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

Recently I created a new goal setting tool for a  current project design I’m working on.

S.H.M.A.R.T.E.R

Specific
Healthy
Measurable 
Achievable 
Relevant 
Timebound
Ethical
Rewarding 

S.H.M.A.R.T.E.R has influences from both Heather Jo Flores and Leonie Dawson goal setting work and is aimed at being used in people focused projects. It’s already  proving to be a super useful core tool in my 2022 Permaculture Educator design and I will share more about this here as the design progresses.

Please feel free to use it in your own life/work designs - I have created a PDF for the S.H.M.A.R.T.E.R tool for you to download here 

Also, check out my shop where I sell prints and cards of some of my favourite illustrations. You can also access free (or pay as you feel) digital versions of my  illustrations here 

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: -

An overview of my different Permaculture Educator projects: - Permaculture Illustrations, Blog,  Permaculture Diploma Tutoring,  Accessing Permaculture, Permaculture Resources and Social Media 

Details 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 

Everyday examples of how permaculture can provide healing and regeneration for ourselves, our communities and our planet.

Information about my work as a tutor for the Permaculture Association (UK) Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design 

Some resources designed to help and support improving access to Permaculture, (and other activism type work/events), for people with chronic illness and/or disability. 

Some of my favourite permaculture related resources : - websites, blogs, podcasts, books and videos

To 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 

This year I’ve gradually been transitioning back into my role of being a tutor on the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design. It’s work I haven’t been well enough to do over the past few years and I’m feeling really excited to be part of such a great programme and community again.

Over the summer I spent time designing illustrations for the new Diploma website (designed and launched for the new 2020 system), which was a lovely creative way to start being connected. I then undertook the online training to became an assessment level tutor, meaning I can now work alongside apprentices through every stage of their Diploma journey.

Through the training, several other Diploma tutors in the north of England and myself, decided to create a regional, day-long gathering for anyone involoved in the Diploma in the area, initially to be an online event, and then hopefully to be an “in person” event as the pandemic conditions allow. We hosted the first of these gatherings last week and it was a really motivating event. We opened the gathering up to any Diploma apprentices and tutors who wanted to attend, with the aim of sharing the design, to inspire others to create other regional events. About 40 people joined in sessions about; documenting designs, ‘getting unstuck’, a review of the assessment criteria, design shares and time/space for everyone to be able to introduce themselves. Our northern England tutor guild is just about to arrange our gathering evaluation online meet up but we are already pretty sure there will be more similar events to happen.

I also facilitated my first tutorial in the new system last month and am looking forward to gradually accepting other apprentices over the next few months.

You can check out my tutor profile on the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design website and get to know more about me and my permaculture interests by having a general nosey round my own website. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my tutor work.

As part of my portfolio of designs for my Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design, one of my favourite design created was a Reflection and Planner Journal , (This link isnt accesible on a mobile phone). This tool totally changed the way that I achieved the goals and intentions I set in my life and work. I have used versions of this design ever since. I also know that several friends have also used their own versions of the tool as well, with really positive feedback.
 
One thing I found when I first became very unwell and unable to work, last year, was that my Reflection and Planner Journal no longer felt as useful. The large spaces to fill on the pages, plus some of the content,  was a constant reminder about how much my life had adversely changed through my illness. In addition the A4 size paper was becoming more and more difficult to physically manage to use as my movement, even when resting in bed, was very limited.
 
So I set about on a redesign! - I wanted one easily accessible place where I could record plans, ideas, reflections and resources ,using a variety of creative ways of documenting.
​
A friend had introduced me to the concept of Bullet Journaling several months before and I’d been considering it as something that I could well adapt to suite my own needs. Many commercially produced 'Dot Journals' typically used in bullet journaling, are A5 size, which means much easier accessibility  in relation to my health needs.

​I’m a keen fan of Looby Macnamara’s 'Design Web'- the Design Process at the core of her book People and Permaculture, for anything related to using permaculture design as a way of improving our own lives. So it was an obvious choice for me to use the Design Web to guide the design of my new Planner & Reflection Tool. 

First of all, I decided to name my new Planner and Reflection Tool a 'Seed Journal' – a space to vision and record ideas, observations and reflections, many of which could become actual projects and designs, if, or when the conditions were optimal for them to germinate and grow. I purchased an A5 Dot Journal to try for the first time. (There are many different brands of these journals available. Purchasing one from a stationary shop local to you if at all possible, rather than from big multinationals, will obviously keep more money in your local community. )

Here is a summary of how I have used, (and sometimes creatively adapted), various Anchor Points from the Design Web as a core part of my Seed Journal Tool.

Project Pages ​- Examples of these in my Seed Journal are :- Design pages, (a space to document information relating to a specific design); Blog post ideas;  Lunar & Solar Cycles; Social media planning; Learning notes about a particular topic; Budgeting; Log of useful resources; Mindmap of project ideas for next year.

This Anchor Point for me is a reminder about how important creativity is in my life. And each week I try and engage in some artwork that is just for the sole purpose of taking a break, often I will listen to some relaxing meditation music at the same time, and then I glue the creative piece into my Seed Journal. 

​I use this Anchor Point  to focus on recording daily activities that are important to me, and symptoms of my illness. It’s a really useful way to look at the patterns and connections between them, then making changes for the next month as suggestions and solutions emerge.

I  find spending time on indepth visioning for the month ahead, a creative and inspiring way to design beyond the edges of my comfort zone, as well as considering aspects of my life and work that may of had very little attention recently. I use a mix of Mother Peace Tarot Cards, various decks of Oracle cards, Gaia Craft Permaculture Principle Cards and Group Works Cards.

Actually not an Anchor  Point in the Design Web, but nearly always part of a permaculture design. I like to use the SMART acronym for goal setting . This link is a great one for expanding on the typical: -  Specific; Measurable;  Achievable; Measurable; Time bound. The monthly overview in this image above is collaged from the wonderful Earth Pathways Diary 

I have a page each month where I can literally write down ideas as they come into my head. Then at the start of each week I consider how they might fit into the days ahead, or possible connections with project pages in my Seed Journal

At the end of each month I spend dedicated time on reflecting how the month has gone, and link to my goals and patterns for the month. I like using Roses, Buds and Thorns reflection tool here, but it's also a great opportunity to try out some of the others too, for example PMI (Pluses Minuses, Interesting) or SWOC (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Constraints).

​The small spaces in this layout work really well for me. Enough room to document, without too much space to feel overwhelmed about filling it! It takes me about 10 minutes to draw this out each week. It can be a good opportunity for thinking about intentions for the week ahead. 

Not officially part of the Design Web, but an additional section I use to capture the general overview of the week, for example, significant moon phases, festivals, celebrations or other important times.

​As part of my ongoing learning and growing as a permaculture practitioner I like to focus on a particular Permaculture Principle each week, and spend time throughout the week reflecting on how this principle can be used in the different areas of my own life, community (online and face to face), and globally. It can be a useful focus for me when I am not well enough to engage in much physical activity, (I have called this my  ‘structured daydreaming’ tool, a redefinition of 'not feeling well enough to do anything'). Sometimes I journal about my thoughts relating to principles, especially if it seems like it would be a good reflection to ‘capture’ for future projects. And on other occasions, I choose a permaculture principle I know is going to be a useful one for specific plans for the week. At other times I use the wonderful Gaia Craft Permaculture Principle Cards to inspire me.

I use this space to document a particular quote, poem, song lyrics or anything else that resonates with me at this time. Reminding myself about it each day really helps to ingrain its meaning and connection for me in my life.

I use these Anchor Points together. This space is for ideas for action throughout the day, plus a log of other actions that occurred without plan, throughout the day. 

People I want/need to connect with during that day. And then at the end of the day, additional people who I connected with. 

I really like using tarot and oracle cards as part of my daily routine, to inspire and perhaps encourage thinking and reflecting outside of my comfort zone. I briefly record these reflections here. 

​I use the Roses Thorns and Buds reflection tool to do a mini-reflection for each day.

Not an  Anchor Point in the Design Web – but I find it useful to have a separate section to be clear about which permaculture projects I am focusing on each day/week.

​Space for daily gratitude.

So, this was a brief exploration through, how my new  Seed Journal Tool, guided by the a people focused permaculture design process, the Design Web, works incredibly well for me. Implementing this design has been a really useful reminder of how ecological principles and the  Permaculture Ethics of People Care, Fairshares and Earth Care, can be used in healing, resilience building and regeneration of ourselves. I've been using my Seed Journal,  including, overtime, several useful changes, for 9 months now. Its emerged into a really positive core aspect of how I am adapting my life to several major life events, in particular the onset of chronic illness,  over the last two years.  Rather than a prescriptive ‘how to’, this blog is very much about sharing ideas that may inspire you, and could well be adapted for your own life.

 In case you missed the link earlier on in this post, you can buy People and Permaculture by Looby Macnamara, featuring masses more information about using the Design Web for people focused Permaculture Design, from the Permaculture Market.