The aim of the learning pathway is to set goals for what you want to learn and do.

I’ve found the advice from Looby Macnamara’s People and Permaculture book to be most helpful here:

1 Observing where you are

2 Awareness of where you want to get to

3 Identifying the steps to get there

“Our mission for this time on Earth is to repair humanity’s relationship with nature.” Chief Arvol Looking Horse

 “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman

I’ve been doing experiments for years, projects around creativity and change. Try changing something and see what happens. This is how I am dancing with complexity, how I am aiming to leverage change within the systems. Small actions over time which lead to big changes, for my own life and the world around me. I’ve learnt much and much has changed, but I’m only just beginning.

My mission then is 

‘Reconnecting to ourselves, each other and the Earth.’ 

I think this is also linked to the ethics.

• Reconnecting to ourselves – People care
• Reconnecting to each other – Sharing
• Reconnecting to the Earth – Earth care

I’ve identified a number of top level goals:

*Reconnecting to nature 

*Healthier more relaxed body and mind

*Living in the future I’d like to see, now 

*Living more intentionally 

*Use my bike more

*Living in the 20 minute neighbourhood

*Shopping local, local organic food, stuff!

*Become a confident gardener who knows how to grow their own food in their own vegetable garden

*Become a LAND centre/Project

*Less consumption, more self reliance, replace consumption with creativity

*To use the gifts and talents I have for good

*Create a demonstration of ecological living in the urban environment, so other people can see and learn and change themselves – inspire others to live differently

*Demonstrate how to create self reliant systems such as edible gardens or alternative energy systems

*Recognition for my work, writing about it, articles published

*Social media – Youtube channel, local influencer, content creator (very caught up in the value of social media – is it valuable, or is it a waste of time?)

Each of the projects outlined here helps me achieve these goals in a number of ways. Along my journey I’ll plot the interconnections.

I am interested in:

> Social change

> Sharing skills related to sustainable living

> Building community networks

> Sharing resources

> Spreading information about local organic food and ecological gardening

> Gardening as a way to reconnect with indigenous heritage 

> Emotional bonds

> Shared sense of belonging

> Community – love, learning, empowering

> Rebuilding local economy and community

> Co-imagining ways to make our neighbourhood more like a village

> Co-sufficiency

I’ve found these questions from Penny Livingston-Stark to be helpful:

“The root question is: How do we get reconnected with the Earth? 

Become ecologically literate in your place and your home. 

Learn how to grow food.

Where is your food coming from?

Where is your water coming from and what are your water harvesting capabilities? 

Where is your waste stream going?

Learn the systems that you live in. 

How can you create as resilient a system as possible with what you have within your community? 

What makes sense for you to do yourself? 

What makes sense for you to engage in your greater community? Getting active with local governments is important. 

Look at what other communities you can reach out to and collaborate with. 

What is the vision that you are holding?” 

In the Permaculture City, Toby Hemenway talks of how ‘Land use customs that had been culture, and site specific, have been swept aside.’ He asks us now to consider ‘What is the culture of our place? How are we located on the land/with the land?’ For me, this links to the idea of creating a city of villages, a concept that the Welsh Government is looking to bring to life in our place. What then, would living in a 20 minute neighbourhood be like? Living in a 20 minute neighbourhood, right now, is one of my experiments. Bring on the ‘city of villages’, let’s gather in the village.