Some of the group felt quite low in September. This was probably due to the changing of the seasons and the state of the world but the appeal decision certainly didn't help. It was the press that informed us we had lost when they contacted us to get our reaction to the bad news. There was the usual surge of media interest and we did a couple of pieces for local TV, papers and the Big Issue as well as national coverage in the Guardian and Schnews. We consulted with our solicitor about further avenues of appeal and got on with our lives.

Some of the group started a permaculture design course in Exeter. The group paid a social visit to the Beech Hill Community in Morchard Bishop where we met the residents and played volley ball. Another communal outing later in the month found us at Little Ash eco-farm for their open day. A couple of evenings, Dan, Pete and some of our visitors, visited the 'Spirit of Music' festival that was taking place a few miles up the road. Pete also did a couple of performances with the increasingly popular mens singing group.

Back to the 'serious' stuff, we attended a climate change conference in Plymouth and provided an information stall with cycle power and information from the Rising Tide climate change campaign. Many of us also attended a lecture at the Schumacher College about restoring wilderness in Dartmoor organised by Moor Trees.

At the woods we harvested several barrow loads of potatoes, along with runner beans, and sweetpeas. A schedual of weekend work for the winter was compiled and we spent some time putting together plans for the permaculture demonstration gardens. We also took advantage of the last of the dry weather to make one of the ponds deeper, and began work in the area near the glade which will become a forest garden. The fourth issue of our newsletter was finally sent to the printers as the month ended and the season of long dark evenings set in.

October 2001