Nature-based solutions involve using nature or natural processes to help solve problems. They can be applied on large or small scales, depending on the issue you are looking to address. These solutions range from simple methods, like storing rainwater that falls on hard surfaces for irrigation, to more complex strategies, such as restoring wetlands to help retain water on the landscape during droughts.
Some of the benefits that nature-based solutions provide include maintaining or improving soil health, supporting pollinators, managing pests, reducing erosion, creating windbreaks and providing shade. Beyond these farm benefits, nature-based solutions can also create wildlife habitat, sequester carbon and beautify the property. Below are some examples of nature-based solutions and their benefits.
Cover cropping
Improves soil health, creates habitat for predatory insects and, if flowering species are sown, provides habitat for pollinators. Cover crops also enhance water retention and can add nutrients like nitrogen if legumes are planted. They reduce soil loss to wind or erosion by stabilizing the soil. For shallow-rooted crops, cover crops may compete for water, so in dry climates, some watering may be needed to establish or maintain them.
Mulching
Provides habitat for beneficial soil insects, improves water retention and reduces soil erosion in heavy rain. As mulch decomposes, it can add nutrients to the soil. If wood- based mulch is used (e.g., bark or wood chips), it may temporarily draw nitrogen from the soil while decomposing. Mulch can also improve soil structure.
Wildflower strips
Can be incorporated into cover crops and provide all the benefits of cover crops, along with additional food and habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects.
Hedgerows
Although hedgerows can’t be moved like cover crops, they offer many of the same benefits. They create habitat for pollinators, beneficial insects, insect-eating birds and potentially larger birds of prey, such as hawks and owls, for rodent control. Hedgerows can also serve as windbreaks, reducing water consumption in dry areas like the Okanagan, and provide shade. Although shade may not be ideal for vineyards, shaded areas are perfect for growing leafy greens, providing rest spots for farm workers, or welcoming wine tasters.
Bird boxes, T-posts, and water sources for bats
While starlings aren’t typically welcome on farms, many other birds are more interested in insect pests than crops. Bird boxes for swallows and bluebirds can attract these “clean-up crews,” with a single swallow consuming up to 850 insects daily. Be sure to use birdhouses with entry holes no larger than 1.5 inches to prevent starlings from nesting. T-posts (about 15 feet tall with a crossbar at the top) offer perches for hawks and owls to hunt rodents. Although bat boxes aren’t the best way to attract bats, providing a small pond or shallow water trough can encourage bats and other wildlife to visit.
Collecting rainwater from impermeable surfaces for irrigation
Harvesting rainwater from roofs and paved areas can reduce flooding during heavy storms and provide an additional source of irrigation water.
Removing frequently flooded areas from cultivation
While taking land out of cultivation may seem like a poor economic choice, it isn’t always the case. Sometimes, marginal areas require significant resources and yield minimal returns. By removing struggling trees or vines, you can reduce labour, fertilizers and pesticides in those areas. Converting them into pollinator strips, seasonally flooded marshes or hedgerows may provide benefits that outweigh the costs.
Not every farm problem has a nature-based solution, but every farm can benefit from some form of nature-based practice. Visit farmstewards.ca/naturebasedsolutions for examples of how the Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society is helping farmers to implement nature-based solutions on their properties.
Lia McKinnon is a stewardship biologist with Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship. She has a diverse background working with everything from native pollinators to rattlesnakes to burrowing owls.