Permaculture Pathways: Opening New Doors
Hi I’m Liz and I am very fortunate to live in the Stroud Valleys with my partner. I am originally from the West Midlands and am proud to consider myself as a Black Country “wench”, having grown up in a former mining village next to a steel making town, all now long gone. That background, where folks don’t have much, has inspired a resilience in me to make the most of what we have, help who we can and grow as much food as possible. My background also inspired me to become a geologist and for the past 35 years I have been working as an engineering geologist in the construction industry.
“… I am now on my journey to help create a community that helps everyone whatever their need –a safe space, healthy food, enough food, a place to talk, a place to create….using the permaculture ethics of Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share.”
I have gardened all my life, but it was during the early COVID lockdown in March 2020 that I started to volunteer on a new community garden which had been designed using permaculture principles. The work being done in the garden and by local people to provide both food and support to those who needed it provided exactly what I was looking for to further my knowledge of “using what we have, helping those we can, and growing food”. During those lockdown weeks and a lengthy period of furlough I discovered Social Landscapes and I am now on my journey to help create a community that helps everyone whatever their need –a safe space, healthy food, enough food, a place to talk, a place to create….using the permaculture ethics of Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share.
I successfully completed the Online Permaculture Design Course (PDC) in March 2021. Delivery of the course online meant that I had to be disciplined to make time several times a month to dial in and engage after a busy day at work - I even attended whilst on holiday in the Hebrides. The online format meant that our group was spread across the world from Australia, Greece, Germany and more, and this provided a rich and wonderful mix of people and experiences. These new friendships are still flourishing long after the course has finished.
“The scientist in me loved remembering my background in the Earth Sciences, the artist in me loved being able to use my creativity to illustrate my work, the old environmental activist in me was re-awakened to the outrage of ongoing destruction of the earth, the scholar in me relished the opportunity to learn again, …”
Personally the course both nourished and challenged me. The scientist in me loved remembering my background in the Earth Sciences, the artist in me loved being able to use my creativity to illustrate my work, the old environmental activist in me was re-awakened to the outrage of ongoing destruction of the earth, the scholar in me relished the opportunity to learn again, and I was challenged by new ideas, new concepts, new people with new ideas.
The practical aspects of the PDC particularly appealed and I completed two projects, creating a new composting system at the community garden and creating a lasagne bed on my allotment.
The new composting area at the community garden.
Liz’s friend Isabel helping Liz make a lasagna bed
So what next? I didn’t do the PDC with the intention of changing career. However, post COVID and being of an age where work shouldn’t consume every waking hour, I am now using what I have learnt to re-evaluate where I am and how to take this forward. What the PDC has provided me with is a framework to explore options - landscape, social care, community, food growing, people care, ecology, water or design, but within the guiding principles of permaculture. To do this my next step is to start the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design.
