 Apologies. I’ve definitely been a bit A.W.O.L. In recent months, both from my blog and Full Moon newsletters. At the end of last year I outgrew my marketing package from Weebly, my website host and decided that while I upgraded I would take the opportunity to give my website a much needed update too. Living with a chronic illness means that unplanned times of rest are often a thing and none essential activities can get delayed in a big way, which is what happened with me. However, here I am again with my website updated, a new blog/newsletter design underway and some great plans for my online spaces over the next few months. Here is a little overview of what you can find on my website now: -  About Me and My WorkAn overview of my different Permaculture Educator projects: - Permaculture Illustrations, Blog, Permaculture Diploma Tutoring, Accessing Permaculture, Permaculture Resources and Social Media  Permaculture IllustrationsDetails about my Free To Use illustrations, examples of some of the recent commissions I have undertaken and a link to my Etsy shop where some of my older Illustrations are available as cards and prints. Over the next few weeks I will be opening a new shop for cards and prints of my illustrations on my website. Sign up to my full moon news letter and connect with my social media spaces for updates on this  My BlogEveryday examples of how permaculture can provide healing and regeneration for ourselves, our communities and our planet.  Permaculture Diploma TutoringInformation about my work as a tutor for the Permaculture Association (UK) Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design  Accessing PermacultureSome resources designed to help and support improving access to Permaculture, (and other activism type work/events), for people with chronic illness and/or disability.  ResourcesSome of my favourite permaculture related resources : - websites, blogs, podcasts, books and videos  Keep Up To DateTo keep up to date with my various Permaculture Educator projects then sign up to my Full Moon newsletter and connect with my social media spaces
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 For many people the sudden arrival of the Coronavirus Pandemic has meant significant changes in how we live our lives. As the weeks pass it is becoming more evident that in the UK, as in many other places in the world that we will be living with some level of “lockdown” situation for many more months, possibly longer. From my own observations and listening to the stories of others, there are many similarities and parallels about life respecting the lockdown rules and managing the impacts of the overwhelming loss related to the pandemic, and my experience of being mainly housebound while living with long term illness over the last few years. In the early months of my diagnosis with late stage Lyme Disease I used aspects of permaculture design to create a life that, although very different from my life prior to becoming seriously unwell, I could continue to thrive in. I have now easily been able to adapt these ideas to both enhancing my own experience of lockdown and also supporting others around me to be able to adapt as well as possible. Here I share some of those ideas. ● I use The Design Web by Looby Macnamara from her book People and Permaculture (2012) to design the pattern of my days. I can really recommend spending some time on creating a template for this, which can then be used as the structure for each day to add detail to according to the different activities and priorities of each individual day. ● I spend time on a regular basis acknowledging the loss, grief and various emotional states associated with this, relating to how Covid 19 is impacting on our lives. Also how this can compound other loss in my life too. Gently accepting and reminding myself about the fact that fast changing sways of emotion are in fact grief and connecting with others about this can mean that the emotions don’t become overwhelming as often. ● Connection and integration with other people, (while physically distancing, but demonstrating social solidarity!) to support each other through the Pandemic, but just as importantly to focus and talk about other meaningful topics again to avoid being emotionally overwhelmed, is also a valuable tool. ● I use reflection a lot - a mini reflection at the end of each day, a more detailed one at the end of each week and then an in-depth time of reflection at each Earth festival. It really helps to have these periods of reflection with other people who know me well too, a bit like “life supervision”. Referring back to the daily pattern template above during the reflective time means that I can creatively make changes as needed on a regular basis. Regular reflection helps me to value my achievements however small, even on the most difficult days. Being able to identify potential for new projects or positive habits enables more flow and growth in my life too. ● Creating a journaling tool to record ideas, gratitude and event memories is a really positive strategy. The fast changing pace of the changes involved with the Coronavirus situation and the media responses, means that it can be difficult to focus on aspects of life not related to the crisis and this in turn can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and potential burnout. Using the permaculture principle of catch and store energy, in making a physical space to record actions and thoughts really helps to focus on solutions and regenerative ways forward. ● I use the permaculture tool of Zoning to help to connect with the things in life which give me meaning, even though the ways I can do this are often very different from before. This means that I can decide on an activity based on any limitations that the effects of the Coronavirus lockdown are having on my life at any particular time. For example – one of my main projects on the go is the design and creation of a new edible garden. Zone 0 activity related to it is to have dedicated thinking/daydreaming/mind mapping time, Zone 1 to listen to a podcast or audiobook about edible gardening, Zone 2 to read a book or watch a video about edible gardening, Zone 3 to chat to a friend or on a forum about gardening, Zone 4 to actually spend some time on practical gardening activities and Zone 5 to visit other edible gardens/allotments in my local community. ● Over recent years there has been many studies demonstrating about how beneficial nature connection is to our physical, emotional and spiritual health. I designed ways in which I could connect with nature when my health was at its most difficult and I spent many months in bed. One of the most effective ways I maintained this essential part of my life was to create a space in my bedroom to display objects and other representations of patterns in nature. I wrote in more depth about this in this here . Although now, through significant improvements in my health, I have the privilege of being able to spend time in my garden and enjoy daily walks in my local park, I realise that not everyone has access to this either geographically and/or because of needing to self-isolate or shield because of Covid 19. Having an inside space dedicated to connection with nature, continues to be a constant vital aspect to my holistic wellbeing. ● Growing food is also something that gives me and many other permaculture practitioners really significant meaning in life – I’m really lucky to have the space and health to be able grow food in my garden now and as the Coronavirus lockdown commenced in March I started a design for my edible garden. Throughout the difficult times of my illness I was able to grow food on windowsills in the house – sprouted seeds and pulses, herbs and chilli plants – and I still do as these ways of growing give me fresh home grown food each day of the year which is hugely impactful to my holistic wellbeing. ● I timetable a regular space in each day to intentionally “pause” and take a break from whatever else is going on in the day. For me this means 10-15 minutes of grounding, through awareness of my senses and purposefully connecting to Earth – I also found this tool really useful to use at any time that feels overwhelming too. This short time away from whatever else is happening in my day nearly always enables me to regain a healthy sense of control and is helpful when changes are happening quickly, such has been the case with the Coronavirus crisis. These are some of the life tools, inspired by permaculture, I have been using and adapting over the past few years to stay as holistically healthy as possible. I hope that you have found some inspiration here in my ideas for your own self-care in these times of Covid 19. An edited version of this article also appears in Permaculture Magazine Autumn 2020 (No. 105) - If you have the financial means I can strongly recommend subscribing to this wonderful quarterly publication. As well as the magazine, Permaculture Magazine website has masses of free permaculture related content plus a wonderful YouTube channel
 There is a lot of grief in our communities right now. Grief related to so many aspects of the Covid 19 crisis. Grief related to our damaged Earth. Grief relating to people close to us who are dying and who we can't be alongside. Anticipatory grief. Actual grief. Complex grief.
I made this colouring-in page about the web-like pattern and aspects of grief that often form in our lives. Please feel free to print off and colour in/doodle on. Click here for a PDF version to print from. If you want to read more about different types of grief and practical, creative ways of living with so much loss then I can recommend the blog at What's Your Grief as a good place to start. Book Review Having followed the journey of Sarah Spencer’s course, workshops and training about using principles from nature, tress specifically, to navigate and thrive in our lives, I was really excited when I found out that she was also writing a book about the same topic. And I’ve not been disappointed. Think Like a Tree, the book, is a beautiful and incredibly informative tool for us all.
The 42 short chapters are brimming with examples of trees from many parts of Earth, alongside every day case studies and ideas of how the nature principles taught to us by the presence of trees, can positively impact on our lives as individuals and within our communities. Each chapter covering one principle, are divided into 6 Groups – Observation, Purpose, Surroundings, Connection, Resilience, Future. There is a lot of information for each principle, as well as some really thought provoking exercises to undertake. I really enjoyed reading about 1 principle each evening and I can recommend this approach in order to take time to absorb and reflect on the details presented. Sarah’s work with Think Like a Tree has been very much linked to her life through living as well as possible with Chronic Illness. This theme is evident throughout the book and means that Think Like a Tree could be particularly useful to others in similar situations. Sarah claims that “Nature holds the secret to your happiness, health and wellbeing - Think Like a Tree guides you to discover your own personal route to happiness, health, success and fulfilment – whatever your circumstances” – and I agree that this part ecology, part sociology, part history and part self coaching tool lends itself to being a useful and meaningful book for a diverse audience. Think Like a Tree can be bought directly from Sarah at https://www.thinklikeatree.co.uk/product/think-like-a-tree-book/  Some guidelines for Permaculture event information and marketing, for improving access to Permaculture for people with chronic illness and/or disability, and people who are neurodivergent.
This post is also available as a PDF here Earlier this year I published an article on my blog - Accessing Permaculture for people with chronic illness and/or disability - positives, challenges and suggestions for a more inclusive permaculture. In this short post I share some suggestions, from the linked post, of information to include in general Permaculture Course and Event descriptions and marketing. This in turn will then help more people with chronic illness and/or disability and neurodivergent people to access and then utilise Permaculture Design This list isn’t meant to be prescriptive and it isn’t exhaustive. It’s been compiled from the stories, voices and ideas of people who responded to my request for information, for my initial article linked above.
Please feel free to use this information in your own work or to contact me with any feedback, ideas or questions. For discussion about some of the issues identified, join the Permaculture, Chronic Illness, Neurodiversity and Disability Facebook Group  I'm starting to put together a directory of permaculture projects in the UK, (demonstration sites, courses, events, other permaculture services), where issues of access for people with chronic illnesses, disabilities and/or neurodiversity, are included as part of the project design.
Does your permaculture demonstration site , course, event or other permaculture service, actively encourage the participation and connection of people with chronic illness, disabilities and/or neurodiversity? If so and you would like to feature in this developing online resource, please email me katie@ktshepherdpermaculture.com and I will send you a short questionnaire to complete. For more information about accessing permaculture for people with chronic illness and disabilities click here For a list of top tips about how to improve access to permaculture for people with chronic illness and disabilities click here To connect with discussions about these topics and more, feel free to join the Facebook Group Permaculture, Chronic Illness, Neurodiversity and Disability  Lyme disease awareness packs available from Lyme Disease UK (link below) Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks. It's usually easier to treat if it's diagnosed early. Not all ticks carry Lyme disease, but the numbers of those who do, are thought to be rising, in a response to Climate Change. Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia, a spirochete bacteria. It’s the most common tick-borne disease in the northern hemisphere and there are multiple strains of the bacteria. Lyme disease is endemic in many parts of the United Kingdom, particularly in woodland or heath-land areas but disease carrying ticks can also be found in cities and gardens. Lyme disease not treated immediately, or not treated according to 2018 NICE (NHS) guidelines, can result in long term severely disabling illness, which is nearly always much more difficult and sometimes impossible to fully treat.  Last year I was diagnosed with long term complications from Lyme disease - these are the main symptoms I experienced at the time I was diagnosed. Thankfully, many of these are improving although I continue to be very disabled at present. Comprehensive information about Lyme disease prevention, detection and treatment can be found on the Lyme Disease UK website.
Given that most permaculture demonstration sites and events are based at least partially outdoors, it's essential that folk facilitating and attending these projects and events are aware about preventing tick bites, and then being able to identify early signs of possible Lyme Disease infection, alongside accessing prompt medical intervention. Lyme Disease UK produce an excellent (free) awareness pack which includes both posters to display and leaflets and "essential info" cards designed to be given away for individual use. I urge anyone organising and facilitating outdoor permaculture events to send off for these packs to generate increased awareness of Lyme disease for people attending their projects and events. You can send off for a Lyme disease awareness pack via the link below Lyme Disease UK Awareness Packs I will be posting more about Lyme Disease from my social media spaces throughout Lyme Disease Awareness Month in May . Feel free to connect with me on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter . You can also sign up to my newsletter for monthly updates about my creative permaculture projects, plus links to inspiring work from other women in permaculture. Top tips for permaculture events/courses facilitators and permaculture demonstration sites  Kt Shepherd Illustrations In February of this year I published an article on my blog - Accessing Permaculture for people with chronic illness and/or disability - positives, challenges and suggestions for a more inclusive permaculture. In this post I share the "top tips" for permaculture events/courses facilitators and permaculture demonstration sites, arising from the article. (These top tips are also available as a PDF here)
- positives, challenges and suggestions for a more inclusive permaculture Use and Value Diversity - illustration by me (This blog post is also available as a PDF here ) (Mainly UK-focused, though many aspects applicable to other countries too.) Since becoming very unwell and disabled nearly two years ago, I have learnt very quickly about what it means to be a person with disabilities attempting to navigate everyday life – and within that life, being unable to access many of the things I had previously taken for granted. Given that permaculture knowledge, experience, events and demonstration sites were previously a big part of my life, I have become increasingly aware of how difficult it would be for me to now access many of these things; in some cases it would be impossible. If I can’t participate in these events that are so important in my life, I wondered how many other people are also struggling to engage and connect with permaculture because of chronic illness and/or disability. As I started thinking about this in more depth, I set up a Facebook group with the intention of connecting with other people in the permaculture community with chronic illness and/or disability. (CI/D). (Recently, after some discussion in the Facebook group, it was decided that it made sense to add “neurodiversity” to the name and themes of the group too. The topic of neurodiversity inclusion isn’t discussed in this article, as the decision to add neurodiversity to the subject content in the Facebook group was made once I had started writing this post up. Many of the issues mentioned here – though not all of them – will also be relevant to neurodivergent people) If at this point you need more information about the definitions of chronic illness and disability then please see the links shared in "Designing Solutions", further on in this article. In addition to setting up the group, I went on to openly ask some questions about accessing permaculture for people with CI/D in several UK focused Facebook groups about permaculture and also via a post on the Permaculture Association (Britain) online noticeboard. People were invited to respond to the following questions, either in public in the group or by emailing me. In total, 47 people (mainly from the UK) responded in one of these ways. The aim of this information-gathering was to access reflections on experiences; it was a place to start a conversation rather than to undertake a structured research project. Here are the summaries and direct (anonymous) quotes of the responses to each question. (This article is quite lengthy, as I wanted to be able to include the voices of as many people as possible.) 1) Do you identify as having a chronic illness and/or disability? A diverse range of chronic illnesses and/or disabilities were included in the response to this question. These included physical illnesses, mental illnesses, learning disabilities (including dyslexia) and physical disabilities. Several people were keen to include neurodiversity as a disability too, as they pointed out that the education and benefits systems in the UK treat it as such. Many people also said that their illness and/or disability was a ‘hidden’ one, meaning that other people couldn’t immediately tell if the person with the chronic illness and/or disability had extra needs. A common theme evolved around many people feeling disabled by their environment, which frequently does not allow differently abled people to participate in life as they need to or would like to. Anyone has the potential to have additional needs and people with chronic illness and/or disability should be accepted to self define this, and not judged by others in doing so. Some people who responded didn’t identify as having a CI/D, though they had witnessed the experiences of people with CI/D accessing permaculture events and demonstration sites. 2) Do you have examples of where accessing permaculture knowledge, demonstration sites and events have been adapted to the needs of someone with a chronic illness and/or disability? This might be your own needs, or someone else you have observed being supported well. Several people mentioned great examples of how their needs relating to CI/D had been met at a variety of permaculture events and sites. These included:
There were also a couple of examples of places that had easily accessible compost toilets. Some statements made were:
3) Have you, or anybody else you have witnessed, been unable to access permaculture knowledge and/or demonstration sites and/or events because of your chronic illness and/or disability? Some statements that reflect general themes were:
The attitudes of other people Many people have health conditions where their symptoms are variable. Some found that the lack of understanding about this meant that they felt uncomfortable and judged if they couldn’t join in with an activity when the previous day they had been able to. Some examples given were:
Physical space
Event activities
4) What changes could be made in order for you, or other people with chronic illness and/or disability, to be able to further access permaculture knowledge and/or demonstration sites and/or events? General themes One very common theme emerging from the reflections people shared with me is that permaculture should be about designing systems that showcase inclusivity.
Attitudes
Physical space
Activities
Designing solutions Although every person with CI/D is an individual with unique experiences and needs, there are some common symptoms, issues and requirements for many folk. The following easily accessible resources are some favourites of mine, and can help you to understand more about these. The Mighty – online community of support and awareness raising about disability, disease and mental health. Stickman Communications – communicating about disability with style and humour Chronic Illness Inclusion Project Permaculture, Chronic Illness, Neurodiversity and Disability Facebook group   Wheelchair Accessible Tree Bogs at Whistlewood Common - Photos by Anne Bramley (note - suitable uprights are still to be added to the handrails of the ramp) Suggestions to improve access to permaculture knowledge, events and demonstration sites in general in the permaculture community/movement (These suggestions are also available as a PDF here )
Top tips for permaculture events/courses facilitators and permaculture demonstration sites (These top tips are also available as a PDF here)
This article and its suggestions have been designed to act as a starting point for further discussions and design work around access to permaculture for people with chronic illness and/or disability. Over the next few weeks, I will also be recording a spoken-voice version of the article content for my planned YouTube channel. I openly welcome feedback and /or suggestions for further blog posts/articles. Feel free to contact me by email or via my social media platforms.
 Image by me! One of the life tools I like to create at the start of a calendar year is choosing a focus word for that year. I create some art or craft work at the end of December or start of January, which goes on to become my daily reminder about my focus word and the energy behind it. It's a tool that has worked really well for me for several years now, no matter what is going on in my life at the time. My focus word for 2018 was "Creativity" - and when I chose this word in the January, I had no idea that the daily doodling I did, and shared on social media to help my emotional and cognitive wellbeing, would evolve into requests for Illustration work for prints, books and online courses by the start of 2019! While I'm sure this didn't just happen because of my chosen word, it certainly helped me to regularly connect with the intention behind it. So this year I have chosen "Activist", Activism is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as, "the use of direct and noticeable action to achieve a result, usually a political or social one." Throughout my life I have nearly always been involved in various types of activism about issues close to my heart and spirit. Over the past decade this has very much been connected to my development as a permaculture practitioner and educator. I'm hoping that choosing this word as my focus in the coming months, will enable me to design my new form of activism, as part of my plan to continue to thrive while being unwell with Lyme Disease.  Image by Make Daisy Chains - link in text below Over the last year I have been following the work of illustrator and online Mental Health Activist, Make Daisy Chains and also the Craftivism movement, especially the work of the Craftivism Collective Both of these are part of my inspiration for these first weeks of the year as I begin to design the early part of the journey, my focus word for 2019 will take. Im hoping to use the Wheel of the Year, Earth based festivals for times of reflection about my current permaculture projects, and how these are influenced by my new focus word. I plan to document the main topics of that reflective process, within future blog posts here.
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