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Grasslands cover a quarter of the land surface and, with their rootedness in the soil and their above-ground diversity, protect life systems that are currently among the most threatened on Earth. Natural grasslands weave stories of human and animal relationships with the land in many parts of the world and tell of their mutual exchange: we want to better understand the importance of the bite and kick of grazing animals, the movement of pollen, seeds, microbes, livestock and people, the giving and taking between these different actors holistically.

An initiative by Elisabeth Tauber and Almut Schneider

Since the Green Revolution this fragile system has been repeatedly affected by changes. As in the high mountain regions of the Alps, where fewer and fewer animals are led to graze, or as in many of today's meadows, which have turned into hay fields. These transformations have reduced the modes of living together of humans, animals and plants to a highly simplified system and have led to a glaring loss of species and degradation of soils.

Against this background, the members of this network want to understand grass and its, so far, under-researched complexity. We try to grasp which local and global interrelationships are involved and what it means for more-than-human societies once we consider grassland as an “assemblage”. The network sees itself as an association that enhances dialogue between science, design, public institutions as well as partners in the field to achieve an up-to-date understanding of the value of grassland and new practices of grassland care.

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