This spring in my garden (and all other areas of my life), has been totally dominated by the death of my best buddy Floss, who died at the Equinox. At 13 years old she’d been fading for several months and although her death wasn’t unexpected, the anticipated then actual grief of loosing her from my life has been huge. As a result some core things planned for the garden this spring including taking regular photos have happened late or not at all. Here are pics of some of the activities and events which have taken place. 

I’m excited to be facilitating a series of 11 workshops throughout 2023, about how to use permaculture design in everyday life situations and events.

The 2 hour monthly workshops are taking place at my brilliant neighbours, Salts Works in Saltaire, Bradford. Through relaxed information sharing, creativity and informal discussion, these workshops will enable  participants to explore how permaculture can be used to navigate everyday life in ways that connect with our values. Each workshop focuses on a different topic and is created to be enjoyed as a stand alone event or as part of the year long series.

Access 
Places are limited to 10 per booking. Salts Works is accessible for people using mobility aids, including wheelchairs. This includes an accessible toilet. There is also an accessible garden for anyone who needs a break from being indoors. 

COVID 19
Please feel free to wear a face covering/mask in the workshop, if this gives you the confidence to participate. People are asked not to attend if they have any symptoms of a new bug or virus. Cancellations for a full refund are available until 24 hours before the event.

Also 
Each workshop costs £20. The price include hot/cold drinks, vegan & gluten-free sweet goodies and a takeaway mini zine about the main themes of the workshop. 

Everyday Permaculture - An Introduction
Saturday 18th February 10.00 - 12.00

Everyday Permaculture - Edible Gardening
Saturday 18th March 10.00 - 12.00 

Everyday Permaculture - Health & Wellbeing 
Saturday 15th April 10.00 - 12.00

Everyday Permaculture - Wildlife Spaces
Saturday 20th May 10.00 - 12.00 

Everyday Permaculture - Climate Actions 
Saturday 17th June 10.00 - 12.00 

Everyday Permaculture - Designing Events  
Saturday 15th July 10.00 - 12.00

Everyday Permaculture - Right Livelihoods 
Saturday 19th August 10.00 - 12.00 

Everyday Permaculture - Caring For Others 
Saturday 15th September 10.00 - 12.00

Everyday Permaculture - Death, Dying & Bereavement 
Saturday 21st October 10.00 - 12.00

Everyday Permaculture - Winter Festivals Planning 
Saturday 18th November 10.00 - 12.00

Everyday Permaculture - Designing 2024
​Saturday 16th December 10.00 - 12.00

​Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about these workshops

I created the first version of this tool in 2013 after participating in Starhawk’s Earth Activist Training PDC (Permaculture Design Course) in California. Throughout the time there I gained knowledge and practice in connecting two of the most important areas of my life - Earth based spirituality and permaculture design. 

I asked myself - 

‘How can my spiritual self and practice inform my permaculture design work?’ 

In the years since, my Five Elements tool has evolved as my work as a permaculture practitioner & educator has progressed. This post is a basic outline of my own current tool, which can be used and developed in a way that works for other permaculture practitioners’ own style of designing. 

​In the North
​Midnight

As the designer, how can I remain grounded and focused while implementing the design?
Do I need to address the fertility of the project in order for healthy growth? 
How will the project within the design grow? 

​ In the South
Midday

How can I ensure that I balance my own energy needs as the designer?
How can I use my creativity as a core aspect of this design?
How is the sun or other aspects of fire, present in the design?
How will energy and transformation be directed in the design?

In the West
Sunset/Twilight

How can I ensure that my emotional wellbeing as a designer is a function of the design?
What are my key emotions about this design?
How is water present in the design?
How can I support the flow of this design? ​

For more information about the Five Elements, I can recommend the following resources 

Sacred Earth Celebrations - Glennie Kindred
The Fifth Sacred Thing (fiction) - Starhawk
The Earth Path - Starhawk 
Earth Pathways Diary

Here is a little update about events I am participating in over the next few weeks 

I’m so pleased to be participating in the above creative events this month, all of which are within a ten minute walk from my house. I’ll be selling my cards, prints and zines  along with permaculture books and other resources  by Graham Burnett, Pippa Chapman, Twigs Magazine and (free copies!) of Permaculture Magazine. As always I’ll also be happy to chat about most things permaculture related! 

Thriving With Principles is a design that Diploma apprentice, Kate Dickinson and I are collaborating on. Its a design about sharing and celebrating the voices, knowledge and experiences of permaculture designers using permaculture theory and practice to thrive while living with disabilities from chronic illness. We are at the stage of evaluating the first part of the design and are getting excited about where this will lead in the months ahead.  

Check out Kate’s Instagram space for more of their creativity and wisdom 

I’m really excited to be launching a range of ethically produced tote bags featuring some of my most popular illustrations as designs.  Check out my Teemill site for more details ​

Several of Alan’s friends are starting to plan an in-person event to gather and celebrate Alan’s life, probably in next Spring. I’ve created a list of ideas, incorporating different aspects of Alan’s life, to use as support for grief and celebration in the meantime.

(The text and images from this blog post are also available as a printable PDF here  )

​Colouring in - colouring books/cards with coloured pencils or pens. If you are someone who has a stash of colouring in tools, maybe rearrange them by colour, as Alan did.
​
Plant a tree, consider a fruit tree for added functions.

Plant tree seeds in pots for planting into the ground in years to come.

Support local creatives, by purchasing from them and/or sharing their work.

Spend time with a tree or trees who hold significance for you, reflect on Alan’s life and the connections you had with him.

Sing, dance, create, meditate, feast near trees.

Write a letter to Alan. Compost, bury or burn it. Grow food or a tree in the soil where the compost, letter or ash has been placed.

Start a practice of photographing patterns in nature, perhaps share these with friends either online or in person.

Start supporting a local, small business, practicing ethics similar to your own.

Visit a local independent café and eat cake.

Consider starting a new daily spiritual practice.

Bake bread.

Create a nature altar, either outside or indoors, include space for a candle to burn in connection with Alan.

Get involved with a local activism group creating regeneration for community and/or land.

Consider starting a local activism group for regenerative change.

Gather with others who know Alan, either in person or online. Share stories and memories of connection with Alan and his work.

Consider mentoring someone who is wanting to develop skills similar to your own.

Check in more frequently with friends who you know are struggling in some way.

Prioritise your own self care. (We can best support others and participate in activism, if we place our own holistic wellness at the centre of our lives.)

Practice self compassion on a regular basis.

Remember that online activism is just as important as in person activism.

Learn more about a particular tree. Its story, magic, science and significance.

Mark and celebrate solar and lunar cycles & festivals.

The above list is just some of my own ideas based on my experience of friendship with Alan. There might be some you don’t resonate with or agree with and that’s totally ok. Please feel free to create your own activities or adapt any of the above.

Just added to my online shop - cards and A4 prints of some of my recent illustrations.

​Plus my very first publicly available zine!

As I continue to slowly recover from the long term impact that Lyme disease has had on my body, so the number of permaculture educator events I am able to be involved with are increasing.

​This makes me very happy!

Here is a little round up of past, present and future happenings in my little corner of Earth.

Last month I took part in the Saltaire Festival Open Gardens & Pop-Ups event for the first time. I loved the preparation for it and the weekend itself. It pushed me into trying out some new creative ideas in my garden which have worked out really well. I also won the ‘highly commended’ (runner up) prize, which I was SO pleased, (and surprised!), about. 

My open garden was also part of the Permaculture Association’s My Green Community event which saw permaculture projects opening their doors/gates to visitors throughout the UK 

A new project, ‘Thriving With Principles’, I am working on with one of my Diploma apprentices, Kate Dickinson also started last month. Thriving With Principles (TWP), is a permaculture project documenting and sharing about how permaculture principles can enable people affected by disability and/or chronic illness/long term health issues (CI/LTHI), to thrive. Its a series of  online discussions through Zoom, then the creation of a zine.

​The first two Zoom sessions far exceeded our expectations of how much discussion would emerge from all of the wonderful people attending, so we have organised a further three Zoom sessions to take place this month, before Kate starts on their zine design.

​Click here for further information about TWP - you are very welcome to join in with the October Zoom sessions 

Earlier this month I facilitated my first ‘in person’ permaculture workshop since I became poorly six years ago. The hour long ‘brief introduction to permaculture’ was part of the bigger Sustainable Saturday event hosted by my local community centre, the Kirkgate Centre. I really enjoyed being back chatting about how permaculture can be applied to so many of our everyday life and work experiences. There was a lot of enthusiasm from the people attending for further workshops, and this is something I am going to be exploring for next year.

Next month I’m very much looking forward to two creative events less than five minutes shuffle from my home!

​I’m going to be selling my prints, cards and zines and hosting a permaculture resource space at ‘Prints & Plants’, at the amazing Salts Works & People Powered Press on Sunday 13th November. 

I will also be having a stall at the Peace & Craft Fair hosted by the  Yorkshire Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament at the Victoria Hall here in Saltaire on Saturday November 26th.​ 

I’m really looking forward to being participating in my local arts trail this year, happening over the May Day bank holiday weekend, in Saltaire, near Bradford. 

“Saltaire Arts Trail prides itself in reaching out to new audiences and making art accessible to all by using imaginative venues - the internationally recognised Salts Mill, public buildings, the homes of Saltaire residents and outdoor spaces around Saltaire, to display visual art outside of traditional settings, as well as delivering new exhibitions and commissions”

I’m a resident artist in the Open Village Trail and will be displaying some of my permaculture themed illustrations in my windows via a walk through my garden. I’m excited to have two other artists - Grace  Denton and Cameron Lings showing work in my garden and kitchen. I’ll be selling prints and cards of my work from my kitchen too. 

I’ve been creating some new illustrations for this event. Cards and A4 prints of this design and five others will be for sale at the Open Village trail and available to buy on my online shop just before the event. 

My edible garden. This is the second growing season using my raised beds system from British Recycled Plastic. One of their many great functions is the solar heat storage of the material making them perfect for seed germination and seedling growing at this time of year when the weather can be so variable. 

Not very glamorous at all, but these plastic sacks which I buy pine cat litter in, are the growing space for 2 varieties of potatoes this year. They have been planted in partly composted contents from my home compost system. The sacks will be rolled down and more compost will be added as the potato plants mature.  

Overwintered kale and chard. I’ve left the kale to seed because pollinators love the beautiful little yellow flowers. They also look really gorgeous too. The other plants in this bed are broad beans which were started off in small pots and then planted out a couple of weeks ago. Baby pea plants and sweet peas (also started in pots) will be planted out in this bed too over the next week.  

This bed is going to be a mini “food forest” (or “forest garden”) - Ive planted a gooseberry bush and raspberry canes (bought online from RV Roger plant centre in Pickering) and just beyond the raised bed is an apple tree on dwarf root stock planted into the ground last year.  Spare broad bean plants are in there too as are some perennial onions. I’ll be adding some more low growing (ground cover),  plants to this bed over the weeks ahead. 

This raised bed along the brilliant south facing stone wall is perfect as a plant nursery! Eventually tomatoes, cucumbers and sunflowers will be planted out here to make to most of the stored heat and shelter of the wall.  

Through the gate in my edible garden is my wildlife garden. Ive been gradually adding  a diverse range of perennial meadow/woodland plants into the “lawn” over the last two years and its so good to see more flowers, grasses and herbage get established 

Some of the perennials planted as ground cover last winter, underneath baby trees forming a hedge along the main road boundary,  are also getting established now too. 

I love this time of year in garden design, sowing annual seeds and watching perennials emerge from their winter sleep. Over the May Day bank holiday this year, I’m excited to be welcoming people to walk through my garden as part of my participation in the Saltaire Arts Trail. I’m looking forward to some interesting conversations, (hopefully!), about all things permaculture throughout the event.