I'm really excited to be starting a permaculture design for an urban garden at my new home. In this new series of monthly posts I will  be sharing some of my journey through the design process in creating my garden. 

This will be the first land based permaculture design I have embarked on in several years and I'm really looking forward to using Jasmines Dale's recently published book, Permaculture Design Companion, as my guide for this project. You can read the review I wrote about this great resource, here ​.

I've been thinking about the design for my garden since I first realised I would be moving into my  new home, about a year ago. I have found that using a notice/pin board in my kitchen to collect all my initial thoughts, ideas, visions and wishes about my garden design has been a really effective way of collecting, storing and regularly reviewing all this information, as well as providing a great focal point for discussion and ideas sharing with friends and family who visit my house. 

This month I've also started undertaking some focused observations about how different sectors impact on the existing garden. I really like how sectors are explained in the #freepermaculture online course hosted by freepermaculture.com - 

​"In permaculture, the term sector refers to any natural or uncontrolled influence that moves through your design site. And through sector analysis, you can anticipate and enact design decisions that will mediate, mitigate, and improve how those uncontrolled influences affect your site. Sectors could be wind, water, weather...they can be economic, social, biological, or any combination of the above. Every sector has needs, resources, yields, wastes, and relationships that influence the whole system. "

Next month Im going to be creating a "to scale" base map of the garden as it is at present, in addition making some major decisions about the mature trees already in the garden. Sign up to my monthly newsletter to get further updates about how my garden design is progressing through 2020.

The Climate Change Garden published just last year, is my first complete read of 2020 and part of the research planned for my new garden design.

As well as being an author of a wide range of books, Sally Morgan is also the editor of the Soil Association's Organic Farming magazine. Kim Stoddart runs climate change gardening courses, is a gardening journalist and the editor of  The Organic Way magazine. The two authors clearly have a great wealth of knowledge and experience in all matters relating to garden design with our rapidly changing climate in mind.

Overall The Climate Change Garden is a comprehensive and engaging overview of some of the main ways that climate change is, and will continue, to influence how we garden in the UK. The book has lots of inspiring photos to back up the very accessible format text. The key topics each have their own chapter; Too much water; Heat and drought; Wind, frost and snow; A healthy soil; Design Ideas; Working with wildlife; The veg patch; In the orchard; Trees for the future; The flower garden - and there is a useful appendix of extra resources. Each chapter contains relevant background and history alongside many ideas for garden design choices and plans. In my opinion, The Climate Change Garden is a great book for folk new to gardening as well as others who would welcome a reminder about some of the key issues relating to climate challenges in the designs and creations of our growing spaces. While the book isn't an in depth "how to garden" book, it firmly plants many specialist seeds of inspiration to be furthered by accessing additional resources. The Climate Change Garden is  a very welcome addition to my land based permaculture tool box and already a central part of the first steps of my new garden design. 

In this post I share ten of my current favourite resources for thriving, despite experiencing the overwhelm of planetary/climate  grief  - This isn't intended to be an exhaustive list, there are many other great resources available out there.

​The resources  I have chosen are in no particular order - 

"Organising with others for human, animal and earth liberation can be one of the most empowering experiences alive. Yet frontline resistance comes with risks to our physical and emotional health that can lead many people to burn out and abandon social movements altogether.

​This book is about overcoming burnout, linking the author’s journey of recovery with wider systemic forces such as classism, sexism and power dynamics in groups, poverty, chronic illness and ableism, as well as grief and trauma from prison and state repression. It is a call for models of mutual aid and collective care. Simultaneously deeply personal and acutely political, for anyone involved in grassroots organising, it is a must read."

Available to buy in paper and ebook format from Nicole's website Solidarity Apothecary

"Climate change is a man-made problem - with a feminist solution!

​Join former Irish President Mary Robinson and comedian Maeve Higgins in this uplifting new podcast, celebrating amazing women doing remarkable things in pursuit of climate justice.​Each episode features the Mothers of Invention driving powerful solutions to climate change – from the grassroots to the court room, the front lines to the board room – all over the world. 

" Our lives depend on our ability to make urgent, dramatic, liberatory change in our society. But many models of activist culture deplete us and replicate patterns of trauma, harm, oppression, and workaholism. We’ve lost too many of our visionary leaders to disillusionment, exhaustion, depression, and infighting... "People power” means that we are our own most precious resource. We cannot afford to burn ourselves and each other out. If we want to welcome enough people to our movements to really transform our world, we have to make the experience of participating sustainable, healing, and irresistible...We are a community supporting each other to integrate self and collective care with powerful action for social justice. We learn from many lineages, and connect and visibilize stories, methodologies, & people to strengthen the capacity for resilience in ourselves and our movements for change.

Since 2017, our podcast has shared conversations and accompanying practices with over 800,000 downloads worldwide. "

​Go to the Healing Justice website here 

"Fed up with bad news but want to stay informed? Positive News is the magazine for good journalism about the good things that are happening.
    Stories of social and environmental progress
    Quality, independent reporting with a focus on solutions
    Impactful photography and stunning visual design
    Boosts your wellbeing and helps you engage in the world
    A carbon neutral publication printed on quality paper
Published four times a year: January, April, July and October"

"Permaculture Magazine gets to the heart of permaculture internationally. Enjoy our practical features, videos & solutions every day to enable you to live lightly on the Earth. Features practical thought provoking articles on organic gardening, sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, climate change, peak oil, eco-villages, alternative technology, eco-architecture, personal and community development and much more. Packed with informative articles, readers solutions, DIY designs, news, reviews, book, tool and product reviews, letters, classifieds and details of a wide range of related courses."

"You have the power to bring about positive change. Every action makes a difference, so start today with the theme that inspires you most."

​52 great everyday actions from a diverse range of subjects that folk can connect with to work towards climate justice - visit the website here 

Some great resources for individuals and organisations, including Mental Health professionals. Visit Climate and Mind here