C21st Permaculture: KT Shepherd on Living with the Land

KT Shepherd on living with the land by 21st Century Permaculture on Mixcloud

Katie Shepherd is a shepherd with attitude and a shepherd at altitude. I spoke with her in Castleton, Derbyshire during the 2014 National Diploma Gathering, a meeting of apprentices on the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design.

During our conversation we touch on hill farming, regenerative agriculture, palliative care & conscious dying, spirituality, studying on the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design, Patrick Whitefield, Starhawk and more.

You can follow Katie at:

http://shepherdwithattitude.weebly.com/

@ktshepherd1

Field Survey

Holborn station

Following the desk survey on the 8th December, today I collected some field survey data. I timed my walk from Holborn ticket hall to my office, walking at my normal pace via the route I assumed best. I timed the walk using the stopwatch function on my smartphone.

Holborn station ticket hall to my office building: 13 minutes

Holborn station ticket hall to my actual desk: 13 minutes 45 seconds

So this supports the Google Maps calculation of 13 minutes, even though I took a different route

Previously I had discounted the walk between my office doors to my actual desk which takes the best part of a minute via the stairs.

What is permaculture?

At the recent Permaculture National Diploma Gathering, I was one of those asked the question:

What is permaculture?

Further Commutations

AARgh!! Commuting! During my delayed commute to work this morning (one cancelled train, arrived at work 11:00, 1 hour 15 minutes late), I noticed the above sign, newly posted on a tube station wall featuring new information pertinent to me, that I was surprised I have not been informed of, or encountered earlier.

The net result of the situation indicated in said poster is a major pain in the arse for me. I'm a Mon-Fri commuter and within the boundary conditions of affordability, working hours, railway timetables, home, work and station locations I've designed the optimum journey that I can - this is my standard run scenario as laid out below. With the planned 'improvement works' this isn't going to work anymore, so I need to creatively use and respond to change.

Goals

• Get to work on time despite changes.
• Minimise disruption to myself and family (people care)

Survey: The Standard (Rat) Run

My regular commute begins with a walk from home to the local railway station:

Take the train to Stratford station in east London: 

Change platforms at Stratford and board a Central Line London Underground train to Tottenham Court Road station:

Then a walk from Tottenham Court Road station to my place of work at 21 Stephen Street:

Arrive at work at 09:41, climb one flight of stairs and jobs a goodun, my hours are 9:45 to 18:00. I'm here on time! Total journey time: 69 minutes (1 hour 9 minutes).

Caveat 1: In that first map you'll see my walk to the station goes over the railway line. That road/rail crossing has barriers and they come down 3-4 minutes before the train leaves (they come down as the train is approaching). So if I don't want to miss that train I need to leave at least 4 minutes earlier.

Revised journey time: 73 minutes (1 hour 13 minutes). Time of arrival unchanged.

Caveat 2: My train from South Woodham Ferrers to Stratford very rarely arrives on time. The delay is generally of the up to 29 minutes of delay type that is not eligible for compensation (although c. 20 a year exceed that delay and are). Most delays are of a few minutes, with the train generally arriving at Stratford about 09:21. The knock on effect is I have to get a later Central Line train, arriving Tottenham Court Road station at 09:42. Revised journey time: 81 minutes (1 hour 21 minutes). Time of arrival: 09:46 (I'm late! Maybe if I run from Tottenham Court Road station to work I can halve the journey time and still be on time, otherwise I'll have to brazen it out - it's only a minute or two late...)

Caveat 3: Getting from the London Underground platform to the street takes about 3 minutes.

Revised journey time: 84 minutes (1 hour 24 minutes). Time of arrival: 09:49 (I'm more late, running isn't going to cut it, I'll have to brazen it out - it's only a few minutes late...)

Caveat 4: About 1 in 10 of my London Underground morning journeys will be delayed by around 5 minutes. So once a fortnight, on average, my journey time will be 89 minutes ( 1 hour 29 minutes) and I'll be noticeably late.... but it's not too bad right?

What's New?

The poster this morning revealed that a factor I had considered fixed (the Central Line station: Tottenham Court Road) was in fact not, for the whole of 2015 it will be unavailable, necessitating an alteration to my journey.

Ideally I need a small and slow solution (make the least change for the greatest possible effect). Two other nearby Central Line stations (Oxford Circus and Holborn) will remain open, I could use one of those instead.

OPTION 1: Oxford Circus station offers the shorter walk to my office but a longer London Underground journey:

If I go via Oxford Circus station, then my ETA at work is 09:57 via the shortest route (journey time will be 92 minutes (1 hour 32 minutes). I'll be 12 minutes late that I'll need to make up at the end of the day.

OPTION 2: I make the longer walk from Holborn station, with a shorter London Underground journey:

If I go via Holborn station, then my ETA at work is 09:56 via the shortest route (journey time will be 91 minutes (1 hour 31 minutes). I'll be 11 minutes late that I'll need to make up at the end of the day.

Analysis

That doesn't sound too bad, leaving work 11-12 minutes later. That soon adds up though, over the year I'll have to do it it's c.44-48 hours.... The bigger question for me, however, is: what time can I get home?

At present I leave work at 18:00, walk to Tottenham Court Road Station, get the Central Line to Liverpool Street station and take the next train to South Woodham Ferrers:

With the walk from the station, I'm generally home by 19:40.  Total journey time: 100 minutes (1 hour 40 minutes). [makes my total commute (outbound + inbound) 169 minutes. Added to my working day of 8 hours 15 minutes, it makes my daily weekday work commitment 11 hours 4 minutes.]

OPTION 2a

If I go for Option 2 above I'll leave work at 18:11, I can then walk to Holborn, pick up the Central Line there and head for Liverpool Street. With the 13 minute walk + 3 minutes from street to platform, I'll get the next London Underground train after 18:27:

That gives me 6 minutes to get from the Central Line platform to the mainline platform for my train. I reckon it takes 3 minutes. So that gives me 3 minutes spare. Great! My total work/commute time has not increased and I'm getting more exercise every day with some extra walking.

Caveat 5: On my journey home, when I reach the Central Line platform I often can't get on the first London Underground train due to overcrowding and have to wait for a second or third train. 

Caveat 6: With Tottenham Court Road Central Line station out of action the number of people using both Oxford Circus and Holborn is liable to increase heavily slowing access to both platforms and trains. (Already access to Tottenham Court Road is often limited between 18:00-18:30 due to overcrowding).

Bearing in mind these caveats, I'm more likely to get this London Underground train:

Giving me only 2 minutes to get from the Central Line platform to the mainline platform for my train, probably not enough - I'll miss it!

OPTION 2b

At this time of day, London Underground trains eastwards get more crowded at each station. If instead of walking to Holborn I walk to Oxford Circus, I may be more likely to access the platform quickly and get on the first train that arrives there. So could leave work at 18:11, then walk to Oxford Circus, pick up the Central Line there and head for Liverpool Street. With the 11 minute walk + 3 minutes from street to platform, I'll get the next London Underground train after 18:25:

That gives me 4 minutes to get from the Central Line platform to the mainline platform for my train. As I reckon it takes 3 minutes, I can make it. Great! My total work/commute time has not increased and I'm getting more exercise every day with some extra walking.

Caveat 7: That 11 minute walk on Google Maps from my office to Oxford Circus station is mostly along Oxford Street. Google Maps doesn't seem to take traffic into consideration when timing it's walking directions. Oxford Street swarms with pedestrians walking in both directions at this time, slowing progress considerably. Walking through this, or taking an alternate route with less traffic means the journey time is more likely 13-14+ minutes.

Bearing in mind that caveat, I'm more likely to get this London Underground train:

As before, this only gives me 2 minutes to get from the Central Line platform to the mainline platform for my train, probably not enough - I'll miss it!

Other Options

OPTION 2c

OK - So as I'll probably miss the train home I normally get, I'll just get the next train from Liverpool Street to South Woodham Ferrers. The trains home aren't very regular so I should have no problems making it!:

With the walk from the station, I should be home by 20:36. Total journey time: 145 minutes (2 hours 25 minutes).

I don't particularly like this option, it make my total commute (outbound + inbound) 236 minutes or nearly 4 hours. Added to my working day of 8 hours 15 minutes, it makes my daily weekday work commitment 12 hours 11 minutes.

OPTION 2d

I could instead travel earlier and take a steal on the day.

With the platform to street jive plus the walk to the office I'll be in the office at 09:08 (ceteris paribus) 36 minutes early.

Which means I can leave at 17:24, be at Holborn Central Line platform for 17:44. I don't really know how busy it's going to be then, but the next train will be:

Which gives me a fighting chance of getting:

Then I'd be home c.19:00. Total journey time: 96 minutes (1 hours 36 minutes).

It makes my total commute (outbound + inbound) 177 minutes, a little under 3 hours. Added to my working day of 8 hours 15 minutes, it makes my daily weekday work commitment 11 hours 12 minutes. This is only a little over my current situation, so seems like a winner.

Caveat 8: If Holborn station is busier than I'm expecting at 17:44, I haven't got much wriggle room and I could easily miss the 18:02 from Liverpool Street.

Then I'm back on my regular 18:41 and my return travel  takes 136 minutes (2 hours 16 minutes), making my total commute 212 minutes. Added to my working day of 8 hours 15 minutes, it makes my daily weekday work commitment 11 hours 47 minutes.

Decision

Option 2d is still much better than  Option 2c. Even in the non-ideal scenario, its better by 24 minutes. If Option 2d works to plan it's nearly an hour better. It has to be my decision

It is still worse than my current situation though which will have effects elsewhere in my life system:

• I'll need to get up earlier (and therefore go to bed earlier to maintain sleep hours), or 
• streamline my morning routine - but a slow morning is important to me
• I'm away from home longer, so less time with partner, for chores, to relax etc. This is already a critical issue for me
• The advantages of getting the 18:02 rather than the 18:41 are so great that every day I'm going to be rushing to try and get it with resultant stress and likely frequent disappointment.
• I'll be walking more in a high pollution area at a heavy traffic time
• I'm trading more of my life energy into this job with no extra return, in fact my travel costs are going up faster than inflation, my pay less than inflation and everything points towards this getting worse....
• ∴ My 'true hourly wage'** (Wages minus work-related costs divided by total work-related hours) is decreasing

* the use of the word 'commutation' in the post title is meant in the sense of exchange, as I exchange more of my life energy for the diminishing returns of this job (literally with below inflation pay rises!). It obviously also makes double play with the verb commute.

** Learn more about this concept in Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

C21st Permaculture: Graham Burnett on The Vegan Book of Permaculture

Graham Burnett performing 'Don't Panic, Go Organic' at the 2014 UK Permaculture Convergence

"We have always lived in slums and holes in the wall. We will know how to accommodate ourselves for a while. For you must not forget that we can also build. It is we who built these palaces and cities, here in Spain and America and everywhere. We, the workers. We can build others to take their place. And better ones. We are not in the least afraid of ruins. We are going to inherit the earth; there is not the slightest doubt about that. The bourgeoisie might blast and ruin its own world before it leaves the stage of history. We carry a new world here, in our hearts. That world is growing in this minute."

- Buenaventura Durruti, from an interview with Pierre van Paassen (24 July 1936), published in 'The Toronto Daily Star' (5 August 1936)

In this interview I speak to Graham Burnett about his new book The Vegan Book of Permaculture, the ethical approach of Veganism & where it meets permaculture, whether it's time for permaculture to get more radical and more.

Visit Graham at www.spiralseed.co.uk

Along the way we refer to:

Buenaventura Durruti

Joanna Macy

Donella Meadows

Mark Shepard's book Restoration Agriculture; Real-world permaculture for farmers

Ian Tollhurst

Kathleen Jannaway

The Movement for Compassionate Living

Vegan Organic Network

Meredith Stern: 'We are not in the least afraid of ruins...'

C21st Permaculture: Gerry Taylor Aiken on 'nature'

In the second of my 21st Century Permaculture interviews with human ecologists, I spoke to academic Dr Gerry Taylor Aiken about how permaculturalists construct the 'nature' that they claim to work with. We also talk about whether there is a theological aspect to permaculture philosophy and practice.

Gerry teaches at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning at the University of Luxembourg and he researchs the role of community in the transition to low carbon futures.

His doctorate dissertation 'The Production, Practice, and Potential of ‘Community’ in Edinburgh’s Transition Town Network, 2014' was a study of the tensions and relationships between a government scheme to target carbon emissions through community and the grassroots, activist, emergent groups they funded.

Gerry's academic webpage

Along the way we talk about:

Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (1976) by Raymond Williams

Orientalism (1978) by Edward W. Said

Imagined Geographies

Minnie Evans: Designs, Wrightsville Beach (1968)

Permalogue Interview

Phil Moore of The Permaculture People interviewed me at the 2014 UK Permaculture Convergence as part of their Permalogues project.

Next larger context

'Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context -- a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan.' - Eliel Saarinen

Rewilding

Tune into Shoreditch Radio this Sunday at 8 for my debut hosting the 21st Century Permaculture radio show: a conversation with writer, walker and activist Adam Weymouth about rewilding.

Adam has been walking in Scotland having conversations with various folk about the proposed reintroduction of wolves and we talk about the human ecology behind the feral dream.

You can read Adam's work at his website and follow him on twitter @adamweymouth

During our conversation we mention:

Feral: Searching for enchantment on the frontiers of rewilding (2013) by George Monbiot

Of Wolves and Men (1979) by Barry Lopez

The video How Wolves Change Rivers about the Yellowstone Wolves

The Centre for Human Ecology

If you happen to miss the broadcast, you can listen afterwards at your leisure by going to www.mixcloud.com/21stcenturypermaculture

I'm standing in for regular host Stef this week, in my next show I'll be speaking to geographer Dr Gerry Taylor Aiken.

My Guilty Travel Secret

 

‘carbon guilt’ illustration by Stephen Collins

I have a guilty secret. I recently wrote about one my travel decisions: the decision not to fly. As I explained then, my decision to no longer use air transport was made because I found the environmental impact of aeroplane use to be too high. When I shared that post with friends on Facebook it drew some support, some admiration, some critique and a need in many to justify their own use of aeroplanes. I didn't seek to criticise others, as Bill Mollison wrote 'The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children. Make it now.' I take that seriously - I am responsible for my existence, you are responsible for your existence.

I have a guilty travel secret. I use trains. I use trains a lot. In the last couple of years my partner and I have holidayed in France taking National Rail, London Underground, Eurostar, TGV and TER  trains from our home to the Ardeche (in 2013) and to the Cote d'Azur (in 2014). But this is is not my guilty secret.

Those holiday journeys pale in significance when placed in the context of my regular weekly train use. My name is James and I am a commuter, it's been 3 hours and 45 minutes since my last train journey. A searching and fearless inventory of my usage requires a thorough survey.

I live in a small town in Essex and I work in central London. Everyday Monday to Friday I walk to my local branch line station and board a train into the metropolis.

 

If it's what we do each day that defines us - this is what currently determines me. And it's an activity that adds up. I leave our home at about 8.20, board a train at 8.37, arrive at Stratford about 9.16, transfer to to the London Underground and take the Central Line to Tottenham Court Road station from which I make a 5 minute walk to my workplace.

I leave work at 18.00, walk back to Tottenham Court Road station, take the Central line to London Liverpool Street where I board the 18:41 train home, I get to South Woodham Ferrers around 19.25 and walk back to the house to get in by 19.40.

What's the impact of all this travel? How might I analyse my survey data?

Daily Commute	Distance (Km)	Carbon Emissions (KgCO²e)	Carbon Conversion Factor (KgCO²e per passenger/Km)
Outward Journey (train)	48.2803	2.367665912	0.04904
Outward Journey (tube)	10.53	0.6698133	0.06361
Return Journey (train)	54.7177	2.683356008	0.04904
Return Journey (tube)	3.79	0.2410819	0.06361
TOTAL	117.318	5.96191712

Every workday I travel 117km by powered transport, leading to the equivalent of 5.96 kgCO² emissions. I work 224 days a year at this job, meaning my annual commute involves traveling 26,279.23km with concomitant emissions of 1,335.47 KgCO²e. [see below for data sources].

It's not the only rail travel I make.

As a trustee of the Permaculture Association I make two round trips to Leeds by train a year (totaling 1,178.04 km) and four additional round trips into central London - so my total rail travel as a trustee  is about 1,647 km.

Early this year I taught on a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) in London for 12 days across 6 weekends. Each day required additional travel from home into London, with rail travel of about  1,369km.

My previously mentioned holiday in France earlier this year involved rail travel totaling about 3,022km.

I know that I make more rail travel than this in an average year. At the weekends I will frequently make short local journeys by train, less frequently I will travel into London and back and make several tube journeys. Some workday evenings will involve additional tube travel. Across the year I am also likely to make some weekend travel across the UK to attend events or visit friends. I have found these journeys hard to enumerate but have estimated that in any given year these will involve travel of another 4,000 km.

Adding all these pieces of rail travel together, I get the following results:

Type of Travel	Distance (km)	Carbon Emissions (KgCO²e)	Carbon Emissions (tCO²e)
Annual Commute	26,279.23	1,335.47	1.335469435
Trustee Travel	1,647.31	81.62	0.08161875008
Holiday in France	3,022.44	26.84	0.02683848202
Travel for PDC	1,358.70	67.29	0.06729352699
Other Rail Travel	4,000.00	225.30	0.2253
TOTAL	36,307.68	1,736.52	1.736520194

My annual travel, just by rail, results in equivalent CO² emissions of 1.73 metric tonnes - with my commute alone creating 1.33 metric tonnes of those.

Rush 'hour' on the Central Line, standing room only & currently 34.8°C, 45% RH

Being a commuter is both poor energy efficient planning and poor use of relative location. Two major elements of my life (my home and my workplace) are situated at a great distance from each other making it difficult to establish beneficial relations between the two. A large amount of energy* is required to transport me 117km five days a week leading to the production of waste in the form of atmospheric emissions and poor Earth Care. The daily grind and being away from home 12 hours a day isn't too great for People Care either, the journey is tiring and frequently frustrating with delays beyond my control extending my working day - I've also less time with my partner, family and friends and less time for housework, exercise and creative activity. According to the Office of National Statistics, commuting makes you 'unhappy and anxious'. There are also large financial impacts resulting from commuting, my annual season ticket currently costs £4,764 and will rise by inflation (RPI) on 1st January 2015** while my salary rises at just 1% a year (if I'm lucky!). My commute currently costs about 25% of my take-home pay. The profits made from me by Greater Anglia will largely leave the country to go to parent company Abellio (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) in the Netherlands.

But most significantly, according to United Nations projections, by 2050 the annual carbon emissions of every person on Earth must not exceed 2 metric tonnes, if we are to keep global temperatures in the 'safe zone' below 2 degrees above the pre-Industrial Revolution average and maintain Fair Shares of the atmospheric commons. As my annual rail travel alone is close to that figure, and my commute alone is over half of it - the way I travel is clearly not sustainable - this is my guilty secret.

Tune in next time, as I move on to design decisions!



*(All of the trains I have used are electric, offering the future opportunity for them to be powered entirely by renewable resources - but currently they reflect the UK and France energy mix and also use a range of non-renewable (coal, gas, nuclear) fuels. A change to an entirely renewably resourced service is inevitable eventually, but the national infrastructure requirements will be large, carbon intensive in construction and that eventual service may look very different to today in both scale and type.)

** Exact figure to be announced on 18th August, given that RPI was 2.6% in June, fares are expected to go up by over double my likely 2015 cost-of-living rise taking my annual fare to £4887.86 - spitting distance of £5 grand, a figure it will inevitably top the following year..



Data Sources

•  A spreadsheet with a more detailed breakdown of my rail travel is viewable here.
• The carbon conversion factors for various forms of UK travel comes from Conversion Factors: Energy and carbon conversions 2013 update (Carbon Trust, 2013) based on data published by DEFRA/DECC in 2013. 

• For rail travel in France I have used the online SNCF calculator based on methodology approved by Le ministère de l'Ecologie, du Développement durable et de l'Energie of the French government.
• Greater Anglia rail distances were calculated using data from Network Rail.
• East Coast rail distances were calculated using their own Carbon Calculator.
• London Underground distances were calculated using data from Transport for London.
• Eurostar distances were calculated using data from Seat61
• European rail distances were calculated using data from Deutsche Bahn
• 2050 personal carbon emission targets are from Pathways to Deep Decarbonization: Interim 2014 Report (SDSN & IDDRI, 2014)

 

Be Prepared

 

'When we design, we are always building for future floods, future fires, future droughts, and planting a tree a few inches tall that will be future forest giants, throw future shadows. Future populations will need future soils and forest resources, shelter, security. So somebody needs to range ahead in time, scout out the next century. We are not daydreaming. We are time scouts. Finding places now for what will be needed then.'

- Bill Mollison, Travels in Dreams

'Although the craftsperson’s saying about “using the correct tool for the job” has merit, the boy scout motto about “being prepared” is more important in a jack-of-all-trades permaculture lifestyle, where one is dealing with changing opportunities, resources and impediments.'

- David Holmgren, Permaculture Pocket Knives (April 2012)

This year the affinities between permaculture and scouting will appear a little clearer, with the UK national convergence of permaculturalists being held at Gilwell Park, the historic home of scouting in the UK, located on the London-Essex border. In 2015 permaculturalists will gather there again for the International Permaculture Convergence, when the UK will host the world

Look up the word scout in the dictionary and you’ll find it referring to persons who are sent out ahead of the majority to gather intelligence and bring it back to inform action. Follow the etymology back and you are led to the Old French escouter 'to listen, heed', from the Latin auscultare 'to listen to, give heed to' – so a scout might be someone who gathers information by paying attention, by taking notice, by observation. As we pilot a course though the uncertain waters of the future we need to pay attention to our changing environments and like good boy scouts we need to be prepared. 

I was a third-generation scout. My paternal grandfather was in the scouts in Newcastle and, as a boy of 13 attended the 3rd World Scout Jamboree held in 1929 at Arrowe Park in Upton, Merseyside - the scouting movement's international convergence. It must have been, I imagine, the furthest he'd been from home in his life thus far. The event was attended by 50,000 Scouts and apparently had an additional 300,000 visitors. Those scouts came from across the international scouting movement, the camp was organized in eight subcamps, around a specially built town in the middle, called Midway. My grandad was camped alongside a group of Japanese scouts.

Japanese scouts showing Swedish and Scottish scouts how to make mats at Gilwell Park, where the troops are in camp on their way to Arrowe Park, Birkenhead (photo taken 22nd July 1929)

The event closed with an event celebrating and promoting international peace. A hatchet was ceremonially buried and the Chief Scout Baden-Powell addressed the gathered Scouts:

'Here is the hatchet of war, of enmity, of bad feeling, which I now bury in Arrowe. From all corners of the world you came to the call of brotherhood and to Arrowe. Now I send you forth to your homelands bearing the sign of peace, good-will and fellowship to all your fellow men. From now on in Scouting the symbol of peace and goodwill is a golden arrow. Carry that arrow on and on, so that all may know of the brotherhood of men.

 I want you all to go back from here to your countries in different parts of the world with a new idea in your minds of having brothers in every country... Go forth from here as ambassadors of goodwill and friendship. Every one of you Scouts, no matter how young or small, can spread a good word about this country and those whom you have met here. Try to make yourselves better Scouts than ever; try to help other boys, especially the poorer boys, to be happy, healthy, and helpful citizens like yourselves. And now, farewell, goodbye, God Bless you all.'

It was a powerful message, but peace and goodwill were very soon overcome in the world. Criticism of Baden-Powell and the scouting movement has often identified in both the same attitudes of militarism and imperialism that would, in the wider world, catalyse global conflict. Eleven years after the World Scout Jamboree my grandad was fighting in the jungles of Malaya, and the next time he found himself in the company of Japanese men he was their prisoner in less friendly camps along the route of the Death Railway between Bangkok and Rangoon.

My grandad's Japanese POW record, in a collection held in the UK National Archives

He was fortunate, he survived and was liberated - suffering with dysentry, malnutrition, malaria and a parasitic worm in his blood (that wouldn't be diagnosed until years after) but alive. I wouldn't be here if he hadn't. Back in 1929 I don't expect that he was expecting his future to turn out the way it did, and I don't know if he was any better prepared for it than his fellows. In his own way though, he must have creatively adapted and responded to change, he had a clear goal - survival - and, no doubt with some luck, he successfully found his way of achieving it.

When I was a cub scout and a scout, I didn't really feel any militaristic or imperialistic vibe - although there was 'British bulldog' to be played in an old church hall. There was a uniform, but there was at school too, an established hierarchy, ditto. We pledged allegiance to God and the Queen, but that was also a societal norm. Despite the Sex Pistols' primal tirade against the 'fascist regime' in 1977, in May 1981 - when the monarch and consort visited my town, and as a 'seconder' in the Cubs I stood beside the flag bearer in the welcoming party - I was part of a general spirit of goodwill towards the crown cemented two months later by the marriage of Charles and Diana.

That's me on the right, shortly before meeting the Q & the DoE in Essex

 So, while right-on lefties might have sent their children into the pagan arms of the Woodcraft Folk, where I lived it was the scouts and looking back now I see that scouting was the only celebration of the natural world legitimized in my early education. I don't remember which badges I got now; in my parents' loft I think there might still be a tiny green jumper with various embroidered marks of activity sewn on my by mum - but it could be my brother's. I do remember camping in the woods, netting newts and frogspawn, carrying a knife - all while my home town tripled in size, trees were felled, fields concreted over and secret dens were lost forever. 

I perused a copy of Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys recently and if you want to find stuff to criticize it's easy enough, but there's also much to celebrate too. I don't know a lot about scouting today but I know the movement has changed, it's for both girls and boys together now for a start and from the beginning of 2014, UK Scouts are no longer required to pledge loyalty to God (the Queen's still there mind). A look at the Activity Badges is certainly more inspiring than the average school curriculum. Many permaculturalists have become interested in 'nature education' recently and the whole tracking school tradition through Jon Young, Tom Brown and mysterious 'Native American' guides - but a lot of what you find there you'll find in Baden-Powell's work too.

Scout accommodation in Jordan, oddly un-tented in a Bedouin country.

In 2010 I attended my second PDC (Permaculture Design Course), this one in Jordan in the middle east. The venue was a facility for Jordanian scouts: the Al-Karamah Scout Camp. We didn't share the space with any scouts while we were there, but they were in our mind as we made designs for the camp. They were missing clients, resources and the potential implementers of what we proposed.

The relationship between permaculture and scouting is undeveloped, but it exists. The New York Times has noted that 'permaculture contains enough badges of eco-merit to fill a Girl Scout sash'. Indeed one permaculturalist and former scout has written about creating a permaculture merit badge for scouts. A far from exhaustive trawl of what's made it on to the internet reveals some more of the connections. Permaculture teacher Ludwig Appletans is a former Scout Master. Scouts have helped implement permaculture in places like St. Saviours Edible Garden in Brockley Rise, London; Anglesey, Wales; Paolo Alto, California; and East Timor (also see here).

Recently some American permaculturalists took the Mollison quote used at the start of this article and made a video on the 'Time Scouts' theme/meme:

Back in April this year I joined a Permaculture Association recce to Gilwell Park, scouting it out, looking over the spaces, the buildings, the accommodation. It's a great venue - both for this year's national convergence and next year's international one. One space stood out for me in particular: the 'Swan Centre' which has a relief sign depicting a black swan. Since Nassim Nicholas Taleb's 2007 book The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, the image of the black swan has held a totemic power to evoke 'the extreme impact of certain kinds of rare and unpredictable events (outliers) and humans' tendency to find simplistic explanations for these events retrospectively' (thanks wikipedia). So I see that black swan at Gilwell Park as both a further admonition to 'be prepared' and as a warning against trying to find simplistic ways of understanding the complex situation we find ourselves in. At the convergence I expect the conversations to go deeper, around the fire they generally do.

Firepit at Gilwell Park

 

You are invited to the 2014 UK national permaculture convergence, I'd like to see you there.

Be prepared:

• Buy your convergence tickets now!
• train tickets for the convergence dates are already on sale - also buy now before the price goes up
• If you are camping then it will be very sunny the whole weekend - but show your friends how resilient you are by being prepared for rain anyway!
• the most interesting things are often at the edges

UK Permaculture Convergence 2014 

The UK Permaculture Convergence 2014 will beheld at Gilwell Park from the 12th to 14th September. Details and booking information can be found here. The convergence is open to non-members of the Permaculture Association for the first time this year, but the cost for non members is more than the cost of a year’s membership and the price for association members. So it makes sense to join.


International Permaculture Convergence UK 2015

The UK is hosting the International Permaculture Convergence in 2015, and we will be hosting hundreds of permaculturalists from around the world. The UK Permaculture Conference 2014 is being held at Gilwell Park, which is the same venue as has been chosen for IPC UK 2015. Not only does this give the IPC planners a chance to test out the venue, but it also gives us a chance to get a feel for what it will be like next year. 

 Funds raised from the 2014 Convergence will help pay for the IPC in 2015, so the more people who attend, the easier it will be to fund the IPC, and the more cash will be left over to help fund IPC 2017, which will be in India.