I got a bit behind here, so while I am indoors hiding from ongoing showers here’s is a quick run through of some highlights of the last six months or so.

From Spring and into Autumn last year I was mentoring the Bioregional Learning Centre to host a Bioregional Banquet which took place on a stormy night in October. The evening brought together growers, farmers and fishers from around South Devon to explore steps to creating a more connected, climate resilient food sector. The night was devised around the performative structure of ‘La Rasgioni’, A traditional, local democracy structure from Sardinia involving storytelling and collective deliberation. I gave a talk at the Earth Law Centre and as part of my Dandelion fellowship sharing insights from my Arts Council year of research into learning from other species and bringing them into local spaces of deliberation and governance. This included sharing the story of The Assembly of River Beings.

Towards solstice I join other Walking Foresters in Batheaston for our annual visit to the last suffragette tree in the lost Suffragette Arboretum. While in Batheaston we had a hearty meeting with local residents of Batheaston to share stories and updates on the Walking Forest intentional woodland and camino walking path.

I have been working with long-term collaborator Ruth Ben-Tovim on evolving her project Town Anywhere and devising a Town Anywhere structure which explores envisaging a future town which has at its centre more-than-human kinship.

Towards the end of the year I started working with Take A Part in Plymouth as part of the Ocean Citizens project funded by Esmee Fairburn Trust. I’m working with residents of Plymouth as fellow researchers in a project I’ve called ‘Meet your wild neighbours’ to explore different species in the coastal and marine environments in Plymouth and the challenges they face through a series of field trips and participatory workshops. Then I’ll be supporting the group to co-create a campaign, action, creative response, manifesto or project as Ocean Citizens in the soon-to-be Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.

Finally I’m loving mentoring students at Black Mountains College on the international Climate Creatives programme funded by British Council. I’m always happy to take on more mentoring and peer support work.
I’ll update about the very addictive Rocks to Reef oysters & mussels project which culminates with an event on 21 March next time! ..as a teaser here is a pic of a (pacific) oyster in filtering mode. This four month project is funded by Arts & Culture East Devon.

Bye for now! – please get in touch if you want to chat about any of this and more