technology – Seeding Our Future

Carbots, carebots, therabots and more…

Coming to your life soon Whilst robots and artificial intelligence are just one of a swathe of major technologies which will impact our lives in the next 10 years, I’ve chosen to focus on them because they are likely to be one of the most visible and unavoidable big changes on the technology front. Here … Read more

How to stay afloat in the sea of Technology

Practical ways to avoid total immersion Technology is clearly a vast subject: we’re all being affected by many different technologies, without being aware of them. What’s really alarming is that the motive behind most of the rapid change affecting us is simply profit, and the regulatory frameworks which should steer these changes, and make them … Read more

Technology Power: for whose benefit?

Pragmatic ways to mitigate the downsides Guest blog by Jeremy Green and Fred Barker As part of Alan’s Scanning our Future project, Jeremy Green and Fred Barker were commissioned to research the potential UK future impacts of new technologies over the next 15 years. This blog is a summary of some of their conclusions. Some … Read more

Open Veg and Fruit Gardens Wednesday May 19 2021, 2-5pm

Photo: Edible Gardens, St Mary’s Primary School Seeding our Future and Transition Town Bridport will be hosting ‘Open Veg and Fruit Gardens’ on Wednesday 19 May between 2- 5 pm, to exchange information about what some food growers in Bridport are doing to adapt to climate change There will be an opportunity for you to visit two of several Bridport venues to talk to the gardeners about the methods and crops they are using to help adapt to climate change, and to share experience and ideas you might have. Bridport Cohousing Community plot at Flaxhayes – Lin Scrannage Lin hopes to inspire people about using and saving heritage seed and why this is important in the light of climate change and increasing industrialisation of agriculture. She will also explain the ethos behind the Bridport Cohousing allotment and how members share food growing and what future plans are. Edible Gardens at St Mary’s Primary School – Sarah Wilberforce Visitors can expect to see a wide range and stages of plants raised early and being held back or planted out. Broad bean, spring onion, salad harvests and fruit trees in blossom. They will talk about extending seasons and growing new plants for climate change. This is a school garden for kids and the new thing this year is a fruit orchard and foraging hedge. We can chat about all the other things in place to make growing successful and eating fun. Lynchetts Sustainable food garden – Alan and Linda Heeks Alan and Linda have an allotment-sized area for veg and fruit in their garden on the edge of Bridport. Sustainable features include: climate-adaptive crops such as a Szechuan pepper tree, and beans for protein; 20-foot polytunnel; and rainwater harvesting. They are using some alternative approaches, such as the biodynamic lunar planting calendar, and the Perelandra attunement method to handle pests and other problems. Skilling new Forest garden plot – Mandy Rathbone Mandy’s main focus will be her mini-forest-garden project, which is in the early stages. She will briefly talk about the forest garden concept and why she decided to try it out on one section of her allotment. Then go on to talk about why and what she is hoping to plant, this year and going forward. Mandy can also chat about the rest of her allotment including various climate-related challenges she deals with which e.g. frequent storms and flooding. Symene plot: Rachel Millson This year I am attempting to increase yields by using a no-dig approach to build soil fertility and by planning crops more efficiently. I continue to experiment with more unusual veg, including perennials which I grow with annual flowers around a seating area. In the communal area we are developing a forest garden where we hope to build an outdoor kitchen. I am also continuing to build skills in food preservation. West Road Allotments, Plot 28. Julie Penfold Plot 28 is a no-dig/hugelkultur experiment – I have deliberately raised the soil level, I mulch and use green manures. Because the site is prone to flooding I like to have no bare soil. Last spring I added a greenhouse, hoping to extend the growing season. My aim is to create a ‘virtuous circle’, meaning that everything of value is re-purposed and re-invested to the benefit of the plot. The event is free but it is essential to book your ½ hour slot to visit two of the venues via Eventbrite. A maximum of 6 visitors will be allowed at any one time at any location, socially distanced. Visit at your own risk. Directions will be sent after you have booked your slot.
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Woodland Resilience Immersion Retreat For Doctors

Nature-based ways to resource yourself and your practice Tuesday 20th July at 5pm until Thursday 22nd July at 5pmSingle accommodation. Vegetarian food locally sourced where possible. Total £275 The impact of prolonged overload, COVID working and the stress of facing ever-rising demands with shrinking resources, is calling us to respond creatively. This Woodland Resilience Immersion will offer you some insights and skills, and different ways for raising resilience and nourishing wellbeing. In 2018, Westminster Centre for Resilience recognised that health professionals need something more than the typical half-day resilience session in an urban training room. Hazel Hill Wood is an off-grid conference centre set in a 70-acre wood near Salisbury. Hazel Hill Trust and Westminster Centre for Resilience have jointly developed a woodland retreat programme. We have many years’ experience of delivering nature-based resilience programmes for front-line services. The next two-night, 48-hour residential Woodland Immersion will offer a unique combination of our teams’ expertise. There is growing evidence for the benefits of Nature contact in offsetting high levels of stress, ‘Directed Attention Fatigue’, information overload, and excessive ‘screen time’. The pilot programmes at Hazel Hill – evaluated by Westminster Centre for Resilience – showed statistically significant impacts. There is a brief summary below. Find peace in a beautiful 70-acre woodland – healing/nourishing in its own rightTry a range of ‘forest bathing’ and mindfulness techniquesExplore what nature’s cycles can teach us about our resilience as human ecosystemsTime to experience some movement, including some brief practical conservation workTo feel nourished by being part of a transitory community of shared experienceApplying the neurophysiology of the recovery responseCampfire circles: personal/professional stories of living in turbulent timesTime for resting and to share good food FACILITATORS David Peters worked for many years as a GP, and since 2000 in a range of professional and research roles in the NHS . He co founded and directed the Westminster Centre for Resilience (WCR), where he is now Emeritus Professor. https://www.londonfirst.co.uk/newspublications/blog/what-a-university-can-do-resilience-and-leadership-in-challenging-timeshttps://www.westminster.ac.uk/news/westminster-centre-for-resilience-in-conversation-with-michel-van-der-bel-of-microsoft Marcos Frangos has many years’ experience as a person-centred counsellor, and in groups working with ecosystems as a model for human resilience: http://www.wellspringchange.com For information please email David Peters. Link to Nourishing the Frontline Resilience: Intensive Preliminary Evaluation
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Grow your own Happiness

60-90-minute online workshop Cultivate your wellbeing with gardening skills! Available for group bookingsWith Alan Heeks In these stormy times, we need new skills to stay happy. A cultivated ecosystem, like a garden, is a role model for human nature: this workshop shows how gardening methods can help you grow your own happiness and deepen the roots of your resilience. For example: Mulching and pruning to nourish your rootsComposting stress as a source of energyUse gardening skills like observation and creativityFind new ways to adapt to the climate crisisDraw inspiration from Nature to guide you in uncertainty Alan Heeks has over 25 years of experience exploring Natural Happiness with groups. It grows from creating a 130-acre organic farm and education centre at Magdalen Farm in West Dorset, and from gardening with his wife at home. In this online workshop, Alan will describe the Seven Seeds of Natural Happiness, and participants will have a chance to try some of them out. Alan is happy to take bookings for this event from environmental, community and other groups, at a time of their choosing for a moderate fee by negotiation. CONTACT LINK
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NATURAL HAPPINESS: cultivate your resilience with the Gardener’s Way

July 9-11 2021: at Hazel Hill Wood, near Salisbury With Alan Heeks, Jane Sanders and Marcos Frangos How can you stay happy when there’s too much change and uncertainty? This workshop shows you how: to cultivate yourself like a garden, and grow your own wellbeing by learning from natural ecosystems, using Alan’s unique Natural Happiness model. In this workshop we’ll explore these questions, with the natural ecosystem of this magical wood as our guide. Our methods will include: nourishing our roots; composting problems; using co-creative skills to work with nature; growing inspiration; and ecosystem insights about community. Along with workshop sessions, there will be solo times in the wood, plus good food, campfires and songs to nourish us. This will be a residential group at Hazel Hill Wood: if Covid restrictions prevent this, it will be run with a series of online sessions with personal time in between. We will explore how to grow resilience for individuals and communities, especially in response to the climate crisis and the related pandemic. If you are interested in using this model in your professional work with individuals or groups, Alan will be happy to offer you advice and support: the content of this workshop relates to his fourth book, which is planned for publication in late 2021. Alan Heeks has been exploring resilience with people and nature for many years, and has led many groups on this theme, drawing on experience of resilient natural systems from creating an organic farm and setting up Hazel Hill. Jane Sanders has over 25 years’ experience in working with a mindfulness based approach to wellbeing with groups and individuals, and has also incorporated deep ecology, ecopsychology and the wisdom of natural systems into her work in many different settings, including numerous groups at Hazel Hill Wood. Marcos Frangos is widely experienced in group facilitation, coaching, counselling and constellations work. He was General Manager of Hazel Hill Wood for 5 years, and has co- led many groups there with Jane and Alan. Cost including food and accommodation: £220, concessions £180. We will share cooking and other community tasks. To secure a place, we will need a deposit of £40, £30 for concessions: if, nearer the time we have to run this as an event online event, your deposit will cover the cost of this, or you can receive a full refund. Hazel Hill is a magical 70-acre conservation woodland and retreat centre, 7 miles from Salisbury. It has simple, yet beautifully crafted off-grid wooden buildings with lovely indoor and outdoor group spaces, basic accommodation in bedrooms and sleeping lofts (or camping), good hot showers and compost loos. See more at www.hazelhill.org.uk For bookings and enquiries: Please contact Carol Nourse via email on: naturalhappinesscontact@gmail.com
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Using humour to defuse tensions

Do you ever feel that you spend hours in a state of high alert, where one more hassle feels like the last straw? The research quoted in our November issue (book blog – Your Brain On Nature) shows that many of us do indeed spend far too long in this state. To help you wind down for Christmas, here are some pointers on using humour to escape your anxieties: Use parody: Find a way to send up or satirise the situation or person which is bothering you. Can you find the ridiculous aspects? Exaggerating everything can help.Comic hero: Think of a comic character you like, and imagine that they play your part in the situation. For example, Groucho Marx was a role model for me throughout my serious management career, for his exuberant wit and irreverence. Here’s a small example: Angry Man to Groucho: What are you, a man or a mouse? Groucho to Angry Man: Well, put a piece of cheese on the floor and you will find out. You may prefer John Cleese or Sandi Toksvig. Whoever you choose, hopefully you can make yourself laugh by putting them in your position. Reversal: Try turning the entire problem situation on its head. If someone is angry with you, imagine them suddenly becoming charming and conciliatory. If the authorities are hassling you, imagine they send you a bouquet and an apology. Let yourself fantasise about what you would ideally like, and enjoy it. Re-scale: Find a perspective or point of view which helps you scale down the magnitude of the situation which is bothering you. Here’s one of my many favourite examples from Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:A huge battle fleet of enormous galactic spacecraft, heavily armed, hurtles across space intent on destroying the Earth. Due to a design error of scale, the entire battle fleet disappears into the ear of a bemused dog. Heroic arrival: Think of a favourite hero or heroine from strip cartoons or movies, maybe Batman or Wonder Woman. Perhaps they are suddenly standing by your side, or you morph into them. Either way, see what the hero/heroine with magical powers would say and do to resolve the situation. It could be quite satisfying in clearing your frustrations! Cartoonify: Think of a favourite strip cartoon, and how they might respond to the problem you are facing. See if you can find the comic twist which they would use. Here’s one of my favourite Charlie Brown quotes from Peanuts: No problem is too big of complex that it can’t be walked away from.
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