Preserving Nature Yale-educated Will Berliner is an American entrepreneur with a science background and a mystifying curriculum vitae connected with outdoor adventuring and forestry. At college, Berliner studied island ecology and became an expert on the behaviour and habitats of the marsh raccoon and moose on islands off Georgia and Lake Superior. Although steeped in the science of forestry and ecology-related biology, his understanding of the natural world gradually shifted from the logical to the philosophical and the spiritual. With conviction and confidence, Berliner developed: a personal imperative to preserve the natural, the earth’s wild spaces, and the wild spaces within each of us . Although this sounds quite esoteric, Berliner owns a large tract of undeveloped forest in New Hampshire and a farm in Maine , in the US , his own personal effort to give nature breathing space. GRAPES GROW NATURALLY ON MY PROPERTIES IN NEW ENGLAND. THEY ARE IN MULCHY SOILS AND CLIMB NEIGHBOURING TREES FOR LIGHT. I SAW THAT THE ONLY SOILS LIKE THAT IN MARGARET RIVER WERE FOUND IN THE DENSER, OLDER GROWTH (ACTUALLY, SECOND GROWTH), FORESTS AND I WONDERED IF I COULD RECREATE THAT. I ALSO WAS EXPERIENCING THE EXTREMES OF THE AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENT, PARTICULARLY THE HEAT AND WIND AND DRYNESS. MY SOIL IS PARTICULARLY BONY, AND I THOUGHT THAT IF I CULTIVATED IT AND OPENED IT TO THE SUN, I WOULD DRY IT OUT FURTHER, AS WELL AS COOK WHATEVER WAS LIVING THERE. SO, I DECIDED NOT
TO CULTIVATE BUT RATHER TO MULCH, IN ORDER TO BUILD UP SOIL TILTH AND MICROBIAL LIFE. Will Berliner, Cloudburst
Despite the intent to farm with nature, invasive species are a particular challenge in Margaret River. Kikuyu grass from South Africa is about the first stumbling block. Local dairy farmers like this grass because it is a great insurance against drought, but its rapid spread can hamper vine growth and root development. Most vignerons prepare their vineyards with sprays, but Berliner chooses to rid himself of these grasses by depriving the ground of light (using plastic sheeting) and hand weeding.
186 The Wine Journal – 2023
Powered by FlippingBook