Small Actions That Breathe Life Into the Ecosystem
We are often overwhelmed by the magnitude of global challenges—climate change, biodiversity loss, soil pollution. These words feel vast and distant, and we wonder if there is anything we can truly do. But nature’s recovery always begins with small steps. And today, there is one thing we can do: remove invasive Humulus japonicus (wild hop vine).
Why the Vine?
As its name suggests, this vine spreads across the ground, entwining and strangling other plants. It steals space from native vegetation, blocks sunlight and airflow, and even suffocates the soil itself. In fact, invasive vines are now spread across 179 cities and counties nationwide in Korea. Rapidly expanding, they rob native plants of space and light, disrupting soil’s porosity and water flow. Eventually, native plants cannot thrive, biodiversity declines, and the soil loses its “breath.”
Healthy land is one where diverse species coexist and give space to one another. Removing invasive vines is about reclaiming the possibility of coexistence.
We’re Removing More Than Just “Plants”
To cut back vines is to return light, wind, and the cycle of life to the soil that lay beneath, suffocated. We start by removing even the smallest sprouts, creating spaces where sunlight can reach and native seeds can take root. It is the possibility of growth for a germinating seed, the return of soil microbes and insects to their habitat—all beginning with a single act of removal.
At the moment we free plants from suffocating vines, we also breathe life into our own lives—lives equally in need of recovery. Here, where our existence touches the ecosystem, the restoration of breath begins together.
Handwork, Not Machinery
This is not about sweeping machines across the land. We use our hands—cutting vines carefully, tracing roots and removing them. By leaving native plants intact and only removing invasive species, we take a gentle, respectful first step toward ecological recovery.
Imagining the Change We Will Create
We carry out this project in collaboration with Herbanic, a herb-producing garden in Goesan, Chungbuk, run by a farmer and herbalist who practices cultivation without chemical fertilizers or pesticides—trusting only the strength of the soil. Here, we will experiment with soil restoration and observe how native species reclaim space once vines are removed. Using drones and soil analysis, we will record these changes and follow the breath of each season.
This journey is joined by Invelab, an environmental start-up specializing in invasive species analysis and ecosystem restoration. With drone data and scientific monitoring, they document the recovery process in detail and propose pathways for ecological transition. Together, they are our strong partners.
(Photo: Herbanic Herb Garden, Goesan, Chungbuk)
Around this organic herb and crop garden, invasive plants have crept in over time, disrupting the growth of native species. Supporting the value of sustainable agriculture, Aromatica joins Herbanic and Invelab to address this challenge. What we aim to protect is not just farmland, but healthy soil where ecosystems breathe and thrive. Through these accumulated small changes, we hope that ecological restoration will become not something special, but part of everyday life.
In the spaces cleared of vines, we will sow native seeds. This fall, they will rest through the winter in the soil and quietly sprout next spring. What will that look like? Flowers and grasses blooming again, bees and butterflies returning, roots spreading deeper, soil breathing freely once more. Today, we imagine that scene.
Project: Soil by AROMATICA
We know change will not come in a single day. That is why we will walk this journey step by step. Each small gesture helps restore the rhythm of the soil. And we will watch as native species bloom again upon it.
We await those who will join us on this journey.
May our small actions create land where life breathes once again!