead hedge, or another way is to fit more is to make the dead hedge thicker. Now you have a dead hedge.
Conclusion
The sixth mass extinction is happening, and everyone can help mitigate it. One way is to create living space for animals by building a dead hedge on your yard.
