Onder het Maaiveld - English subtitled
The makers of De Nieuwe Wildernis and De Wilde Stad go underground with this fascinating documentary about roots, larvae, worms, fungi, bacteria, amoebas and arthropods.
It is quite extraordinary that every day we glance over the nature that forms the basis of our existence on earth. After all, it is soil that allows us to retain and purify water, to store our carbon, to work on natural pest control and recycle nutrients. Vital soil is essential for sustainable food production and helps us fight climate change. So the time is right for a film focusing on soil life.
ONDER HET MAAIVELD makes the unseen seen. Besides the world above ground populated by plants, insects, birds and people, there is a second world: an underground community. The existence of this world will surprise no one, but that all the life in that microcosm is busily communicating with each other is nothing short of astonishing. There are more living creatures in one teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on earth. ONDER HET MAAIVELD follows a group of city dwellers who set out to realise a dream on a small piece of land, just outside the big city. The group embarks on an experiment: they want to turn a piece of farmland with a monoculture of English ryegrass into a productive vegetable garden and the big question is: will they succeed? The viewer learns how wondrous and ingenious underground life is; how resilient and resourceful nature is. Nature itself does the work. We only need to help.