102 Holes in the Ground: The case of Haller Park

It's estimated that around the world millions of mining and quarry sites now stand abandoned. Once hubs of industry and extraction, these spaces are now environmental dead zones, with original ecosystems destroyed through intensive mining processes. 

While on the surface they seem to have little to offer, in their new book Dr Pete Whitebred Abrutat (Future Terrains) and Rob Lowe (The Eden Project) demonstrate the potential of these ‘holes in the ground’. 102 Holes in the Ground provides case studies of repurposing mine sites and rejuvenating mining communities by rebuilding ecological integrity and enhancing livelihoods. 

Among the case studies is the work of Dr Rene Haller, who began the process of restoring the Bamburi Cement Company’s huge limestone quarries on the Mombasa coast in the late 1960s. At first glance, they seemed to be an impossible case, sun-baked, rocky surfaces incapable of supporting any plant life, with saline water just below the surface. 

Dr Haller began work with the soil itself, the key to driving holistic change for ‘ecology and economy’, eventually planting over a million casuarina trees in the first 10 years of redevelopment, which could cope with the extreme weather conditions in the abandoned limestone wasteland. 

Redevelopment was a continual process of trial and error. Introducing red-legged millipedes to turn casuarina lead litter into humus, ants to assist with nutrient cycling, bushpigs to aerate the soil as they fed, oryx to graze on poor-quality grasses and dung beetles to increase the speed of decomposition and soil formation. The area now supports thousands of species of plants and animals, with 30 on the endangered species red list. 

Committed to economic development as well as ecological restoration, Dr Haller developed an integrated aquaculture system consisting of a fish farm, crocodile farm and water treatment area of Nile cabbage and rice paddy fields for water purification. The aim was to create a closed-loop system, with all waste used for further food production. 

Haller Park was a “launchpad for a lifetime of research and development of low-cost initiatives in food production, conservation, health, education and business development.” The park itself now receives over 150,000 visitors annually and is a critical part of the ecotourism industry in the area. 

Dr Haller’s work also inspired the establishment of the Haller Foundation in 2004, which now works with thousands of smallholder farmers in Kenya and beyond to improve their livelihoods through regenerative agriculture. Haller’s principles of working in harmony with the natural world, and focusing on the creation of self-sustaining ecosystems and communities underpin all of the foundation’s work. 

Amidst a news cycle often full of environmental challenges, the book demonstrates the potential for positive ecological change even in the most difficult of circumstances. 
102 Holes in the Ground is available to purchase online from the Eden Project Shop in the UK and on Amazon worldwide.