FREEING PEOPLE FROM HUNGER
Growing To Give
Growing To Give is a registered 501c3 non-profit that develops projects and partnerships to free people from hunger across the country and around the world.
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Across the globe, we are witnessing unprecedented levels of environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, and freshwater scarcity. The collapse of ecosystems is not an abstract future risk - it is a current and compounding crisis. As climate change accelerates, it continues to dismantle the natural systems that underpin agriculture, water supply, and food production. Traditional agricultural models are proving unsustainable in both ecological and economic terms, especially in regions with degraded soils, unreliable rainfall, and dwindling biodiversity.
The Spiral River Rewilding Initiative is a bold and innovative response to this crisis. It is a living landscape designed to heal itself while restoring ecological harmony, climate balance, and food security. Covering three square miles of degraded land, this initiative centers around a monumental Archimedean spiral river system engineered to support a complete ecological web - from clean water and fish populations to native flora, wildlife, and food-bearing plants
This is more than a restoration project. It is a replicable model of how degraded landscapes can be transformed into thriving ecosystems that produce food, store carbon, conserve water, create jobs, and provide hope for future generations.
The vision of the Spiral River Rewilding Project is rooted in the belief that nature-based solutions, when integrated with indigenous design principles and ecological science, can reverse environmental decline while supporting the food systems of tomorrow. At its heart is a sacred geometric structure - a spiral water system—that mirrors the patterns found in galaxies, shells, and hurricanes. By harnessing these patterns, we aim to maximize spatial efficiency, energy flow, and biodiversity density.
The spiral form allows for an expansive freshwater system that simultaneously creates layered, diverse habitats, supports extensive aquatic and terrestrial life, and serves as a microclimate moderator. We believe that sacred geometry is more than symbolic; it is an ancient blueprint for balance and abundance. Our initiative seeks to make this balance tangible, measurable, and scalable.
The central feature of the initiative is a 95.23-mile (502,847 feet) long spiral waterway that winds through the entire three-square-mile site. Designed with 20 concentric loops, each 400 feet apart and 50 feet wide, the system has a radial extension of 8,000 feet. Engineered to hold water at a depth of 20 feet, it offers a total water holding capacity of approximately 3.76 billion gallons.
This spiral river system acts as a life-generating artery, supplying clean, oxygenated water for aquatic species, while also supporting nearby irrigation zones for plants and trees. It reduces evaporation, minimizes water waste, and facilitates natural purification through biofiltration.
The spiral river supports a biodiverse aquatic ecosystem with species chosen for ecological function and food production. This includes a projected fish population of 173,100 to 288,500 trout - rainbow, brown, and brook trout - depending on temperature and dissolved oxygen levels. Additional fish include bass, catfish, perch, sunfish, and pike.
Aquatic vegetation such as submerged grasses, floating lilies, and emergent reeds create habitat diversity, improve water clarity, and stabilize sediment. These aquatic zones are designed to replicate healthy, natural river ecosystems while producing edible fish and functioning as a resilient food web.
Surrounding the spiral river are dynamic riparian zones that support a thriving mix of terrestrial species. Native trees, shrubs, grasses, and edible plants create vertical biodiversity layers. These green corridors act as ecological highways, connecting species across the site and preventing monoculture.
Key wildlife species include amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders), reptiles (turtles, snakes), birds (herons, kingfishers, ospreys, ducks), and mammals (beavers, otters, muskrats). Each plays a role in pest control, nutrient cycling, or ecosystem maintenance. All flora and fauna are selected for their compatibility with the local climate and for their contributions to regenerative function.
At the base of this system is an invisible but powerful force: the microbial and planktonic food web. Healthy populations of phytoplankton and zooplankton are cultivated to support fish populations and nutrient cycling. Beneficial bacteria and fungi enrich the soil and water, strengthening the resilience of the entire ecosystem.
This microscopic life provides the foundation for macroscopic results—cleaner water, healthier plants, and higher nutrient yields.
The Spiral River Project creates food webs, not just food production systems. By cultivating healthy aquatic and terrestrial environments, we enable multiple tiers of food generation:
Aquaculture: Sustainably harvested fish species provide protein sources without the need for artificial feed or inputs.
Edible Plants: Fruit-bearing trees, native tubers, herbs, and wetland crops like wild rice can be cultivated in zones with optimal sunlight and water access.
Pollinators: A healthy habitat for bees, butterflies, and birds ensures pollination of nearby agricultural plots.
Soil Regeneration: The system supports mycorrhizal networks and nutrient-rich compost cycles that regenerate degraded soil.
Water Storage: Stored water supports nearby food gardens during dry seasons, reducing reliance on external irrigation.
The Spiral River Project directly addresses several UN Sustainable Development Goals, providing measurable contributions in each:
SDG 2: Zero Hunger – By developing local aquaculture and edible landscapes, we improve access to nutrition in areas facing food insecurity.
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – The spiral’s closed-loop water system filters and retains clean freshwater, reducing runoff and contamination.
SDG 13: Climate Action – Trees, wetlands, and restored soil sequester carbon while moderating local temperatures and reducing drought effects.
SDG 14: Life Below Water – Supports freshwater biodiversity through habitat restoration and balance of aquatic food chains.
SDG 15: Life on Land – Restores degraded land, strengthens biodiversity corridors, and prevents erosion and desertification.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Green jobs in restoration, stewardship, education, ecotourism, and sustainable harvesting.
SDG 4: Quality Education – Living classrooms for students, researchers, and local communities to learn about ecology and sustainability.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – Structured for replication and open-source knowledge sharing across global ecosystems.
Degraded ecosystems cannot support sustainable food systems. In many regions, land has lost its fertility, water is polluted or absent, and biodiversity has collapsed. Farmers face compounding pressures from extreme weather, eroding topsoil, and volatile markets. Food insecurity is growing, not shrinking.
We believe environmental restoration is foundational to any long-term solution for food security. The Spiral River Project reverses degradation through a scalable, high-impact model that blends indigenous knowledge, ecological engineering, and scientific monitoring.
It is not just restorative - it's regenerative.
Growing to Give is a mission-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to regenerative agriculture, ecological design, and social justice through food systems. Meet our team for this project:
We are motivated by the deep knowing that the planet doesn’t need to be fixed - it needs to be remembered, restored, and respected. The Spiral River Initiative is our offering to that vision: a living sculpture of regeneration, designed not only to heal land and water but to awaken hope.
We want people to see that restoration can be beautiful. That ecological repair can feed people, employ communities, and reconnect us to the sacredness of the natural world. That we still have time - if we act boldly, collaboratively, and with reverence.
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