Land Skills

In my spare time I’m an amateur bushcrafter, gardener, conservation volunteer, and naturalist, all of which I have sometimes blogged about here (read the don’t poison/hurt yourself disclaimer here first before trying out anything yourself!).

I’ve been an occasional assistant bushcraft* instructor and demonstrator (having completed the NCFE Advanced Bushcraft Award with Woodcraft School), working with Wildwood Bushcraft school in Sussex and the WildSoc/WildSoton group (a social network for buschcrafters) I ran for a while in Southampton [* also known as woodcraft or nature/wilderness/survival skills]. I especially enjoy foraging for wild food (often in urban environments), wildlife tracking, and making things from scratch. I’m interested in how teaching and practising bushcraft can help people experience natural history, feel more at home when they’re out on the land, and bring more of the wild home with them, even within the city.

I’ve been a regular conservation volunteer, starting with Southampton University Conservation Volunteers and on memorable trips to Killarney National Park in Ireland and Trees for Life in Scotland. I’m interested in how we can increase the resilience of the ecoregions of the British-Irish Isles & beyond in the face of climate change (i.e. “georesilience”) through practices like agroecology and ecological regeneration – something I’m interested in doing more direct research on as well.

I’ve also completed the Permaculture Design Certificate and have designed a couple of community gardens (one implemented with homeless charity The Society of St. James as a garden for their residents, completed with student volunteers). Being a bearer of little garden space and resident of infinitely long allotment waiting lists I’m not currently doing a huge amount of  growing, but we make the best of the little rental patches we have [current garden status: pots of herbs, salads, tomatoes, and flowers in a little Brighton garden].