🌾We can only do these projects because of our Mossy Earth Members! So if you would like to help out you can become a member here: www.mossy.earth/ We use our rewilding budget to try and restore nature in the most impactful ways. Focusing on keystone species, big impact multiplying ideas and neglected ecosystems. Its fun but above all its impactful in bringing wilderness back to our landscapes! We hope you will consider joining us :) - Cheers, Duarte
What do you think about the ancient primordial forests and wetlands in Europe being a sponge for water much like what is seen in the Amazon. With winds travelling east would this alter the hydrology of places in the Middle East. When people spread into Europe from the steppe its at the same time that the Middle East became a lot drier did changes in the landscape in Europe effect more places elsewhere.
It would be so cool if local universities got involved and used this as like a showcase of aquatic environments, it could be a very productive way to get a little more state funding
The thing I find so interesting is the fact you survey before and after to get data on the change. In contrast to just making the change and hoping it was good.
Louisiana girl here - I have a suggestion concerning the crawfish. Bouncing off the comments on eating crawfish, perhaps the local volunteers could set up a monthly crawfish boil. A day where everyone works to catch and trap crawfish and then share the results. Even just setting out crawfish traps regularly, such are used in rice fields, could be effective. I grew up with crawfish holes in my yard, and our cat used to fish for them by sticking his paw into the holes until one latched on, and then flinging it across the lawn. After a few years, there were no more crawfish holes in our yard.
This is what is needed here, some home grown expertise. Living in the UK I have never tasted crawfish and can only imagine how delicious they might be. The monthly crawfish boil sounds like a winner all round for volunteers and the local community alike. Thank you Louisiana Girl.
You'll want to bring in a load of Tony Chachere's seasoning. Some Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce. A monthly crawfish boil could become quite an event. For those not into the crawfish, perhaps some red beans and rice? Gumbo?
What is funny is in the southern US crawfish would never let a human get that close without hiding because they would go straight in the gumbo pot lol.
@@combak2712 thanks. Someone must have let them go into a waterway. We have the same problem here with carp. Some fool let them go into a river and now they are a huge pest.
The way you guys publicize your work AFTER the initial project is what sets you apart from traditional "we planted 80,000 trees (seeds)!!!!!!!" crowd. You actually check to make sure what you do actually has the intended effect!! That's why I'm confident in being a member and giving you my money 😅
When you plant tree sapplings, or seeds - there are two things that make show casing the long term impact well, impractical: 1. Attrition rate - seeds are like 95% attrition, sapplings are like 60% (it's been awhile since I looked at these numbers). 2. The time line to see a marked impact is in the 5-10 years to start, and some 15-25 years at a minimum. Wetland work, and the like is way different: You can, if you start late winter/early spring start seeing dramatic impact by the end of summer. We are talking 1-2 years to see impact, and maybe 3-4 years.
Great project! I like the transparency of also showing the negative result. And Udo and Claudia have lovely accents, as a German now living in a different country, their voices remind me of home :)
@@MossyEarththey seems to be amazing guys and Udo technique to Catch 🪝 crawfish is easy and cheap to do with girl nylon ! Stock salted Fish is pretty common in Portugal so in there it will be easy and cheap in us some countries in Europe and Brazil I think pieces of crooked tilapia could work. And probably those crawfish are delicious and more healthy bacause grow in nature and without pesticides like probably most Louisiana crawfish is raised in rice paddies probably not organic rice 🌾🍚!
8:32 most shocking part… less that 40k made all this?!! Do we even realize the budgets traditional ONGs have and yet the cant Make a fifth of what this guys are doing!! Thanks mossy earth!
Big traditional NGOs spend most of the money on canvassing for more money and their massive bureaucratic admin overhead, actual actions generally represent only a third to a fifth of the funds collected. Small new media NGOs can target their audience more specifically and their admin overhead is a lot smaller, leading to a more effective action per € ratio. One isn't necessarily better than the other, large NGOs help raise awareness on a global or national level and coordinate massive projects while smaller NGOs get the work done at the local level.
As said the mossy earth contribution to this project is £40k. Rewilding Portugal and it's other partners have probably spent £1m+. A partner had to buy the site. They did massive earth works originally, multiple studies and employ lots of people. Mossy earth had provided studies and investment to alter small bits of the earthworks to create more space for wetlands.
It's gorgeous and it's even more impressive with the whole Iberian peninsula going through it's second year of drought, i live in a marshland in the Mediterranean coast and it's drying up, swamps and wetlands are extremely important and are in danger of disappearing so gaining a whole new wetland habitat like this is great
@@ChristaFree That isn't as effective as fresh water. The puking is a wives tale. A good purge should take several hours, but several hours in slightly salty water would kill a crawfish.
Thank you for posting this! It's encouraging to know that despite all of the damage and neglect that has been done to the environment, it can recovery/adapt quickly. Brings me some hope for the future plans I have for my own property.
Exactly! Nature has a capacity to recover and it makes me very happy that this is the main feeling it creates for you. The more people get to feel this way the better! Good luck on your own ideas :) - Cheers, Duarte
"For a lot of people this is a puddle, a pot of water and some reed. No, it is full of life and full of biodiversity." ❤ I love this quote by Mr. Udo. It sounds very simple but it rings so true. A large majority of the population are unable to see the amount of biodiversity that is found in small areas like a backyard or a little creek in their local park. The more we show the results that these changes bring to "small" areas, the more local people that can see the impact it makes around them! I love these updates and it makes me really happy to be a member of Mossy Earth :)
I love that the otters and herons are helping take care of the crayfish. I like the idea of making them dinner as well. Fantastic improvement of the quarry project.
Good luck with the crayfish! They're exceptionally easy to trap with a simple funneled basket, and are delicious when boiled in beer with some potatoes, corn, and spicy sausage 😋
Well, water quality testing seems like the obvious next step. If you do a crawfish boil fundraiser, let us know a month or two in advance. I know how to steam them. That looks like a great place for a party! @@MossyEarth
Your organisation & others like you, give me the motivation to keep going in my, what I'm calling my habitat rehabilitation. Often I feel misunderstood, tired & dejected. You give me hope & inspiration.
Hey Geffrey, it means a lot to me to read this comment. One of the things that really makes me happy with this community we have is how it gives hope and motivation for people to see nature as something that can be restored, not just something we are losing. - Cheers, Duarte
People will continue to hate, the difference is you are actually doing something. Be proud of yourself and enjoy the time. Thanks for your efforts in the first place 💪
Hi James! It makes me really happy to read this :) We do our best so it is always good to hear that our members think we are using the money correctly. A huge thank you for the support :) - Cheers, Duarte
- So I found this carnivorous aquatic plant the other day - What? Where? - In a quarry - O_o - Wanna try some tasty invasive crayfish? Another great video, xD
Imagine if we could get local universities to use this as an example of various aquatic ecosystems and get some government funding for it, it could also greatly increase monitoring by involving effectively volunteer scientists.
" local universities" Well that just depends on the place, in a lot of the west and even around the world universities are ideologically captured and have been rejecting science for decades and defunding and perverting environmental courses in favor of the grifting/parasitic social sciences. I used to love the word diversity, now I loathe it when not coming from a biologists. Now we have literal eugenicists (proponents of critical theory) using the word outside of nature and it's just sad when you hear it.
it's amazing the difference in colors. everything is so much more vibrant where the water is able to go its own way. i am from texas. crayfish/crawfish are like tiny little shrimp, not overly aggressive. we eat them in the spring time, in a heavily seasoned broth with potatoes, sausages, and corn.
Well many of the colours come from the fact that it was a beautiful day in Spring but you are right, the return of vegetation to certain parts has been really nice to see! - Cheers, Duarte
@Liam-t7u it's very good! if you don't have crawfish, you can substitute with regular shrimp or prawn or even crabs. the seasoning recipes can be found all over the internet, just search for Cajun or crawfish boil.
@@sarav2209 I find that crabs are rather different in taste (though there's a large variety of crabs). Lobster is very similar, though, as those are essentially just very large crayfish. And overpriced.
Great work 💛 For the Big Blue Lake, could the colour be due to leached metal ion (maybe Copper II)? That might induce toxicity that hampers natural succession. Might be worth conducting elemental analysis on the BBL water samples! Looking forward to more updates!
This does not look like an open mine where ores was extracted, rather a stone or gravel quarry. Contamination is more likely to be from spills from machinery or deliberate (legal or illegal) deposition of waste (a landfill if you like). Unless it was a landfill, contamination will probably not be any major hazard. Also, we have seen a number of species in these clips that indicate clean waters, frogs and newts, some of the insects (though that takes specialists) and the crayfish themselves. Edit: from another post, there is limestone in or around the quarry, quite likely what was extracted. Limestone raises the pH of the water, but has very low risk of adding contaminants.
Always heart fills up with happiness when watching @MossyEarth videos. There is something joyous about the wild that is deeply engraved in us humans - provided we give those feelings an opportunity to surface.!
Hi Samuel, that makes me really happy to read. It is a feeling we seek to create with our videos. People need to have hope that nature can recover. Thank you for taking the time to write this comment :) - Cheers, Duarte
Thank you for the follow up! I remember seeing this and the excitement that came with knowing the unique wetland and possibly limestone dependent species getting a new habitat to flourish. Can’t wait to see it even further down the line guys!
Thank you! While mostly I want people to get excited about our projects getting a compliment on our videos is also a nice feeling :) They are a lot of work! - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth My point is that your projects takes lots of effort and work (although you do great video work too). I was thinking about how many views you get compared to some low effort content like reactions videos. I just expressed it poorly. Keep up the good work!
Udo is right : Let's eat Crayfish. You guys should Catch a Lot of them and make a BBQ for the locals to get more Funds. Reduce the Crayfish and Other species will have a chance. Like the willows - sometimes something has to die for the survival of the Others.
Introducing a large native predator will likely be your best bet in dealing with those invasive. Louisiana native and them crawfish have so many predators out here. We would never see that many chilling in one spot like that, and they are very aggressive round here.
I like how you include the positive results and less effective measures and unintended consequences in your vids. Thanks for taking us on a real behind the scenes journey x
Love your videos. In Australia, we call them 'yabbies' and they are highly sort after! I've never seen soo many at the edge of the lake like you see. People could pay for a license to catch them, especially in such pristine conditions! 😁
This is truly inspiring! Your team's hard work has transformed a barren quarry into a thriving wetland. It's amazing to see the diversity of life that has returned to this once-degraded site. Thank you for sharing your passion and expertise with the world. Keep up the great work!
I love that you had the outside experts come in to evaluate the results so far! Love how y'all truly follow the scientific method in your interventions, including analysing the results to see what went well, what went poorly, and what you can change for next time 💚
I love these videos and seeing all the progress you're making - especially as a Mossy Earth member making a small monthly contribution. You really seem to get the best out of our bucks!
Crawfish are delicious. As a child I would catch them by hand. I would turn over rocks near the shoreline and find them underneath. Sometimes I would find a small water snake.
Glad you appreciate the videos as well. Our focus of course is on the projects but as the maker of these videos it is very nice to hear! - Cheers, Duarte
A stick with a piece of string tied on one end, and a piece of liver attached to the other end of the string, a 5 gallon bucket to knock them off into, and in 30 minutes you could catch enough of the crayfish to have SUCH a delicious feast.
You need to put the bait in old pantihose bundled and tied off with magic thread....bait can't get stolen and the barbs on their claws get snagged as long as you keep retrieving
Exactly! I want to get better at capturing sound in future videos to bring you even more into the project locations. Stuff to think about :) - Cheers, Duarte
hi I'm Robert I'm using my mom's phone with her permission right now. If I was you the only thing I would have changed is I would have removed the willow trees that would have ended up drowning. but other than that everything else you did perfectly right. I love watching your videos by the way I just love and find it so fascinating seeing a lifeless wasteland turn into a Oasis essentially. It's really cool and really rare to see. I love nature so this is really good to see and I love watching your videos. Keep up the good work.
14:30 after only seeing skittish crayfish in my life,it’s shocking to see them so tame 😮 it’s almost like you can just pick them up and cook them! never tried crayfish but now i’d like some… 😋
Love Mossy Earth's impact in its projects. Various interventions across different biomes that makes the world a little wilder.🌿🙌🏻🌿 I am a member and would motivate others that haven't subscribed to become members too💪🏻
Very pleased to see that scientific assessment is done for your projects! This is certainly the way to go about helping nature back on its feet while also collecting new information on how well nature does at helping itself.
I wish you guys would add captions to you videos so we can more easily share them with family and friends. I know that it can be a lot of work and having people to do that full time is probably expensive but It could go a long way in helping spread your message and bringing more donators.
@@MossyEarth it's okay, almost everyone does. I'm just a nerdy bug lover. Also as a native to the US you can make really effective crawdad traps with chicken wire and some dead fish. Especially ones that are so tame should fill your traps fast and then you can have a good old fashioned crawdad boil!
What a lovely video, I hape we can grow this work and share it with the whole world. And Please please consider contacting someday Paul Rosolie and his team, they are doing beautiful work in the Amazon and I truly believe that with more help they can establish long lasting protection and education combined with safe jobs for all the local people ❤
Utricularia are such underrated carnivorous plants!!!! Highly recommend their Wikipedia page, it's a fun read! They exist on every continent except Antarctica, have conquered so many types of habitats there's aquatic, terrestrial, epiphytic, and even lithophytic species. Most of the time it's difficult to see their traps but they're hard at work catching prey (although it does look like at least one species actually have a mutualistic relationship with microorganisms that live in their traps -so less of a trap and more of a house?
I been lucky to visit this landscape at the end of last year with part of the Rewilding Portugal team, so its always amazing to see updates and how this project is evolving, and cannot wait to see the differences next time!
Is trapping the crayfish to controll their population something Mossy Earth is considering? Perhaps you are waiting to see if the ecosystem will regulate itself, considering there are natural predators of the crayfish in the area. I'd be interested to know your thoughts! Great video as always :)
@@MossyEarth Its one of my favourite projects. Because we don't mention enough how destructive mines are even AFTER they are closed. Ofc we need to mine stuff, but reducing the impact of mining is such a great project. And being in my country makes me even happies, many regions in the interior really need more pounds and vegetation.
Having the crayfish predators on site will help. Some good traps for hunting to knock back the adult population for a few seasons. Also if there are native fish that could predate on the eggs that could be a big help, but I'm not sure in such shallow water that you could support large fish like that except also in the short term.
I like how the entire area, both what you've worked on and everything nearby, is much more green. It used to be just mud, but now it's covered with vegetation. Wonderful to see.
Hello! I'm currently working on my master's thesis, which happens to be a global assessment of invasive aquatic plants. This project will be very helpful for the section on Portugal! Thank you so much for doing this important work! :)
🌾We can only do these projects because of our Mossy Earth Members! So if you would like to help out you can become a member here: www.mossy.earth/
We use our rewilding budget to try and restore nature in the most impactful ways. Focusing on keystone species, big impact multiplying ideas and neglected ecosystems. Its fun but above all its impactful in bringing wilderness back to our landscapes! We hope you will consider joining us :)
- Cheers, Duarte
What do you think about the ancient primordial forests and wetlands in Europe being a sponge for water much like what is seen in the Amazon. With winds travelling east would this alter the hydrology of places in the Middle East. When people spread into Europe from the steppe its at the same time that the Middle East became a lot drier did changes in the landscape in Europe effect more places elsewhere.
keep up the good work!!
We are doing our best, thank you for the support! - Cheers, Duarte
It would be so cool if local universities got involved and used this as like a showcase of aquatic environments, it could be a very productive way to get a little more state funding
The thing I find so interesting is the fact you survey before and after to get data on the change. In contrast to just making the change and hoping it was good.
Louisiana girl here - I have a suggestion concerning the crawfish. Bouncing off the comments on eating crawfish, perhaps the local volunteers could set up a monthly crawfish boil. A day where everyone works to catch and trap crawfish and then share the results. Even just setting out crawfish traps regularly, such are used in rice fields, could be effective.
I grew up with crawfish holes in my yard, and our cat used to fish for them by sticking his paw into the holes until one latched on, and then flinging it across the lawn. After a few years, there were no more crawfish holes in our yard.
This is what is needed here, some home grown expertise. Living in the UK I have never tasted crawfish and can only imagine how delicious they might be. The monthly crawfish boil sounds like a winner all round for volunteers and the local community alike. Thank you Louisiana Girl.
2nd this, Crawfish are delicious and seems like a good way to lower their number
You'll want to bring in a load of Tony Chachere's seasoning. Some Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce. A monthly crawfish boil could become quite an event. For those not into the crawfish, perhaps some red beans and rice? Gumbo?
I wad thinking the same thing
@@Liam-t7u Haha, you're welcome!
What is funny is in the southern US crawfish would never let a human get that close without hiding because they would go straight in the gumbo pot lol.
Seems like these ones have lived in relative peace for far too long! - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth Time to change that.
It’s really interesting how they may have ended up there to start with…escapees from a home or commercial setting?
After a quick Google, I’m seeing that they may have come to Portugal as bait or for use in food, or for aquaculture, whatever that means.
@@combak2712 thanks. Someone must have let them go into a waterway. We have the same problem here with carp. Some fool let them go into a river and now they are a huge pest.
The way you guys publicize your work AFTER the initial project is what sets you apart from traditional "we planted 80,000 trees (seeds)!!!!!!!" crowd. You actually check to make sure what you do actually has the intended effect!! That's why I'm confident in being a member and giving you my money 😅
When you plant tree sapplings, or seeds - there are two things that make show casing the long term impact well, impractical: 1. Attrition rate - seeds are like 95% attrition, sapplings are like 60% (it's been awhile since I looked at these numbers). 2. The time line to see a marked impact is in the 5-10 years to start, and some 15-25 years at a minimum.
Wetland work, and the like is way different: You can, if you start late winter/early spring start seeing dramatic impact by the end of summer. We are talking 1-2 years to see impact, and maybe 3-4 years.
Sounds like yall need to do a Crawfish Boil as a fundraiser/event there. Talk about locally sourced crawfish!
Exactly! A rewilding crayfish cookout every year to keep them suppressed. - Cheers, Duarte
Fun idea!
@@MossyEarthJust make sure they're healthy enough to eat first! That _is_ a former quarry, and crawfish _are_ bottom-feeders.
@@MossyEarthencourage locals to harvest them.
@@LexYeen Oh come on! No one ever got hurt from a little heavy metal poisoning!
Great project! I like the transparency of also showing the negative result. And Udo and Claudia have lovely accents, as a German now living in a different country, their voices remind me of home :)
We have to show what works and what doesn't otherwise it would not be honest! Udo and Claudia are Austrian by the way :) - Cheers, Duarte
Shame on me, I just got corrected by Udo… They are indeed German! 🤦♂️
@@MossyEarththey seems to be amazing guys and Udo technique to Catch 🪝 crawfish is easy and cheap to do with girl nylon ! Stock salted Fish is pretty common in Portugal so in there it will be easy and cheap in us some countries in Europe and Brazil I think pieces of crooked tilapia could work. And probably those crawfish are delicious and more healthy bacause grow in nature and without pesticides like probably most Louisiana crawfish is raised in rice paddies probably not organic rice 🌾🍚!
I had to laugh... Claudia started speaking, and a few seconds later, I realized I was thinking in German again. 😆🤣
8:32 most shocking part… less that 40k made all this?!! Do we even realize the budgets traditional ONGs have and yet the cant Make a fifth of what this guys are doing!! Thanks mossy earth!
No, that was contributions from Mossy Earth, ONE of the partners on this project.
Big traditional NGOs spend most of the money on canvassing for more money and their massive bureaucratic admin overhead, actual actions generally represent only a third to a fifth of the funds collected. Small new media NGOs can target their audience more specifically and their admin overhead is a lot smaller, leading to a more effective action per € ratio. One isn't necessarily better than the other, large NGOs help raise awareness on a global or national level and coordinate massive projects while smaller NGOs get the work done at the local level.
No, thats not correct, you don't now where you talking about ...
As said the mossy earth contribution to this project is £40k. Rewilding Portugal and it's other partners have probably spent £1m+. A partner had to buy the site. They did massive earth works originally, multiple studies and employ lots of people. Mossy earth had provided studies and investment to alter small bits of the earthworks to create more space for wetlands.
@@Soken50 How can large NGOs better support smaller organizations to maximize their collective impact?
Sounds like it's time for a Great Blue Lake crawfish boil! 😂
I am sure a few invasive crayfish traps could be helpful and be a few nice dinners for the Ecologist
Hahaha exactly! Send us your best recipes! - Cheers, Duarte
I was just about to comment something similar Crayfish boil is hella delicious 😄
@@MossyEarth you can put a portuguese touch and make crayfish à bulhão pato
@@MossyEarth Some of my redneck friends would catch them and cook them in soda cans. Best of luck!
It's gorgeous and it's even more impressive with the whole Iberian peninsula going through it's second year of drought, i live in a marshland in the Mediterranean coast and it's drying up, swamps and wetlands are extremely important and are in danger of disappearing so gaining a whole new wetland habitat like this is great
Exactly! I think its hard to capture the uniqueness of having a wetland in this location. - Cheers, Duarte
And with the fire dangers across the whole Iberian Peninsula ...
When you catch the crawfish, before eating make sure to put them in clean fresh water first. Theyll turn the water dirty. Gotta clean them
OH YEAH! Gotta purge them in clean water to get all the poop out of them before you cook them!
@@calipeteI’m pretty sure the clean water is to get all the sand and muck out. You have to “devein” them to get the poop out.
No. You put them in a little salty water so they'll puke and clean out their digestive tracts
@@ChristaFree That isn't as effective as fresh water. The puking is a wives tale. A good purge should take several hours, but several hours in slightly salty water would kill a crawfish.
@18:01 look forward to craw fish trap videos
Thank you for posting this! It's encouraging to know that despite all of the damage and neglect that has been done to the environment, it can recovery/adapt quickly. Brings me some hope for the future plans I have for my own property.
Exactly! Nature has a capacity to recover and it makes me very happy that this is the main feeling it creates for you. The more people get to feel this way the better! Good luck on your own ideas :) - Cheers, Duarte
"For a lot of people this is a puddle, a pot of water and some reed. No, it is full of life and full of biodiversity." ❤ I love this quote by Mr. Udo. It sounds very simple but it rings so true. A large majority of the population are unable to see the amount of biodiversity that is found in small areas like a backyard or a little creek in their local park. The more we show the results that these changes bring to "small" areas, the more local people that can see the impact it makes around them! I love these updates and it makes me really happy to be a member of Mossy Earth :)
I love that the otters and herons are helping take care of the crayfish. I like the idea of making them dinner as well. Fantastic improvement of the quarry project.
Good luck with the crayfish! They're exceptionally easy to trap with a simple funneled basket, and are delicious when boiled in beer with some potatoes, corn, and spicy sausage 😋
Nice! Excited to try it out assuming they are healthy and ok to eat from an old quarry… - Cheers, Duarte
Well, water quality testing seems like the obvious next step. If you do a crawfish boil fundraiser, let us know a month or two in advance. I know how to steam them. That looks like a great place for a party! @@MossyEarth
Your organisation & others like you, give me the motivation to keep going in my, what I'm calling my habitat rehabilitation. Often I feel misunderstood, tired & dejected. You give me hope & inspiration.
Hey Geffrey, it means a lot to me to read this comment. One of the things that really makes me happy with this community we have is how it gives hope and motivation for people to see nature as something that can be restored, not just something we are losing. - Cheers, Duarte
People will continue to hate, the difference is you are actually doing something. Be proud of yourself and enjoy the time. Thanks for your efforts in the first place 💪
Love that you're propagating a Carnivorous plant. Nature is so cool.
You never know what expression nature picks for a place but this one was certainly a surprise! - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth Good Luck with the Project. Hope those Cray get eaten up.
I'm used to other carnivorous plants, but not this one. The others all thrive in nitrogen deprived areas. Is that the case with this one as well?
I thank you for using my subscription money so well. Keep up the fantastic work
Hi James! It makes me really happy to read this :) We do our best so it is always good to hear that our members think we are using the money correctly. A huge thank you for the support :) - Cheers, Duarte
- So I found this carnivorous aquatic plant the other day
- What? Where?
- In a quarry
- O_o
- Wanna try some tasty invasive crayfish?
Another great video, xD
😂
Waiting for the next mossy earth video to be a crayfish cooking session ^^
Send us your recipes! - Cheers, Duarte
Nicely done! Great to see people taking care of the environment.
Glad you enjoy our projects and thank you for the kind comment :) - Cheers, Duarte
This channel is probably one of the most underrated channels on this website
Great work Duarte, Udo, Claudia, Jael, Tiago & Flora!
Thanks Matt! And I will add the Rewilding Portugal team and the land owner to the list of course! Without them it would not happen :) - Cheers, Duarte
Mossy Earth continues to be AMAZING!
Thank you! That is always great to hear :) - Cheers, Duarte
Imagine if we could get local universities to use this as an example of various aquatic ecosystems and get some government funding for it, it could also greatly increase monitoring by involving effectively volunteer scientists.
" local universities"
Well that just depends on the place, in a lot of the west and even around the world universities are ideologically captured and have been rejecting science for decades and defunding and perverting environmental courses in favor of the grifting/parasitic social sciences.
I used to love the word diversity, now I loathe it when not coming from a biologists. Now we have literal eugenicists (proponents of critical theory) using the word outside of nature and it's just sad when you hear it.
it's amazing the difference in colors. everything is so much more vibrant where the water is able to go its own way.
i am from texas. crayfish/crawfish are like tiny little shrimp, not overly aggressive. we eat them in the spring time, in a heavily seasoned broth with potatoes, sausages, and corn.
Well many of the colours come from the fact that it was a beautiful day in Spring but you are right, the return of vegetation to certain parts has been really nice to see! - Cheers, Duarte
That sounds delicious.
@Liam-t7u it's very good! if you don't have crawfish, you can substitute with regular shrimp or prawn or even crabs. the seasoning recipes can be found all over the internet, just search for Cajun or crawfish boil.
@@sarav2209 I find that crabs are rather different in taste (though there's a large variety of crabs). Lobster is very similar, though, as those are essentially just very large crayfish. And overpriced.
Great work 💛 For the Big Blue Lake, could the colour be due to leached metal ion (maybe Copper II)? That might induce toxicity that hampers natural succession. Might be worth conducting elemental analysis on the BBL water samples! Looking forward to more updates!
Copper or limestone too. Portugal has a lot of both. I don't think I have ever heard it mentioned what they were mining for here.
This does not look like an open mine where ores was extracted, rather a stone or gravel quarry. Contamination is more likely to be from spills from machinery or deliberate (legal or illegal) deposition of waste (a landfill if you like). Unless it was a landfill, contamination will probably not be any major hazard.
Also, we have seen a number of species in these clips that indicate clean waters, frogs and newts, some of the insects (though that takes specialists) and the crayfish themselves.
Edit: from another post, there is limestone in or around the quarry, quite likely what was extracted. Limestone raises the pH of the water, but has very low risk of adding contaminants.
Always heart fills up with happiness when watching @MossyEarth videos. There is something joyous about the wild that is deeply engraved in us humans - provided we give those feelings an opportunity to surface.!
Hi Samuel, that makes me really happy to read. It is a feeling we seek to create with our videos. People need to have hope that nature can recover. Thank you for taking the time to write this comment :) - Cheers, Duarte
This is so inspiring to see considering everything going on in the world at the moment
Glad you enjoyed the project :) - Cheers, Duarte
Thank you for the follow up! I remember seeing this and the excitement that came with knowing the unique wetland and possibly limestone dependent species getting a new habitat to flourish. Can’t wait to see it even further down the line guys!
It had been more than a year already so an update was overdue! - Cheers, Duarte
Udo and Claudia are so fun!
They are amazing! And they have such depth of knowledge that it is really special to walk around these places with them :) - Cheers, Duarte
I appreciate the amount of effort and work behind a video like this, it's the opposite of all the low effort reactions videos flooding RUclips.
Thank you! While mostly I want people to get excited about our projects getting a compliment on our videos is also a nice feeling :) They are a lot of work! - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth My point is that your projects takes lots of effort and work (although you do great video work too). I was thinking about how many views you get compared to some low effort content like reactions videos. I just expressed it poorly. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the update. It's nice to see the impact of the project.
Glad you enjoyed the update :D - Cheers, Duarte
This video is beautiful!! Especially the shots of the frogs!! Keep up the good work!
Greetings from Belgium 🇧🇪
Glad you enjoyed it! - Cheers, Duarte
Woww it already has been a year unbelievable
Time flies! - Cheers, Duarte
Linguini with a spicy crawfish cream sauce. Had it in New Orleans once and it was delicious
I can't wait to see next years update on this project ☮😎
Glad you enjoy the project ! - Cheers, Duarte
Udo is right : Let's eat Crayfish. You guys should Catch a Lot of them and make a BBQ for the locals to get more Funds.
Reduce the Crayfish and Other species will have a chance. Like the willows - sometimes something has to die for the survival of the Others.
I mean not a BBQ because BBQ sauce belongs nowhere near crawfish, but a boil definitely
Introducing a large native predator will likely be your best bet in dealing with those invasive. Louisiana native and them crawfish have so many predators out here. We would never see that many chilling in one spot like that, and they are very aggressive round here.
Just don't do it the Australian way!
This channel is just gold. :)
Seeing people actually work to heal our planet instead of constantly reap from it, is what keeps me going every day in a world with little hope.
I like how you include the positive results and less effective measures and unintended consequences in your vids. Thanks for taking us on a real behind the scenes journey x
Love your videos. In Australia, we call them 'yabbies' and they are highly sort after! I've never seen soo many at the edge of the lake like you see. People could pay for a license to catch them, especially in such pristine conditions! 😁
This is truly inspiring! Your team's hard work has transformed a barren quarry into a thriving wetland. It's amazing to see the diversity of life that has returned to this once-degraded site.
Thank you for sharing your passion and expertise with the world. Keep up the great work!
What a great project to see!
Thank you Rob! Glad you like the project! - Cheers, Duarte
Udo and Claudia were so knowledgeable and inspiring to listen to! 🥰 I loved how excited they were!
You guys are the best ❤
Glad you enjoy our work and thank you for the kind comment :) - Cheers, Duarte
I love that you had the outside experts come in to evaluate the results so far! Love how y'all truly follow the scientific method in your interventions, including analysing the results to see what went well, what went poorly, and what you can change for next time 💚
So cool - what an amazing result!
What an amazing change in such a short time. I remember your first video talking about the plan, it’s when I first became a member 🥰
The video that got me hooked onto y’all!! ❤️
Well here is the follow up! Enjoy :D - Cheers, Duarte
I love these videos and seeing all the progress you're making - especially as a Mossy Earth member making a small monthly contribution. You really seem to get the best out of our bucks!
Its all just a big collection of small contributions :) A huge thank you for enabling our work. Its wonderful to be able to do this! - Cheers, Duarte
Crawfish are delicious. As a child I would catch them by hand. I would turn over rocks near the shoreline and find them underneath. Sometimes I would find a small water snake.
I love seeing all these experts with a passion for their field coming together
Love to see this kind of postivity! So much effort goes into these videos ❤
Glad you appreciate the videos as well. Our focus of course is on the projects but as the maker of these videos it is very nice to hear! - Cheers, Duarte
This is another beautiful fairy tale landscape.
Especially if we can eat the water fairies.
@@Liam-t7u not so much, I am vegan. But I understand the ecological damage caused by the crayfish
A stick with a piece of string tied on one end, and a piece of liver attached to the other end of the string, a 5 gallon bucket to knock them off into, and in 30 minutes you could catch enough of the crayfish to have SUCH a delicious feast.
You need to put the bait in old pantihose bundled and tied off with magic thread....bait can't get stolen and the barbs on their claws get snagged as long as you keep retrieving
Great job!
This is looking so good, just the soundscape alone already tells you how much life is thriving ❤
Exactly! I want to get better at capturing sound in future videos to bring you even more into the project locations. Stuff to think about :) - Cheers, Duarte
So great and positive project
wow, what a positive change!!!
It is great to see :) - Cheers, Duarte
hi I'm Robert I'm using my mom's phone with her permission right now. If I was you the only thing I would have changed is I would have removed the willow trees that would have ended up drowning. but other than that everything else you did perfectly right. I love watching your videos by the way I just love and find it so fascinating seeing a lifeless wasteland turn into a Oasis essentially. It's really cool and really rare to see. I love nature so this is really good to see and I love watching your videos. Keep up the good work.
14:30 after only seeing skittish crayfish in my life,it’s shocking to see them so tame 😮
it’s almost like you can just pick them up and cook them! never tried crayfish but now i’d like some… 😋
I agree and doubt they are the US kind. I call for genetic testing comparing with other species.
Thank you'll for the amazing work.
God bless you'll ❤
These videos make my day
It is great to hear that :) Thank you for the support and enjoy the video! - Cheers, Duarte
Love Mossy Earth's impact in its projects. Various interventions across different biomes that makes the world a little wilder.🌿🙌🏻🌿 I am a member and would motivate others that haven't subscribed to become members too💪🏻
Build it and they will come.
It just goes to show how small things can lead to bid changes.
Amazingly wonderful. You are all so inspirational. Bless your hearts.
Obrigado por ajudarem Portugal :)
Temos muitos mais projectos a começar em Portugal! More updates soon ;) - Duarte
Very pleased to see that scientific assessment is done for your projects!
This is certainly the way to go about helping nature back on its feet while also collecting new information on how well nature does at helping itself.
Great job you guys!
I wish you guys would add captions to you videos so we can more easily share them with family and friends. I know that it can be a lot of work and having people to do that full time is probably expensive but It could go a long way in helping spread your message and bringing more donators.
Take a BBQ, butter and garlic, and have a lovely party. Win win.
😂 its on the list! - Cheers, Duarte
Love seeing how these projects develop over time. Great work guys.
@7:25 you hit my pet peeve! Talked about dragonflies and showed a damselfly!
My bad! I mix them up all the time 😬 - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth it's okay, almost everyone does. I'm just a nerdy bug lover. Also as a native to the US you can make really effective crawdad traps with chicken wire and some dead fish. Especially ones that are so tame should fill your traps fast and then you can have a good old fashioned crawdad boil!
Sounds good! Thank you for the tip!
Pretty cool results. Its always amazing how nature just takes back over. It just need a little help sometimes.
A summer crayfish bbq meetup in Portugal is coming I guess? 😂
Haha maybe an annual cookout meetup could work to suppress the population! - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth I'm pretty sure once a year won't help too much, but it is a nice way of community building
@@RolfStones In addition to a concerted trapping effort and the work the otters do of course.
Great work folks! 👊🏻🌻👊🏻
Thank you for your work! Do you have a plan to deal with these crayfish?
Rewilding Portugal is mulling over a few ideas to maybe help suppress the population in the short term. - Cheers, Duarte
Something about seeing things grow makes me happy.
i would love to help with the crawfish dinner
Share some recipes please! - Cheers, Duarte
What a lovely video, I hape we can grow this work and share it with the whole world. And Please please consider contacting someday Paul Rosolie and his team, they are doing beautiful work in the Amazon and I truly believe that with more help they can establish long lasting protection and education combined with safe jobs for all the local people ❤
Utricularia are such underrated carnivorous plants!!!!
Highly recommend their Wikipedia page, it's a fun read! They exist on every continent except Antarctica, have conquered so many types of habitats there's aquatic, terrestrial, epiphytic, and even lithophytic species. Most of the time it's difficult to see their traps but they're hard at work catching prey (although it does look like at least one species actually have a mutualistic relationship with microorganisms that live in their traps -so less of a trap and more of a house?
wow thats awesome!!
I been lucky to visit this landscape at the end of last year with part of the Rewilding Portugal team, so its always amazing to see updates and how this project is evolving, and cannot wait to see the differences next time!
Is trapping the crayfish to controll their population something Mossy Earth is considering? Perhaps you are waiting to see if the ecosystem will regulate itself, considering there are natural predators of the crayfish in the area. I'd be interested to know your thoughts! Great video as always :)
Definitely something on the list! Rewilding Portugal is mulling over the options and we should have some ideas for it next year. - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth Good to hear they're thinking it over rather than taking immediate action. Rewilding should take its time so it's done properly.
Use both tjry lay lots of eggs and they are prolific and obviously successful
Mesmerizing to watch the process and your hard work!
News on this project less goooo
Enjoy my friend! I know you have been waiting for this one for a while! - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth Its one of my favourite projects. Because we don't mention enough how destructive mines are even AFTER they are closed. Ofc we need to mine stuff, but reducing the impact of mining is such a great project. And being in my country makes me even happies, many regions in the interior really need more pounds and vegetation.
It's cool to see that the otters and large birds are hunting the crayfish!
Having the crayfish predators on site will help. Some good traps for hunting to knock back the adult population for a few seasons. Also if there are native fish that could predate on the eggs that could be a big help, but I'm not sure in such shallow water that you could support large fish like that except also in the short term.
The other problem we have are all the large invasive fish that hunt the native fish... Plenty of invasives here... - Cheers, Duarte
Loveeee what you have done on the place!! Keep it up
Commenting for algorithm
Same
Thank you as usual! - Cheers, Duarte
@@eliplayz22 And its allways worth it!
I like how the entire area, both what you've worked on and everything nearby, is much more green. It used to be just mud, but now it's covered with vegetation. Wonderful to see.
I wish i didn't live in a dessert to be able to see these beautiful landscapes
Deserts have their own beauty in my eyes :) - Cheers, Duarte
Im so happy that there are people like you
Ask America to send over some Cajuns. They will clear up those crawdads real quick.
They accept payment in beer and gumbo ingredients.
That was a phantastic video! Brilliant work, thank you very much for your that!
Claudia and Udo german Lads🙏🏽love it
Austrian! But living in Portugal for a very long time :) - Cheers, Duarte
My bad! Just got corrected by Udo as they are both German!
Healing the earth is a truly wonderful thing to do.
What about the risk of a flash flood overflowing the crayfish pond spreading the invasive species downstream?
They are generally everywhere these days... They came to this quarry from the stream to begin with. - Cheers, Duarte
@@MossyEarth Let's eat them. Looks delicious and the stocking trick is genius.
Hello! I'm currently working on my master's thesis, which happens to be a global assessment of invasive aquatic plants. This project will be very helpful for the section on Portugal! Thank you so much for doing this important work! :)