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.

I’m in my early 30s and have spent much of the last decade ‘being a comedian’ which has mostly meant doing stand up, until the last few years during which I’ve been lucky enough to spend most of my time writing and acting in sitcoms for the BBC. I feel lucky and I enjoy it, but nevertheless I increasingly felt like something was missing from my life and more specifically I felt disconnected from nature and like I didn’t spend enough time outdoors, which I suppose is what ‘led me to permaculture’.

“Permaculture is thinking like an ecosystem”

On the second day of the 2016 Permaculture Design Course the concept above was mentioned, from that moment on Andrea, also known as Dre, began to question the impact of why and how we approach things. Ecosystems rely on dependency, much like the human ecosystem we all live in.

"I hope to make the world a better place by fostering resilience in communities."

Robert’s passion for permaculture runs deep, beginning at school twenty years ago, when his Geography teacher taught his class the fundamental principles. Robert went on to study Environmental Sciences at University and is now a member of...

The second of the three workshops at Bandstand Beds was on the topic of growing winter veg. Sarah Wilson, one of the participants, wrote a blog post together with David Dandridge.

“I feel like I know a secret and want to share it with the world!”

This time, I find myself sitting in a café near Old Street, chatting to the outgoing Natasha. Deciding that spending the majority of your waking hours in a job that doesn’t bring you much satisfaction, in August 2015 Natasha...

My second interview was with Permaculture Design Course (PDC) participant Nicky, 26, who works with children with special needs. He is currently developing his practice as a yoga teacher and artist and he chose to do the permaculture design course hoping to ...

“If you apply it to your life, permaculture is a manual for surviving on the planet”

These are the final words of my interview with Permaculture Design Course (PDC) participant Louise - the first in a series of participants' stories, aimed at sharing why people take the course and how it can enrich their lives. 

Veronica Simpson on the 'benefits of thinking outside the box' in FX magazine after attending a one day permaculture course with us. Read the full article here.

Our Coming Back To Life Workshop, which we ran in Luxembourg exploring the psychology of change, is featured in the local Transition Magazine ö! Read the full article with interview here on page 13.