Resist and survive.....

In that hot summer of 1976, whilst sitting in the parched lawn in our drought ridden garden, my mum, presumably whilst talking about the drought to a very concerned 6 year old, said to me, "you'll be alive when the oil runs out" and since that moment I have lived my life exploring that statement and what it's effect would be, on both people and planet.

Of course with the technology we now have it's unlikely I will see a world without oil, but it's a moment I've almost wanted to see, and sitting here today I'm beginning to make sense of why.

Frugality has always been my middle name. I've never wanted "stuff" particularly, and even if I do covet gardening tools and plants, I've always found joy in recovering old tools and of course, growing plants from seed or cuttings. A roof over my head, warmth, food and an allotment are my needs and I've progressively found it harder and harder to see the need for much else. Of course that's not to say I refuse gifts or never buy anything, but I'm clear about my ethics and stick to them rather than just purchasing mindless stuff. Over the last few years, setting up an organisation voluntarily this has been useful to say the least!!

But back to the point of this post. 

"You'll be alive when the oil runs out" has never been a statement to me, but more a call to peaceful arms, to look for an alternative way and playing a part in mending the earth from the scarring of industrialisation and humans ongoing need for things whatever the environmental price. To stand up for the planet  above anything else and to work to a different way of being.

Why are you telling us this I hear you say? 

Well I think we're at a point in history where we are on a cusp, a precipice if you like, and we have choices and we have voices. We can follow the Trump/May/scarily right wing and immensely corporate agenda of growth no matter what, or we can ignore it and follow another way.

 

This weekend we have seen the coming together of American tribes at Standing Rock win the first of what will be several battles in the war against an oil pipe going through their sacred lands and below the River Missouri. The battle was won by the bringing together of tribes, mostly of native American decent, but eventually bringing in a new tribe, the American veterans, to the battle. 

To me this gives hope and a really strong message. To move our world forwards in a new way we need to accept that we are all tribes and that to create change those tribes must come together, talk and share their connections, discuss their differences and find a way for mutual respect based on positives, instead of negatives. We must stop being hatefilled, and refuse to listen to that rhetoric, and instead make our own media, our own stories, based on kindness and positivity.

And then I hear someone ask, "but why should we?", and here's my reply.

We recognise that we live in a hate fuelled world. We know the media spin everything to their own agenda. We now understand austerity is caused by the elite few looking after their own rather than everyone. It's easy to get angry, sad and depressed even. 

But that achieves nothing. Changes nothing.

If you turn that anger on its head, subscribe to the idea that a million small actions can turn into a mighty movement for change, and begin to make some small but significant changes in your life and in the lives of those around you, across the world change will be inevitable and people will once again take back control for their own lives.

 

If you then bring that to friends, family and community, joining those tribes through positive actions, change will begin to spread, like wildfire, at grassroots level, everywhere. 

And why? Well I want a better future for my kids and their kids, but not just a better one. 

A kinder future. A future where success is measured in health and well being as much as wealth. 

A braver, kinder world. 

 

Look after the invertebrates......

This is a post that has been a long time coming but today it feels like the right moment. I'm not going to get evangelical about the politics of the US, or pretend I have answers to the issues we face as both nations and a planet, but I am going to offer a few thoughts on what we can do as individuals, taking one couple as a bit of inspiration.

Its no surprise to any of you I am sure, when I say what we all can do, in whatever way we can, is look after our planet a bit better, individually and within our communities. That doesn't mean becoming self sufficient, never flying again or any other extreme promise that is impossible, today,  to keep to, but it means taking personal responsibility for our own small pieces of the planet, both for ourselves, and for nature. 

Whilst we don't all have acres of land, there is one place that is very special to me where the land is managed for nature in the first case, even though in reality it is seen by the outside world as a flower farm. Common Farm Flowers sits in the most beautiful area of Somerset, and whilst it is an extremely successful flower farm it's deeper aim is to look after the land for biodiversity. Fabrizio Boccha, husband of flower farmer and florist extraordinaire Georgie Newbery, was heard to utter years ago when the land was first bought, "look after the invertebrates and everything else will come" and a truer word was never heard. Over ten years meadows have been created, willow has been planted, trees and hedges have been planted. And walking around those meadows, standing under the willows or sitting by the hedgerows, the sound of birdsong is overwhelming. The meadows are full of bees, butterflies, hover flies and dragon flies. All year round the place buzzes with pollinators, including their own bees, kept not for honey but to give the bees a home and ensure good pollination of the crops.

Where trees and hedges have been planted they are native or edible, or both, supporting birds and giving them a place to nest and food to eat. 

 

And all this on acres of heavy Somerset clay, that gets sodden over winter, and dries to a biscuit over summer. But looking after that soil, understanding it and working with it has meant the land has been supported to become a biodiverse ecosystem with minimum input to the land that is not farmed for flowers, and even in the farmed land where the soils have to hold maximum nutrients to grow the flowers that are so glorious, the land is managed by completely organic means. Tons of locally sourced compost is added each autumn, allowing the worms to do their work once the beds have been given their yearly dressing, ensuring soil flora and fauna is constantly at a healthy level meaning diseases are easily thrown off by healthy, productive plants. 

 

Now of course there are others working like this, everyday. But the point I'm making is that  we can all support change, be it in a small or large way, whatever the size of our plots. And if we start to take control of supporting our own environments, ensuring they are healthy and ready to, in turn, support all the flora and fauna who need that support, at least we are helping to keep our villages, towns sand cities and all of their populations healthy. 

And finally I'll share with you a video I took at 6am on morning at Common Farm in June. Standing in this space, listening to the nature all around is an emotional moment and one that I return to in my mind in times of stress. The way the land is managed so gently and with such love speaks of the family who run this garden. Deeply respectful, fierce friends and supporters, who gently support their land which in return supports their business. 

I'll be continuing with more posts about how to help biodiversity in every space, large or small so that everyone can join in and really feel that with a few small adjustments, change can be made by us all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLHRitHpfKc