A long pause, learning, chicken
Hello.
I've been back out hedgelaying on Dartmoor. This hedge is laid in the Devon style, with hazel stems cut and laid horizontally along the tops of an earth bank. I blogged about hedgelaying and earth bank repair earlier this year; there are enough hedges in Devon to go around the planet, but many are in a sorry state, so more people need to pick up the skills.
It has been almost a year since I last wrote a newsletter; a year of liminality and learning as we've settled in the West Country. I've reflected on making a big change when everything is changing.
I recently completed training in rural facilitation and gained a better understanding of Integrated Local Delivery, a framework for bringing communities together to tackle climate change and environmental issues at a local level. 3000 rural facilitators are needed to deliver joined-up local action in the UK and the model is replicable anywhere. That link above has a great explainer video.
Chicken. I've been thinking about it a lot, from seeing intensive poultry units on a recent study tour with Innovation for Agriculture to listening to Chris van Tulleken's new series all about the chicken industry and reading Henry Dimbleby's excellent book Ravenous. This article is a fascinating challenge to any squeamishness about eating lab-grown meat; you've already been doing it for years. Read it and think differently about chicken, and maybe lab-grown meat.
Some links for the Good File:
Arctic Outpost Radio operates from Longyearbyen, Norway on the edge of the Arctic Circle and plays golden oldies
The Dartmoor Podcast (not a podcast) is a joy, this is one on mushrooms; get more on fungi from BBC Four before it leaves iPlayer - the Magic of Mushrooms
All the best,
Nathan