VIDEO 3 TRANSCRIPT

INSTALLING THE 7 REGENERATIVE BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM LAYERS

When you look at a forest it’s easy to see a wall of green. But as you spend more time with it your eyes start to see and recognize the different layers, different species, different shades.

Whether you decided on an Oak Savannah, Recovering Forest, or Mature Forest from the last video, each of these have 7 layers in them that work together and play their part in the fertility of the overall system.

Fertility here I’m using as the aliveness and regeneration of the whole. Your creativity, abundance, impact.

If you read my book ‘Regenerative Business’ then you may remember that one of Nature’s principles is biodiversity. Biodiversity creates a strong, resilient system, and homogeneity causes weakness.

A forest isn’t just a mono crop of 1 type of tree and nothing else. It is a diverse network of many plants, trees, species, that are collaborating.

In a traditional food forest, there are 7 layers that all work together. 

And by layers, I’m talking actual physical layers that are taking up 3-D space. So instead of acres and acres of corn taking up only 1 grassy layer, there are 7 stacking layers that are cohabitating 1 space.

1. First we have the Tall Tree or Canopy Layer

This layer provides large quantities of food + shade.

These are your large fruit and nut trees, as well as support trees that help improve your soil such as nitrogen fixers like alders.

2. The second layer is the Sub-Canopy or Large Shrub Layer

This is commonly fruit trees like apples.

3. The third layer is the Shrub Layer: 

Here we have shrubs, like raspberries, blueberries, and also medicinal plants. This layer provides a lot of nutrition and healing. It also provides nesting space for wildlife and increases biodiversity.

4. Next we have our Herbaceous Layer: 

This is when we start adding in more traditional food crops like vegetables and flowers for beneficial insects. 

This layer Dies back in winter – if you have a cold winter – and brings a ton of variety, and where you can lay on things you love and novelty.

If you remember from the last video, our Oak Savannah is for those who want way more of this layer. This playful novelty that requires a repeated energy investment. For example, doing a one-off mini workshop just because you want to.

5. The 5th layer is the Groundcover Layer: 

The purpose here is to cover the ground and hold the soil in place so it doesn’t wash or blow away in a storm. It also holds moisture in the ground so that you don’t have to water as much. Think, strawberries for eating, clover for teas and also being able to be stepped on and acting like a living mulch to protect the soil below.

6. The Root Crops Layer gives us grounding staples. 

Potatoes, garlic, bulbs, onions, sun chokes.

7. And finally we have the vining Layer: 

Vines climb the woody plants and trees — You can think of this layer as a ladder that connects all of the other layers. Vining plants can grow all the way from the ground layer to the tops of tree canopies.

For each of these layers we have the operational and marketing side. Kind of like plant growth versus plant pollination and fruiting.

For our tall trees – which are the piece we design around, we have our core offers, funnels and launches.

I know that the words “funnel” and “launch” can give people hives but it’s the most straightforward way to describe them since people know what I’m talking about when I say them. Please sub in Evergreen Ecosystem for funnel and Sacred Attraction Formula for launch if that feels better for you.

There’s a concept in regenerative agriculture called “Companion Planting” where one plant takes certain nutrients from the soil while the other provides shade or a thick trunk for a vining plant to grow up. You can think of your Food Forest funnel like this – where you’re intentionally planting offers and systems to work together harmoniously without your human intervention.

Our tall trees give us a clear way to deliver epic transformation and to deepen the relationship with our core people.

In a Mature Forest that means your entire business is focused on this.

Our sub-canopy adds in another layer of promotions and offers that reenforces our main canopy. Maybe that looks like doing a flash sale on your birthday.

The shrub layer is the all-important Community element of business. Communities come in so many shapes and sizes. You can create community through a blog, or on your social media, in a free Facebook group, a paid membership, or your podcast. This is a place where people want to visit and return to to be seen.

With the herbaceous layer we have all the novelty that my Oak Savannah people crave. You do all the things – courses, workshops, physical products, more courses, webinars, whatever. And you have to tend to it and replant it and feed it. You work the land for your harvest. 

With our ground cover we are holding moisture and fertility in the soil. On a personal level that is our magical practices and mindset. On a business systems level that is client attracting things like ads and SEO.

Our root layer works below the surface – it’s the systems and operations we have in place that when done right – we plant once and it continues to feed us for years.

And finally our vines. Touching every layer of our business is the people that support the business’ mission – the team. Our vines, our team maximize production within the area of planting. They help us to make the most of space and time within the system we have created. 

If you’ve been on the RBCL sales page then you know that there are more things at play than just the food forest – other species and elements.

For example we have to acknowledge the flowers that each of these layers put out — this echoes how our branding and messaging is woven into each layer of our business. With a Mature Forest we have super consistent branding and marketing since we’re centralized around 1 or a few core offers. Versus our Oak Savannah that has all sorts of crops and plants and flowers so we get to play and develop different messaging and branding across the business.

There are also important elements like sun and water that your forest needs. These are the people or the visibility needed for your ecosystem to thrive. Because if you don’t have people interacting with your business, it shrivels up and dies, as you as the gardener keep pouring your energy into it.

Head on over to the RBCL info page if you want to play with our interactive forest image with hotspots explaining the different pieces at play in your business ecosystem.

So now you have your quiz results, your chosen food forest type, and the 7 layers to fill. Take out your journal, or download this video’s workbook to fill in your 7 layers + identify what may be lacking in your business now.

After that – head to the next video to address arguably the most important part of your ecosystem – the climate and soil quality – AKA what energy and programming you’re seeding your forest with.