Une conversation avec Karin et Louis

How an entrepreneur is sowing the seeds of nature-rich playgrounds

In this conversation, Karin and Louis dive into regenerative agriculture, pharmaceuticals, the power of human connection, and how business schools can help shape the future of food.

Louis De Jaeger is CEO of garden and landscape architecture firm Commensalist, which designs gardens in Belgium, agricultural estates in Spain, hotel gardens in the Azores, and private islands in Argentina. He previously launched the ByeByeGrass and Let Them Lie campaigns, wrote several books on the topic, and made an award-winning documentary Food Forest.

A Playground Full of Edible Surprises

Imagine: children picking berries, fruits, nuts, and edible leaves as healthy snacks during playtime. Not a utopia, but a perfectly achievable concept. A food forest not only provides a fun and natural play environment but also an educational experience of invaluable worth. Even on just a few square meters, a surprisingly diverse and productive ecosystem can emerge.

Why a Food Forest?

A food forest works according to the principles of a forest edge, but with one important difference: everything is edible. Just like in a natural forest, different layers of plants grow, ensuring there's something to harvest throughout the growing season. "I recently gave a tour at the Royal Palace of Belgium, and an entire class of children didn't know what a stinging nettle was, let alone that it's edible. That shouldn't happen," says De Jaeger.

Schools Have No Budget, Entrepreneurs Can Help

The initiator launched a video competition. The winning school, The Sunflower in West-Flanders Ardooie, will receive a free food forest on Saturday, February 22. With this action, he hopes to inspire entrepreneurs and sponsors to create food forests in their own communities as well. "It's not expensive, it's not difficult, you just have to do it. The problem is that schools don't have a spare euro. That's why we need entrepreneurial people."

Planting Together, Having Fun Together

By creating the food forest together with students and parents, a sense of ownership develops. De Jaeger remembers his own youth:

"My fondest memories of elementary school are from under and around the only bush on the playground. My dream is that every child in Belgium gets to experience the richness of picking and enjoying raspberries, chestnuts, strawberries, figs, and much more."