page title icon Bursting with potentialities…. Spring News

Spring Celebrations.

Springiness

Dunain Future Forest is a special place.  Some friends and I decided to renew some seasonal festivals at the site, starting with this one; and we let the local school children know.  It was also in need of a bit of a clearing, as some folk had taken it upon themselves to party a bit hard and burn the furniture as well as having a good go at the trees.   The day was well attended with eager tree climbers and fire lovers; with storytelling and baked tatties to boot it was a grand day where i was delighted to get to know the neighbours better.  I wrote a little on how accessible the woods are as an outdoor learning destination here.

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Time for Trees.

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My apprenticeship with ‘Inverness Trees’ began in December 2013.  Since then, We have washed and prepared the seed trays and ….. Over the past few weeks we have sown birch and planted out hazel and gean (wild cherry) that have been chitting in dark bins over the winter period.  If you fancy making a significant contribution to wild places in Scotland,  Join me as I co-host our annual ‘Time for Trees’ or ‘Autumn Workings‘; a few places are still available; click here for more details or give me a call.

Oven building.

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The van had a makeover during the winter period and she has made hew way to Edinburgh!  Laura Gamwell & I have taken on two oven building projects in April and May.  A private residency at Murrayburn primary school in Edinburgh’s Sighthill and a public workshop in partnership with the Braid Hills Autism initiative at the Hermitage of Braid.   Both are full but you can see what the sort of thing we get up to here.

APIOL.

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After a fruitful period of reflection and self directed study over the winter period, i have submitted my application for my accreditation with the Institute of Outdoor Learning.  Special thanks go to my mentor Mr Alan Smith, Outdoor Learning Officer and John Muir Award Manager for the Cairngorms for his support and direction.  Al is now one of the few Accredited Senior Practitioners of Outdoor Learning in Scotland.  You can follow him on twitter here.

Direction for 2014.

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Following a period of renewal over the winter period, I have resolved to taking 2014 to observe, record and reflect at Anam Cara; rather than my usual penchant for willfully designing and initiating lots of new courses and projects.  Having a land base has been a long time coming and…. When anything is possible, I figure it best to slow down and really consider what it is that is needed and what it is that I wish to spend time doing.

That said, I am actively pursuing a period of foraging, receptivity and physical work on our seven acres here above Inverness.  My rationale is that this will afford a far more productive, responsive and joined up approach to what regenerative design really entails at a local and regional level.

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Whilst I will be accepting contracted residential courses for Facilitation and Support work; my self-employed and sessional work will otherwise be confined to one day a week.  I’ll also be staffing at the Annual ‘Art of Mentoring’   in Falkland this year and i hope to see you around the fire.

Enjoy the freely available vitality…. It’s Springtime.

 

 

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