Front Garden Design

E.F. Schumacher's 3 Purposes of Good Work

"How does work relate to the end and purpose of man's being? It has been recognized in all authentic teachings of mankind that every human being born into this world has to work not merely to keep himself alive but to strive toward perfection. To keep himself alive, he needs various goods and services which will not be forthcoming without human labour. To perfect himself, he needs purposeful activity in accordance with the injunction: 'Whichever gift each of you has received, use it in service to one another, like good stewards dispensing the grace of God in its varied forms.' From this, we may derive the three purposes of human work as follows:

First, to provide necessary and useful goods and services.
Second, to enable every one of us to use and thereby perfect out gifts like good stewards.
Third, to do so in service to, and in co-operation with, others, so as to liberate ourselves from our inborn egocentricity.

This threefold function makes work so central to human life that it is truly impossible to conceive of life at the human level without work. 'Without work, all life goes rotten, ' said Albert Camus, 'but when work is soulless, life stifles and dies.' "
- E.F. Schumacher, Good Work (1979)


"Permaculture is not about romanticising a golden age, but rather an attempt to re-define the way in which we work and to think of the importance of an integration of art and life. In industrial-consumer society, we have seen a tendency to separate beauty and function, art has become an elite occupation which is seen as an extra activity, not essential. Art is something the ordinary person goes to see in a gallery at the weekend, not an entity which has direct relevance to and importance in everyday life. Permaculture aims to create a society where work is seen as art, where beauty and function are intertwined, and people have a part in creating the objects with which they are surrounded. Beautiful surroundings and articles are important and the work which people do should be seen as artistic and creative."
- Joanne Tippet, A Pattern Language of Sustainability (1994), www.holocene.net/dissertation.htm#e

Javan K. Bernakevitch's Zones of Brilliance questions

 

Defining the Whole

Greater London National Park - Interview

My interview with Dan Raven-Ellison on the Greater London National Park is now available for listening to at Mixcloud, see the link below. (I had a few microphone problems so apologies in advance for sound issues.)

This Tuesday (24th Fenruary 2015) is the Re-imagine London event on the South Bank exploring visions for a Greater London National Park - see you there!

Guerilla Geographer Dan Raven-Ellison has a radical idea: What if Greater London was a National Park? What would a National Park City even be like? With over half the planet's human population now living in urban environments, what kind of relationships with nature are we forging in our cities? From the garden bridge to novel ecosystems, the London tree canopy, the green belt and more - tune in for a wide-ranging discussion on Earth stewardship and the provocative operation reclaiming and re-imagining the capital #GLNP

Visit the website: http://www.greaterlondonnationalpark....

Become a founder of the Park: https://www.change.org/p/become-a-fou...
Follow on Twitter: @LondonNP

Follow Dan: @DanRavenEllison

Dan Raven Ellison on the Greater London National Park by 21st Century Permaculture on Mixcloud

21st Century Permaculture interview with Dan Raven-Ellison on the Greater London National Park

This Sunday (15th February) at 8pm my interview with  Dan Raven-Ellison goes out on Shoreditch Radio.

Guerilla Geographer Dan Raven-Ellison has a radical idea: What if Greater London was a National Park? What would a National Park City even be like? With over half the planet's human population now living in urban environments, what kind of relationships with nature are we forging in our cities? From the garden bridge to novel ecosystems, the London tree canopy, the green belt and more - tune in for a wide-ranging discussion on Earth stewardship and the provocative operation reclaiming and re-imagining the capital ‪#‎GLNP‬

Visit the website: http://www.greaterlondonnationalpark.org.uk/

Become a founder of the Park: https://www.change.org/p/become-a-founder-of-the-greater-lo…

Follow on Twitter: @LondonNP
Follow Dan: @DanRavenEllison

If you miss this broadcast, listen at your leisure by going to www.21stCenturyPermaculture.com

C21st Permaculture: KT Shepherd on Living with the Land

KT Shepherd on living with the land by 21st Century Permaculture on Mixcloud

Katie Shepherd is a shepherd with attitude and a shepherd at altitude. I spoke with her in Castleton, Derbyshire during the 2014 National Diploma Gathering, a meeting of apprentices on the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design.

During our conversation we touch on hill farming, regenerative agriculture, palliative care & conscious dying, spirituality, studying on the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design, Patrick Whitefield, Starhawk and more.

You can follow Katie at:

http://shepherdwithattitude.weebly.com/

@ktshepherd1

Field Survey

Holborn station

Following the desk survey on the 8th December, today I collected some field survey data. I timed my walk from Holborn ticket hall to my office, walking at my normal pace via the route I assumed best. I timed the walk using the stopwatch function on my smartphone.

Holborn station ticket hall to my office building: 13 minutes

Holborn station ticket hall to my actual desk: 13 minutes 45 seconds

So this supports the Google Maps calculation of 13 minutes, even though I took a different route

Previously I had discounted the walk between my office doors to my actual desk which takes the best part of a minute via the stairs.