Newsletter - Issue 3
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WORD FROM THE WOOD The Steward Community Woodland Newsletter Issue 3- Spring 2001
Time of renewal The days are lengthening and Spring is bringing the colour back to Steward Wood. The snowdrops have lost their drooping flowers, the daffodils are withering, and it's now time for the primroses and bluebells to bloom. The whole wood is poised on the verge of new growth and renewal. Snow & Celebrations We were delighted by the snow at the end of the year although the winter was generally not a very cold one. We had a party at Winter Solstice with an outdoor fire and lots of singing, playing music and dancing, and soon repeated it in January to celebrate a cluster of birthdays. Pete's been serenading us frequently with his newly acquired accordion and likewise Katrina with her new cello. Coppicing We've been coppicing ash and sycamore in an area near the top of the wood. With the sunlight able to fully penetrate, the area will regenerate, creating an ash coppice which can be harvested every seven years or so. In the meantime, we'll have plenty of seasoned firewood for next winter. Surveying and structures We've continued our surveying work over the winter and are approaching a year's worth of data. Dan completed his bender at Xmas time, making a total of six individual dwellings. Most have now been fitted with glass windows in the canvas to allow plenty of light in and enable us to look out to the beautiful views. We recently installed a rayburn in the Kitchen resulting in a flourishing of culinary creativity. Furthermore, the water supply to the kitchen (from a springabove) has been improved with the addition of a sand and gravel filter.
Project News In Brief Planning We're about to submit our Appeal to the Planning Inspectorate against the DNPA's refusal of planning permission. We'll be requesting a public inquiry which will allow everyone to have their say and allow a thorough examination of the project. Once again, we'd really appreciate people to write letters of support, this time to the inspectorate. We will pass on the details as soon as we have them. Cycle & Walkway We're on the verge of signing the agreement with Devon County Council to enable the cycle & walkway to be built on the section of the disused railway track which we own. We hope the laying of the cycleway from Moreton will follow shortly. Community composting Unfortunately, we may have to put the composting scheme on hold. The Environment Agency have refused to grant us an exemption from a waste processing license on the grounds that we don't yet have planning permission. Its interesting, because we don't really consider compost to be a waste product at all... Goodbyes & Hellos We've said our goodbyes
to Devin who, along with his partner Amanda, has decided to help set
up a permaculture project in southern Spain, and Jim who has moved
back to Cambridge with the aim of establishing a permaculture project
in his home town. Meanwhile, there are several people have been regularly
staying and helping out, and plenty of other visitors too.
The
Kitchen garden
We've been creating a
garden between our Kitchen and the Longhouse. We chose the site as
it contains the only stream that keeps running all through the summer,
and because it is next to our communal structures and most used paths,
so it will get lots of attention. There is a new seating area with
a great view, which we hope will encourage people to spend time there
and think about the garden.
We removed a large tree
stump, and used the hole to make a pond with an old tent groundsheet
as a liner. The pond is at the top of the garden, providing a water
store, a home for slug eating frogs (hopefully), a temperature regulator,
and a space to grow aquatic plants.
We made a herb spiral out
of coppiced ash poles as a central feature of the garden. This ingenious
set up provides a diverse range of soil types and aspects (well drained,
north facing, wet, etc.) so many different herbs can be grown together
in one area.
Terraced beds are already
a home for perpetual spinach and sorrel and we're raising seedlings
for planting later in the spring. Through the garden are three paths
with 'keyholes' that enable us to reach into the beds whilst maximising
the available space.
We're also planting veg
and medicinal herbs and flowers in the large 'Growing Area' near the
bottom of the land and in a few other small spots. We're
looking forward to an abundance of produce this summer and into the
winter.
Contact us if you are
a local gardener who would like to swap seeds, especially local varieties.
We plan to grow mainly perennial plants at Steward Wood. Unlike annuals grown in conventional systems, the bulk of the work is done just once with perennials (for the initial planting) and the soil is not repeatedly disturbed, thus reducing the risk of soil erosion and maintaining the soil structure. Many edible perennial plants can be grown in the garden. As well as fruits and nuts, there are vegetables (such as perennial kale, winter purslane, ramsons, and tree onions) which are perennial. A lot of the plants we normally think of as herbs (such as lemon balm, fennel and mints) can be eaten as vegetables, especially in salads, and most of them are perennial. Many perennial vegetables are native plants, such as salad burnet and sorrel. The great advantage of growing wild food plants in the garden is that they really want to grow there. They have adapted over thousands of years to thrive under local conditions. Most of our cultivated food plants are introductions from other parts of the world, and they need a lot of support from us to survive and give a yield in an environment which is basically alien to them. Growing native plants is a way of working with nature rather than against. It both benefits the local ecology and makes life easier for us. Perennials can be ready to harvest early in the spring. They spend the winter as rootstocks or bulbs, and when spring comes they are ready to burst forth above ground with masses of leaves when annual vegetables are still only seeds in the packet, or at best seedlings in the tray. A combination of perennials and annuals is a good way to get a year round supply of vegetables as annuals (such as brassicas, roots, land cress and lamb's lettuce) are yielding in the winter when many perennials have died back. See the Plants For A
Future leaflet 'Why Perennials' or the book 'Plants for a Future'
by Ken Fern (Permanent Publications, 1997).
What is a Forest Garden? We plan to develop a forest garden as part of the permaculture demonstration gardens in the unplanted 'growing area' (just above the disused railway track). Forest Gardens or Woodland Gardens are a practical and philosophical approach to supplying our needs in harmony with the land and wildlife. They can create a garden of great beauty and peace that is also highly productive. A woodland garden contains a rich diversity of plants and trees, and a diverse system of growing that emulates a woodland. It can grow fruit and nut trees, underplanted with shrubs, climbing and herbaceous plants. Plants and trees thus occupy the complete range of heights from the ground to the tops of the trees. By careful selection of species this should produce a wide range of fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves and roots throughout the year, with minimal intervention and maintenance once established. It also provides an array of habitats for wildlife and encourages biodiversity. The quality and depth of the soil is maintained and improved yearly in a woodland, whilst the cultivated field is plagued by erosion and a subsequent loss of soil structure. For more information,
see the books 'Forest Gardening' by Robert Hart and 'How to make a
Forest Garden' by Patrick Whitefield.
FOOD & FARMING
Well travelled food Despite the supermarkets' claims to support British farmers, the amount of food imported from abroad continues to increase. We now consume more French apples than English, despite England being an ideal climate for growing apples. Even produce that is British probably isn't local: in the last 20 years the average distance our food travels within the UK has doubled. Some of the consequences can be seen in the Foot & Mouth epidemic and last year's Swine Fever outbreak. "If
you have local food and local shops, things may go wrong Farm gate prices The big four supermarkets sell over half of our food in the UK. This dominance gives them a stranglehold on producers. Supermarkets know that farmers have little choice and dictate how and what should be produced. Farmers receive minimum prices, being played off against each other. In 1998, enraged by the fall in the amount they received for meat, farmers blockaded ports and supermarkets, forcing an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading which later announced that supermarkets were doing nothing wrong. British supermarkets are roughly three times more profitable than similar companies in France, Germany, Italy and Spain! Winning friends and influence Despite their blatant greed, supermarkets continue to gain custom and have had no problem making friends with politicians. Lord Sainsbury, the former Chief Executive of Sainsbury's, is the richest man in Britain, and a Labour peer. Last year, Sainsbury's made £580 million pre-tax profits and Tesco's an enormous £955 million. They find it easy to influence policy so that they can usually build what they want where they want, even in National Parks. It is not unusual (or illegal) for them to offer sweeteners to the authorities (such as building roads and community centres) in return for permission to build their stores. You can read more about supermarkets' influence in George Monbiot's book 'Captive State'. What's next on the menu? Chemical residues, artificial additives, hormones and irradiation are just some of the treats that industry has already forced on people. They tell us they are simply responding to consumer demand and that it all for our benefit, but their motives are higher profits - from lower costs and extended shelf life. One of the latest offerings is genetic engineering. The industry assures us that it is safe and they promise greater yields for farmers, improved quality for us, eco-friendly production and a solution for world hunger! But GMO's threaten biodiversity and have already been shown to be unsafe having cross pollenated with wild species and sparked allergic reactions. And farmers aren't seeing greater profits - the only farmers making money from GM are those who aren't growing it and can prove it. The emotive use of the 'feed the world' argument is a cynical ploy, world hunger is caused by economic and political factors and not insufficient food production. Contact the Totnes Genetics
Group to get involved in campaigning against genetics. Protests & Alternatives Farmers and consumers around
the world have identified globalisation, 'free trade' agreements and
profiteering corporations as major causes of their problems and have
been displaying their discontent while also building alternatives
up from the grassroots, challenging the increasingly global and unaccountable
institutions such as the World Trade Organisation. Farmers markets,
allotment growing, community suppported agriculture etc. have all
been bringing consumers and producers together and empowering people.
In March, Pete & Ben attended a conference that aimed to seek out the common ground between farmers and environmental and social justice campaigners. They heard about a deep distrust of the NFU and the Countryside Alliance and various ways in which farmers were trying to provide an alternative voice to represent their interests. Small and Family Farmers Alliance - 01726 843647 A Cornish farmer spoke about the huge difference between the prices paid to farmers by supermarkets and packers, and the prices shoppers pay when they buy from supermarkets. He explained how supermarkets play different farming regions and countries against each other, continually lowering the prices they pay. Such practices have, alongside other factors, led farmers to intensify in order to compete, enlarging fields, setting up factory farms, pulling up hedgerows - going bust in the rush which leads to fewer but larger farms. Time was spent in small groups discussing the issues, and what action could be taken. It became obvious that there is an urgent need to close the gap between the producer (farmers) and the consumer (shoppers) - to reinvigorate local markets and local economies. Various ideas and problems surfaced, the most concrete being a campaign highlighting farmgate/supermarket price differences. Another conference will
be arranged later in the year. Contact Lucy Michaels on 01865 791391.
If you are interested in the countryside, try www.ruralfutures.org
The Dropping of the Sun
from Hingston Rocks Bye bye now, Sunset now It's the dropping of the
Sun In the northwest Betwixt Imbolc and Equinox. Venus marks the spot
Then she mysteriously disappears. Jess is enjoying himself so much.
It's great, it's great. Pant, pant. Doggy happiness suffuses his expressions.
Pastel oranges are spread like marmalade and solar margarine over
the toasted surface of the moors. Airplane trails add an artist's
touch to the bluey canvas. Bye bye now, Sunset now It's the dropping
of the Sun. Blown, pallid smoke revives Sight of an engine on the
Moreton branch line. Spring..........spring..........spring. Slowly,
with chilly temperatures descending to sit over the land, it becomes
more and more of a certainty that the solar game is over.... until
tomorrow. Bye bye now, Sunset now It's the dropping of the Sun. by
Dan
Beltane - "It is spring... rejoice !" The beginning of May marks
the time when spring gives way to summer's full bloom, when all of
nature comes alive. This is traditionally a time of celebration of
rising fertility with maypole dancing and the crowning of the May
Queen & King. Their crowns are made of intertwined green leaves and
stems. The May Queen & King are then married. The traditional elements
of the maypole are an evergreen tree wrapped in white ribbons, representing
the shroud of death, and red ribbons, representing the life-giving
blood. Beltane is the time for coming into our strength and realising
our desires.
Ben asks.... Is 'organic' all it's wrapped up to be ? I
wrote this article months ago but was afraid to publish it, worried
that the views expressed Organics
- the promise
Organic food
promises to be good for your health and good for the environment.
The term 'organic' suggests care and consideration from the producers.
It conjures up images of small diverse farms supplying local needs,
and employing people not machines. Has this promise been delivered?
The
'backlash'
There are
companies that are not happy with the current distrust of modern food
production and science, powerful transnational companies that have
spent billions of dollars on research, lobbying, patenting, acquisition
etc in order to secure their markets and assure continued growth and
profit. The organic revolution threatens their position and thus they
have been attempting to undermine the concept of organic so that they
can continue with business as usual. During the last few years, the
mainstream media has lapped up stories dismissing the virtues of organic
as hype and lies. This is not a new phenomenon: there is a long history
of industries employing tame scientists, 'experts' and the media to
discredit critics, sow seeds of doubt and confuse the public. It happened
with tobacco and BSE; and now it's happening with climate change,
genetics and organics.
The
reality
I am not here
to defend organics. I believe that while the concept of organic is
undoubtedly great, the reality is often a sham. Organic products have
changed. Their production and transportation now have a lot more in
common with the heavily processed and packaged food sold elsewhere
in the supermarket. Seventy percent of organic products are imported
and standards watered down so that supermarkets and the like can cash
in on the growing demand for wholesome food. 'Organic' has become
a 'brand' for sale on the supermarket shelves; chilled and flown half
way around the world; cellophane wrapped convenience microwave- ready
meals for the TV generation; foil wrapped crisps with yuppie flavours;
and luxury 'fair trade' chocolate. I think that organic accreditation
is a red herring. It is expensive and elitist so many small producers
can't afford the accreditation fees and their products can't legally
be sold as 'organic' - even if they technically are. The irony is
that such food, produced and sold on a small scale within a local
context is far closer to the wholesome ideals that 'organic' is meant
to represent, than the certified organic stuff found in the supermarkets.
Anything
better?
Maybe I am
being too harsh. Surely it's good that big producers and retailers
are now supplying organic products - even if 70% of it is imported?
And surely it's better that people are buying over-packaged and processed
organic food than the non-organic or genetically modified equivalent?
Maybe so, but if we want wholesome food that doesn't cost the earth,
we need to look closer to home. The best way to obtain food you can
trust is to grow your own however not everyone wants, or is able,
to do so. Community assisted agriculture, local veg box schemes, farm
shops and farmers markets all provide ways to reintroduce accountability
and trust into the food chain.
For alternatives
to accreditation, contact the Wholesome Food Association on 01237
841118 info [at] wfa.org.uk
In March we held a stall at this gathering in Totnes. In the morning there was a slide show of varied sustainable housing from around Britain (as mentioned in the last newsletter), and an inspiring talk by permaculture teacher Andy Langford about planning issues. Discussions and workshops followed in the afternoon, including water treatment, land rights, alternative power, eco architecture, and co-housing. On our stall we displayed our photo gallery on a laptop, powered by one of our cycle generators. As a result of the stall we have been invited to do a workshop on building pedal powered systems with teenagers in the South Hams area. One very practical outcome was the start of an eco- renovation club, where people visit each others' houses and help put in sustainable infrastructure like solar water heating, grey water recycling etc, thus sharing skills, tools and people power. What a great idea! Contact Viv if you would like to find out more about the eco-renovation club. Tel. 07980 940317 Coming Events 28th-29th April: Pedal Power Workshop A workshop for teenagers in South Hams organised by BASE and Affinity. Venue to be announced. Contact us for details. 5th-7th May: Permaculture Convergence Seasonal get together for anyone interested in permaculture, hosted this time by Plants for a Future. We plan to set up a marquee for workshop space, and possibly host a cycle and solar-powered cinema. 0845 458 4719 26th May: Tavistock Green Fair Annual town centre event organised by local green group. A report of last year's event is on our website. We'll be there again this year. 2nd June: Setting up Community Woodlands One day course (£35) here at the woods under the auspices of the Small Woods Association. Details and booking: 01743 792644 Email: enquiries [at] smallwoods.org.uk 9th June: The Wheel Thing (Somerset) We hope to be in Bath for this celebration of cycle power, clean energy and dynamic arts. Tel. 01225 319308 Email: info [at] cyclesmaximus.com If you
know of an event that you think we should be part of or could publicise,
This
newsletter was brought to you by Merlin, Beccy, Kat, Clare, Dan, Lee,
Pete, and Ben. We are Affinity Woodland Workers Co-operative, set up to encourage and enable environmental awareness and solutions by providing examples of sustainable land use. We manage and live at Steward Community Woodland. How to find out more and get involved You can send us your details and be added to our mailing list - you'll receive information about upcoming courses, workshops and work parties, as well as our future newsletters. Donations to cover costs would be appreciated - any donations are welcome, but your active participation would be worth far more. You are welcome to come and have a look round the woods, or lend a hand and maybe learn some new skills. Please phone first to arrange this. How to contact us By phone
01647 440233, mobile 07050 674464 or fax 07050 674467. Via Email
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