I may have been quiet on here for the past few months but I have been busy on my Permaculture Design Course & nourishing the veggie patch we are lucky to have space for in our garden. Back in September 2020 I realised that I had to step up, to really take action, and do something positive for the planet. For many years, I’ve been advocating and helping people on their health journeys using my nutrition knowledge and suggesting positive lifestyle changes. It’s been a rewarding journey and an honour to be a little part of someone’s transformation process. However, the urge to manifest positive change that was growing inside me, in amongst all the negativity, fear and restrictions of the pandemic, needed an outlet. I’ve been wanting to do a permaculture course for years but I finally jumped onboard last winter and I’m loving it.
Permaculture, like anything you learn, is all about incorporating elements of the teaching into your every day life. It’s a journey that is not just about gardening and nature. The principles (Earth care, fair share and people care) can be applied to any aspect of life & they encourage a more sustainable way of living. Whether you are needing a new pair of socks (Do you know how the material was harvested? Did the maker get paid their fair share? Are they recyclable when you are done with them?), buying vegetables at the supermarket, to every aspect of life. If we take a moment to consider the wider impact then we can make more informed decisions, decide if we actually need that item or to make the best choice we can for ourselves AND the beautiful planet we live on. Often we have most of what we need already or there are more sustainable options available to us that we just haven’t considered yet.
One of the phrases that sticks in my mind at the moment is ‘The problem is the solution’. An example of this is something I hear frequently in the gardening groups I’m a member of, is that there is a certain weed – Horsetail – that is extremely pervasive and difficult to get rid of. It takes over vegetable beds and smothers the plants that the gardener is trying to grow. However, you can make a compost tea with this plant that is deeply nourishing for vegetables and flowers. So by continually harvesting it to make the nourishing compost tea it allows the plants that you actually want to grow the space to thrive and they get nourished by a natural, free fertiliser. A great example of how a problem can actually be a solution. Thinking on a much bigger scale, what if we were the problem AND the solution on the planet? The way most of us are living our lives (me included) is having a negative impact on our planet BUT we do have the power and strength to be the solution. Have a quick think now, is there something you have excess of? Is there an area of your life that you know is out of balance? It can be something small like swapping to a natural, non-toxic dishwashing soap to help reduce the pollution in our water ways, or something even bigger like taking the time to walk to the shops instead of driving to reduce your carbon footprint. There are so many things we can do, big and small.
We need to act fast, but as I’ve noticed over the past 3 months, nature responds very quickly to positive change and the right nurturing. There is no ego involved that puts the breaks on regeneration, unlike with us humans. Mother Nature is ready & waiting. What positive change will you be? How can you contribute to global regeneration?
If you’d like to chat about how you could make positive, affordable changes then please don’t hesitate to get in touch contact@carolinewestoll.com
Caroline Westoll Nourish & Nurture 