01: Earthcare, the first permaculture ethic S39PDC 2025

Hi there! We built the air that you breathe

Planet Earth, our home, has been fashioned by zillions of microbes over billions of years. Earth care is the permaculture ethic that places us at the heart of the planetary ecosystem. The atmosphere has been generated by and is maintained through biological action, we are active participants in this process.

Stromatolites or stromatoliths are layered sedimentary formations that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota. These microorganisms produce adhesive compounds that cement sand and other rocky materials to form mineral "microbial mats". In turn, these mats build up layer by layer, growing gradually over time.

3.7 billion-year-old fossilised stromatalites

Our home is an interconnected system