stewardship

Rings of Reciprocity

~ Jim Hindle ~ Leave a comment

A tree planting initiative activating children’s imagination and sense of stewardship is seeking supporters

It’s a muggy summer’s afternoon on a farm in rural Sussex and thirty children and several adults have gathered in a newly-mown circle round a central hearth, surrounded by rings of young trees.  When prompted, little offerings are made, the children are encouraged to come forward with silent or vocalised wishes for the forest they hope these young trees to be a part of.  There’s an air of excitement around the circle – these children have been here before.

What distinguishes this group from any other engaged in tree planting is that they are being co-ordinated and led by the Children’s Forest project – an initiative that has much more to it than simply putting the trees in the ground.  The project takes the children on a four-step journey of experiencing actual living woods, imagining how a future forest may look, articulating this with artwork, plays or poetry and letting this inform their wishes as they do the actual planting.

The act of imagining in particular is crucial for the project’s ethos – in this time of climate anxiety, children are encouraged to picture a healthy, abundant natural world and work towards it practically, in the knowledge that a strong mental image of an outcome helps to make its realisation all the stronger and more likely to transpire.  This approach also allows for creative imagination to activate future generational thinking.

Children’s Forest has been running for a few years now and is going from strength to strength, with a grant from an ITV fundraiser competition in particular helping fund the set-up of tree nurseries using seeds gathered locally.  There are now thirteen Children’s Forests throughout the land, from Cumbria to Cornwall, with most centred in the South East and Sussex in particular.

The project was instigated by Forest School teacherAnna Richardson who has spent the last twenty years working with children and as a teacher of bushcraft skills, specialising in the uses of plants for medicine and food, mentored by archaeobotanist Gordon Hillman. As a Forest School teacher she has worked with children of all ages from toddlers to teens, often in Steiner-based settings.  In these sessions there was always a great emphasis on getting to know a place and its trees; their uses for food, shelter, medicine, fire.

But the question kept on coming back to her: how could she and the children give back to the forest that gave them so much?  There was the obvious boon of helping children and participants value and connect with the natural world and thereby be that much more disposed to look after it, but what more could they give in a tangible sense?  After all, she noticed the effect on the land that they used – issues of wear of the vegetative life, compaction of the woodland soil.  Where was the reciprocity?

Coupled with this was the issue of land access.  It was not always easy to find land to run forest school sessions on.  But there were plenty of landowners – why might they not want to have children accompanied by adults on their land?  What was stopping them?

These were the practical considerations from which Children’s Forest was established.  But there was a philosophical element too.  Anna’s studies of ancestral skills informed her that all indigenous peoples carried a sense of belonging to nature and the need to care for it on a daily basis – it was in their interests to look after and to some extent help propagate the plants they relied on.  All this was built into their way of relating to the natural world.  It’s something she believes we consciously need to bring back into our culture today.

As part of this cultural shift, the Children’s Forest wants children to have experience of themselves as guardians and caretakers.  It provides an opportunity for a lived experience of sacred reciprocity – combining the need for not only ecological restoration but also cultural restoration as part of the process. It is quite clear that if we don’t restore our culture to one of nature connection we are going to carry on making the same mistakes – the two have to be worked on in tandem.

One element of cultural restoration the project incorporates is the concept of the Children’s Fire.  When each of these special hearths are inaugurated they are done with a pledge to consider future generations.  The first circle of each Children’s Forest is planted round one of these fires, the children making wishes for future generations as the fire is lit.  It helps to dedicate both the space and the participants’ purpose, adding a much deeper element that helps with the intention to work with the spirit of the place and keep clear the aim to serve the children and the forests yet to be.

As the Children’s Forest began to work with children to plant trees in the ground, a committed team have gathered to bring this project to fruition. This has enabled the vision and breadth of the project to grow with the hearts and skillsets of those involved, including permaculture teachers, nature educators, health care professionals, artists and woodland specialists.

To return to the role of landowners, CF actively seeks their participation in the process, asking of them an honourable pledge that they will protect the planted trees on their land and ensure the next owners agree to do the same should the land be sold.  In return, the forests are cared for by the children and their mentors, with aftercare such as watering, mulching, weeding and removing tree guards.  The children get a place in which they can be taught in and potentially return to in the future with their own children and grandchildren.  The landowners can be involved in the ensuing community which also includes the children’s mentors and parents who can return to the Children’s Forests on a regular basis.

The project is actively looking for landowners to host forests.  Suitable land is generally a minimum of an acre and surveyed to be shown as suitable for the tree planting, which takes place around a central hearth.  This area can be expanded over time.  As a diverse example, Leasowe Farm in Leamington has planted over 3000 trees with several local schools and adult mental health groups.Children’s Forest then brings together a Forest School leader and group of children either from a local school or local community group to help plant the trees.  Forest School leaders can also train with Children’s Forest at Facilitator’s courses.

There is great scope for working with sympathetic landowners and other individuals.  Biodynamic farms are great examples of this with two local Children’s Forestsin Sussex being run on such land: Sacred Earth in Horam and Colin Godman’s Farm in Nutley.  Biodynamic cattle are raised and the training courses are held on the latter.  Most forests are so far on private farms that have heard of the initiative through word of mouth.  There are now many independent projects working under their own volition and in their own way.

Biodynamic farms are the perfect environment for the forests.  As well as the farms’ emphasis on meeting the needs of their wider community in a way that encompasses more than just the provision of food, the intention of working with the spirit of the land and other influences are very much in line with Children’s Forest’s ethos, working as they do with an awareness of weather patterns and blessing the land and trees with offerings and song.  If that sounds abstract, such activities have a profound effect on the children, who come away energised and inspired.

Lulu Guinness of The Heugh in Lannercost put it like this: “I’m really lucky as a landowner to have an opportunity to care, to give something back and also to give to the future. It’s so much more than just planting trees, having this whole educational element where the children are really understanding the importance of tending and maintaining and being in relationship with the woodland is such a wider vision for bringing this land back into balance.”

Biodynamic principles of working with open-pollinated, heirloom and non-GMO seeds are also reflected in CF’s work, with a key element of their activities being the establishment of tree nurseries seeking to use local seeds that are inherently more resilient and suited to their immediate environment. Set up by permaculture teacher and nature mentor Pippa Johns, these nurseries can also be key elements in the involvement in schools – the planting of forests on school land can be problematic in terms of granting access to visiting participants in future years.  Any school can set up a tree nursery and they can be a wonderful focus for the children with the obvious opportunities to learn about the trees augmented by the element of lending practical help and engagement.

The establishment of such nurseries – CF’s ‘Forest from Seed’ funding drive mentioned above was one aspect of this – is an excellent example of the reciprocity at the heart of the project.  Early propagation and care of saplings holds huge potential for how humans can help foster tree life.  Accounting for grazing and pestilence, one oak will often produce very few other mature trees in its lifetime whereas, with the help of nurseries, trees that reach maturity can be expanded at the very least a thousand-fold.

Children’s Forest are looking for people who feel sympathetic to its principles to approach landowners, schools, home-education groups and nature-based educators to establish new forests and their supportive communities.  They are also reaching out to businesses and philanthropists with a passion for the welfare of children and the environment to help make new forests possible.  Also contact from those who can raise the profile of the organisation through media work or approaching high profile individuals and being sought.

Back in Sussex, the children mulch the trees.  It’s kind of a party; people play fiddles, flutes and the kids are in their element, splitting off into little groups to fill wheelbarrows of wet woodchip to place around each tree guard.  They planted this forest a year ago and this is one of many return visits to the site where they build up some sense of connection, some sense of their own instrumentality in the welfare of these saplings.  And they know that in the days after they leave school they can return here.  It fosters a sense of constancy that takes its cue from nature herself; a reminder that, in our care for her, we are living up to how we’re meant to be.

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This article originally appeared in the Autumn 2023 issue of Star and Furrow magazine.

Service

~ Jim Hindle ~ Leave a comment

If you can say one thing about the last ten days it’s that much of the world has been united by attention towards the passing away of the late Queen.  Amid the grief and sadness there has been gratitude for and celebration of her life.  We’ve heard it said so many times and yet it still rings true; this was the knowledge and acknowledgement of what a life well lived is meant to look like. 

There’s fatigue undoubtably too, not least that lined in the face of Charles and not only in the miles trekked so studiously, with such care and unnegotiable precision from the Abbey, along the crowds and carnations of the Long Walk.  It’s been a kind of marathon for us all, and not just those queueing for the lying in of state – the saturated coverage in the news, so often strangely soothing, was an attempt at making sense of what had seemed unthinkable – the loss of such a constant servant, an intermediary between the people and the politicians, between us all and something instinctively higher; if nothing else a bastion of what old decency is meant to look like.  Anywhere else in the world it might all look archaic, here some sense of continuity seems settled in our blood.

We know this is the finest show of, if not an old guard, then something with an ancient precedent.  The degree to which its qualities are carried into this dawning era will perhaps be a reflection of how relevant the monarchy is to be seen to us all as we navigate the times ahead.  It is to be seen what lessons, what themes and instruction, can be drawn from a family, not to be envied, and everything they represent – not as some national distraction or soap opera if not always exactly an actual fairy tale but as ultimate servants to us all.  They must sacrifice opinions and overt leverage over issues they undoubtedly hold dear.  They represent us at our best, for the most part, but just as we may appreciate their quiet stewardship, the well-being of the nation rests in every one of us – to use our influence, our voice, to serve that which we value; aware that, at times, the meek may inherit very little and common good often has to be strived for.

The establishment, whatever that is, is only as good as its constituent parts – the public polity is the foundation on which everything must be built.  We can start with ourselves then as we seek to build a better world just as surely as we can hold those elected to account.  But some things, fortunately, are above such striving; service, even our own sovereignty as individuals, form part of the traffic on a two-way street.  It’s probably as good a time as ever to consider social contracts – that the state is there to guarantee the well-being of its citizens; a thing always wise to reflect on.

For now at least we can take comfort, if we wish, in the ancient rituals, the final gleam and glamour of a reign inaugurated in an age of empire as we face a new world we must strive to do right by, whose challenges need no rehearsal, proclamation or lament.  None of us need telling that the world today is utterly changed from seventy years ago and yet something of – or something borne out from – that older world in some respects can serve us.  The generation during and after the last world war sought to build a new society, where we sheltered the weak and vulnerable while the mighty paid their way.  We shouldn’t forget the then controversy of that, of that which had to be fought for or the clear realisation then of those who held the reins that this was our best defence against descent into a repeat of the domestic strife that had fuelled the conflagrations which had so pitted that century up to that point.

Such times as these call for forbearance as well as well as a greater sense of our responsibilities. We know the gifts we have inherited, the way in which, as Newton put it, we stand upon the shoulders of giants.  We can still avoid populism, factionalism while keeping our – and the – peace; joining a great effort to speak as with one voice for the things we should cherish – fraternity, our living earth, seeking to look after the poor while challenging the ones who’d do them down.

We can do so while still seeking unity, consensus, while honouring the power of debate.  But we should not forget we have agency too – that while we now have a new king, we all have it in us to serve our country, our very world, in ways that some of the apparently powerful, whatever their station, may not.  Right now, we have just this – the sombre reflection of what true service can look like; a great dedication to the people and the land, passing up and over, passing on, a gravitas reminding us that very little lasts forever, that we must all do all we can with what time – that fleeting agent, sometimes guarantor – can still potentially grant us.

The Children’s Forest – Planting a Vision

~ Jim Hindle ~ Leave a comment

A new initiative seeks to inspire the next generation to take a practical  environmental role and harness the power of the imagination

It seems there’s never been a better time to plant trees. As the realities of the climate crisis become more undeniable by the day, efforts to mitigate its effects only grow ever more urgent. The crisis plays upon all of our minds, not least those of the children who, untrammelled by the myriad distractions and seeming justifications of work and the adult world, see the problem all the clearer. But not all children are old enough, or of a disposition to join school climate strikes let alone begin to grapple with the complexities that should be occupying all our minds. It’s vital they are given active roles to help tackle the crisis. And tree planting fits this bill ideally.

That is the thinking behind a new initiative affiliated with the Forest School Association. ‘The Children’s Forest’ project seeks to give children an opportunity to plant trees and tend them in future, offering a sanctuary for both those planting trees and the children of all species. Positive envisioning is key to the scheme. As part of the initiative, children are given the opportunity to play in and observe existing woods around them, really coming to experience the outdoor world in all its depth and beauty. From there they are encouraged to form an inner picture of woodland in their imaginations, to picture woodland in all its richness that they can then utilise to inform their vision of the future forests they will help create. They then bring it to life with art, poetry, writing and theatre. The actual planting and tending, with an emphasis to also restore and protect existing forests, follows on from these key creative processes; what has already taken shape in the mind’s eye is given added impetus on its path towards physical embodiment.

Growing up as Protectors

The benefits for children in all of this are numerous. The Children’s Forest gives a structured means by which children of all ages can engage with engendering hope and creating a better future in a very tangible way. It roots them in the reality of living woodland and gives them a clear stewardship role, empowering them to grow up with a perspective and identity of caretakers and protectors. It also gives them the mindset of respect for all species, be they animal, plant or those of the trees themselves.

The initiative gives children the opportunity to come together in their role as creators and protectors, not just with their immediate peers but with those of all ages and backgrounds and as part of a global network, working together with a unified vision and goal. In the same way it also gives landowners and Forest School practitioners opportunities to meet and work together as it does for any others wishing to be affiliated with the project; helping young and old alike improve their ‘social capital’. And it gives everyone the chance to learn about and build relationships with those other cultures; those of the trees themselves and the myriad of creatures they support.

A report by English Nature; ‘Nature and psychological well-being’i, helps confirm what we may already feel about spending time outdoors. Indicators of mental well-being such as trust, tolerance, participation and feelings of safety are boosted by less stressful environmental factors. In an article entitled ‘Are cities bad for your mental health?’ for ‘Psychological Medicine’ in 1994, Glyn Lewis and Margaret Booth state that mental disorder is far less prevalent among those in urban areas with access to gardens or green spaces than those withoutii. Just as levels of mental disequilibrium are lower in children and young adults living in rural areas as opposed to urban ones, we can only extrapolate the benefits for all children of spending time in the woods; and not only ‘passively’ appreciating them but playing an active role in their welfare. For example, Dr. Roger Ulrich of Sweden’s University of Technology cites immediate psychological benefits derived from contact with natureiii just as Professors Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in ‘The Experience of Nature: a psychological perspective’iv and ‘The restorative effects of nature: towards an integrative framework’v helped show that time outdoors helps with ‘attention restoration’.

It takes on an added dimension of course with the state of the climate. A report by The Health Education Authority in 1997 states that positive mental health helps us endure pain and sadnessvi. It also affects our ability to deal with change, transition and life events. Time spent in nature and caring for it help all of us deal with new horizons, just as the psychological benefits of engaging to pragmatically address any issue, rather than simply worrying about it, are well attested by anyone involved in engendering practical change.

Duty to Future Generations

As with other efforts to improve the wider psychological health of our societies, prevention of problems is better than their cure. Time spent in the woods, and actively helping address the environmental crisis, can be seen as a collective ‘immunisation’, helping to propagate positive mindsets. If we are serious about continuing to engage with the climate crisis and going forward as part of a robust and healthy culture, we need such inoculations as much as ever. Picking up the pieces further down the line is at best a false economy and a dereliction of duty to future generations, just as Iroquois culture so famously calls us to consider the impacts on our actions on the ‘seventh generation’ down the line.

Perhaps the initiative’s emphasis of ‘positive envisioning’ holds more potential than might at first appear. As the great writer on traditional culture R.J. Stewart reminds us, we have imagined our way into the ecological crisis, changing the reality of the perfect planet into one shaped by our own mindsvii. Centuries of pollution and denigration took their root first and foremost in a shift in consciousness, from the conception that ourselves and the land are separate entities. Just as they are responsible for our collective plight today, our minds may also be able to help steer us towards a better future, informed by a vision of a restored world, rich in everything it once was and could still be. Perhaps, first and foremost, we have to be willing to simply imagine potential. Realising it remains the true task of our time.

 

i ‘Nature and psychological well-being.’ English Nature Research Reports, 2003.

ii ‘Are cities bad for your mental health?’ Psychological Medicine, 24: 913-915. LEWIS G. & BOOTH, M., 1994

iii ‘Visual landscapes and psychological well being.’ Landscape Research, 4: 17-23. ULRICH, R.S. 1979.

iv ‘The Experience of Nature: a psychological perspective.’ Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. KAPLAN, R. & KAPLAN, S., 1989.

v ‘The restorative effects of nature: toward an integrative framework.’ Journal of Environmental Psychology, 16:169-82. KAPLAN, S., 1995.

vi ‘Mental Health Promotion: a quality framework.’ London. HEALTH EDUCATION AUTHORITY, 1997.

vii ‘Earth Light.’ Mercury Publishing, 1992. R.J. STEWART.

This article was first published in the Autumn 2021 issue of ‘Permaculture’.