Winglewood is both my home and place for imagination & I started the food forest before reaching out to start any of the conversations for this podcast.

After learning so much from my time spent here co-creating with Nature I'd like to start sharing more of the journey with you.

I've created a video to go alongside this episode so you can see a short intro to the food forest.

You'll also find an invite to join for some growing space discussions on the same page.

Find the video and invite here: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/food-forest-small-project-of-regeneration

Sharon is the founding director of EartHand Gleaners Society

Alongside her artistic and practical endeavours transforming fibres into clothing, Sharon's work also includes community projects that layer up the opportunities for people to reconnect with one another, with plants and with place.

Combined with a personal challenge of 'growing her own clothing' this all comes through to bring us a story of re-finding what it means to be human; exploring a slower, more purposeful pace of life as an outcome of acting more sustainably in the creation of the stuff we use and depend upon.

For a further breakdown of this discussion see the timestamps below.

See the video version of this episode here: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/sustainable-textiles-sharon-kallis/

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More Formats from We Are Carbon:

[Shorter Video Format with Animations] - Can All Food be Regenerative. With Patrick Holden: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/can-all-food-be-regenerative/

[Story Telling Audio Format] - Soil (My Common Sense Take) : https://www.wearecarbon.earth/soil-path-to-whole-systems-thinking/

Explore ways to support this content: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/your-support/

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:07:00 - Sharon's work integrating textiles within community gardens

00:16:40 - Connectivity, well being & complexity

00:28:08 - Challenges of community land access

00:34:26 - Invasive plant species for textile use

00:37:52 - Modern disconnection & unsustainable textiles

00:48:08 - Growing your own clothes! Sharon's journey

01:02:27 - The steps we can all take towards more sustainable textiles

David is the director of Natural Building Systems

His work not only explores how we can transform the impact of our buildings upon the climate, but how the use of natural materials is key to both creating and maintaining a healthy living environment for ourselves too.

Natural Building Systems is working directly with farmers to develop a supply chain for the hemp fibre utilised within their unique prefabricated system. Combining the best of nature and technology to work towards an affordable, adaptable system of building for a more regenerative future.

For a further breakdown of this discussion see the timestamps below.

See the video version of this episode here: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/carbon-sink-homes-david-nicholson/

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More Formats from We Are Carbon:

[Shorter Video Format with Animations] - Can All Food be Regenerative. With Patrick Holden: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/can-all-food-be-regenerative/

[Story Telling Audio Format] - Soil (My Common Sense Take) : https://www.wearecarbon.earth/soil-path-to-whole-systems-thinking/

Explore ways to support this content: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/your-support/

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:06:10 - Embodied carbon in buildings - the size of today's problem

00:13:30 - The transition needed

00:17:30 - Synthetic insulation - look at the bigger picture

00:22:00 - The properties of hemp & short life cycle crops

00:29:00 - Utilising short life cycle crops as a more sustainable resource than timber?

00:34:30 - Working & developing with farmers

00:43:30 - The biobased modular system of Natural Building Systems

00:54:10 - The experience for a builder / developer to work with NBS & adaptability

01:00:00 - The experience to live within a NBS construction

01:05:00 - Collaborating / getting in touch / learning more

Serenity is the co-founder of The Open Food Network.

She comes from a long line of farmers on both sides of her family and has grown up with a keen awareness of the challenges and contradictions of balancing the needs of nature and the needs of farmers within a centralised food system that does a poor job of supporting either.

We talk about the motivations that led to the creation of The Open Food Network alongside the ongoing ambitions and evolution of this now expansive enterprise.

For a further breakdown of this discussion see the timestamps below.

See the video version of this episode here: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/serenity-hill-open-food-network/

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More Formats from We Are Carbon:

[Shorter Video Format with Animations] - Can All Food be Regenerative. With Patrick Holden: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/can-all-food-be-regenerative/

[Story Telling Audio Format] - Soil (My Common Sense Take) : https://www.wearecarbon.earth/soil-path-to-whole-systems-thinking/

Explore ways to support this content: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/your-support/

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

02:51 - Motivation & background to start the OFN

08:40 - Farming with nature - influences from both parents

13:42 - Challenges faced by farmers in current food system

17:07 - What is a social enterprise?

18:50 - What is the Open Food Network?

24:00 - Input from Nick Weir (Open Food Network UK)

27:54 - Shared learning, resource & investment

30:21 - OFN success stories and uses

36:00 - Evolving the investment and subsidy schemes for greater food access for all

39:39 - 'The Power of Food'- valuing food beyond a basic commodity

44:25 - Serenity and Kirsten's farm

46:11 - Learning more

Daniel co-owns and runs 'Des Heures Dehors' with his wife Hélène.

His passion and connection to nature is clear, and he has a wide range of experience producing food, designing gardens and food forests and running unique enterprises; such an edible flower farm, to make small scale growing profitable.

We touch on all of this alongside gleaning some very practical guidance for anyone considering creating an edible, biodiversity garden.

See the video version of this episode here: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/daniel-deniaud-powell-biodiversity-gardening/

For a further breakdown of this discussion see the timestamps below, and use the references section to find links out to Daniel's work and a range of further resources that he mentions.

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More Formats from We Are Carbon:

[Shorter Video Format with Animations] - Can All Food be Regenerative. With Patrick Holden: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/can-all-food-be-regenerative/

[Story Telling Audio Format] - Soil (My Common Sense Take) : https://www.wearecarbon.earth/soil-path-to-whole-systems-thinking/

Explore ways to support this content: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/your-support/

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00:00:00 - Intro

00:05:12 - What is an Edible biodiversity garden?

00:09:15 - Soil health & principles from regenerative farming

00:12:44 - Supporting diversity / creating an ecosystem

00:18:34 - Our bad relationship with creepy crawlies & creatures in our spaces

00:24:33 - Nature isn't fully functioning - rewilding through standing back OR taking action?

00:27:49 - Daniel's dream garden

00:31:58 - Daniel's favourite species to include in a garden design

00:35:50 - Including food in the biodiversity garden

00:41:19 - How to produce food with low maintenance - approach and plant suggestions

00:48:08 - Commercial business from a small growing space

00:55:39 - Gardens at restaurants / working with chefs

01:03:10 - Current focuses

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References mentioned by Daniel:

• Charles Dowding - Vast info on producing food 'No Dig'.
• Richard Perkins - Farming in small spaces
• Huw Richards - Video learning for self sufficieny / permaculture gardening
• Dr Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web School

We discuss why our current large scale systems of agriculture and food supply create a barrier for transitioning to more sustainable farming approaches, along with the obstacles it causes for consumers who are seeking food choices that are healthy for themselves and nature.

We also learn of Jason's journey in creating a farmer owned co-operative, the values and approaches that brought it success, and his later move to his current business 'Farmer Direct Organic'.

You can find the Farmer Direct Organic website here: https://fdorganic.com/

See the video version of this episode here: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/jason-freeman-regenerative-food-supply/

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More Formats from We Are Carbon:

[Shorter Video Format] - Can All Food be Regenerative. With Patrick Holden: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/can-all-food-be-regenerative/

[Story Telling Audio Format] - Soil (My Common Sense Take) : https://www.wearecarbon.earth/soil-path-to-whole-systems-thinking/

Explore ways to support this content: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/your-support/

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Other We Are Carbon episodes focused on transforming food supply:

Evolving the Local Food System - A compilation with 4 guests in my home county of Lincolnshire

Local Food Ecosystems - in conversation with Duncan Catchpole, Founder of the Cambridge Food Hub

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For a further breakdown of this discussion see the timestamps below:

00:00 - Jason Intro & importance of soil health

02:05 - Welcome to episode

04:17 - Soil health, nutrition and human health

07:18 - How our systems of agriculture can be a barrier to transitioning farming practices

14:11 - Systems change from the bottom up

22:57 - Connecting farmers and consumers - Jason's journey creating a farmer owned co-op

36:21 - Stepping away from the co-op & the new business

39:56 - Traceability and pesticide testing

46:07 - The future of supply for organic and regenerative foods?

52:33 - Learning more / connecting with Jason

This episode brings my own personal dialogue exploring our farming system through a regenerative lens.

A stark realisation of not only how bizarre it is, but of the potential we have as humans to step in, turn the tide and become a beneficial element from this place forward.

This journey is given life and rooted down by the insights and experiences of three wonderful guests from the podcast.

Learn more from our guests:

Agroforestry producer Bernadette Millard helps us appreciate the potential of perennial foods. She shares experiences from her journey transforming her farm in the desert borderlands of Oman into a thriving oasis.

The full We Are Carbon episode with Bernadette can be found here.

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Organic farmer Hannah Thorogood offers insights into why we should be imitating nature with our raising of livestock.

She utilises permaculture and holistic grazing on her 130 acre farm, The InkPot Organic Farm in the UK.

The original We Are Carbon episode with Hannah can be found here - as part of a compilation about building a local food system.

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And filmmaker Peter Byck brings observations from his extensive project with a wide range of scientists who have studied nature side by side on farms using regenerative grazing compared with farms grazing conventionally.

Peter's full interview for We Are Carbon will be published in early summer.

In the meantime you can learn more about his extensive research project and the corresponding film series 'Roots So Deep, You Can See The Devil Down There'.

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Watch the first episode in this format:

"So... What Even is Soil??" - Listen here: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/soil-path-to-whole-systems-thinking/

Patrick is the founder and CEO of 'The Sustainable Food Trust' and he has a great range of insights to offer around this topic.

We discuss what our diets would need to look like if we were to achieve a transition to sustainable and regenerative farming across the whole of the UK, along with the problem of dishonest pricing within our food system.

We also touch on why Patrick is optimistic that change is possible due to a trend of more and more people taking an interest in the story of their food.

Learn more about The Sustainable Food Trust here: https://sustainablefoodtrust.org/

See the video version of this episode along with additional references mentioned here: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/patrick-holden-sustainable-food-trust

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More Formats from We Are Carbon:

[Shorter Video Format] - From Healthy Soil Comes Healthy Food. With Claire Mackenzie: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/soil-health-and-regenerative-farming/

[Story Telling Audio Format] - Soil (My Common Sense Take) : https://www.wearecarbon.earth/soil-path-to-whole-systems-thinking/

Explore ways to support this content: https://www.wearecarbon.earth/your-support/

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For a further breakdown of this discussion see the timestamps below:

00:00 Intro

02:20 About Patrick

03:27 Why is cheap food not really so cheap??

11:50 True Cost Accounting

15:16 The impact of food production on our energy & vitality

22:55 Would we have enough food if all farming became regenerative?

26:06 What does a sustainable diet look like?

34:46 Multiple Approaches of The Sustainable Food Trust

44:59 What steps can a farmer take if they'd like to transition?

48:07 Do you feel we're on track to move things forward?