Ambassadors of Change Erasmus+

Day 1 Ambassadors of Change

"If nothing changes then nothing will change." Reflecting on what changes we can make to the way we eat, how much waste we produce, how changing agriculture can impact a more ecological future, how we can change ourselves to improve our society and how changing our relationship with nature could improve our health. 
This activity kept me coming back to the same points; 
‌ Be aware of yourself, the products you consume, where your food is coming from, the impact you have on others.
‌ Educate yourself to understand food systems, what you consume and what happens to the waste. 
‌Buy local, develop new skills and share your knowledge with others.
‌Be an example of the change you want to see in the world.

Let's grow together!  

Day 2 Ver da terre production - Living soil 

Entering the earth today understanding the layers and components of soil to create the best environment for productive market gardening. Compost, mulching, mixing or not, does it hold water, is it too compact? How can we manage all of that?
As I came here with a mission to collect relevant information to take home, I'm relieved to see that there are many things we are already practicing. Some of the new information that I'll definitely put into practice when I return;
- Start with the home = build the structure of the soil, no till, leave the roots in the soil, cover 6 months during spring season, remove and plant into the mulch.
- Feed the soil = Making compost with a variety of leaves, wood chips, animal manure etc and adding it to the garden when it has started to decompose, not waiting until it has finished. This adds more to the composition of the soils, whereas fully composted only adds food directly for the plants. 
- The goal is the quality of soil, over feeding only the plants. 
- Mulching potatoes and leeks. Clearing a space, laying the potatoes, covering with straw up to 50 cm depth, once ready harvest the potatoes, then plant in their place leeks, once leeks are ready, the tiny leftover potatoes may also have grown again giving a second harvest   definitely worth a go!
- Same with onions  

This is such a small part of the information available today, but the highlights for me! 

Thanks to Celine Colombier from Ver da Terre production - YouTube channel about agroecology (french) and again to The Northern Lights project for hosting this course  

Day 3 Forest gardening for production

What a great day     
We spent today looking at how we can design our own forest garden. Going through the components to examine, before putting the plan on paper. How to plan and then an afternoon in action, creating our own plans for The Northern Lights project learning space.
This type of design is really trying to minimise resources coming from outside by creating a closed circle of resources. Over time as the space develops interventions such as pest control, pollination and mulching will all happen onsite. 
There has been so much helpful information today from the seminar and I also feel the group getting more comfortable with each other and the community life happening fluidly.
We took a spontaneous foraging walk after lunch and spent some time learning recipes in the kitchen today. 
I think the thing I love most about these learning experiences through Erasmus + is how the interactions and knowledge sharing deepens as we move through the seminar and get to know individuals objectives and journey as well as the project needs. 
A diverse system on all levels here!   

Day 4 Animal management 

Well I could have never imagined so much math involved in managing pastures, for now it's not in my plan to make animals for meat production, but there were a few important points from today that will make all the difference for the way I take care of Burrito (our donkey) and who knows if we have more animals in future. So top topics are included; 
- Observe your land before putting the animals there, making sure your grasses are a minimum of 3 leaves!
- Move them before their second round of grazing.
- Regular movement helps to feed the soil and allow the plants to regrow and produce better quality of pasture for your animals.
- The soil should never be visible!
- X x 4 to B by the ß over 1 = lost in all the maths today  
- The space division was very complex and I couldn't really grasp how to decide the spaces, but I also understood that it's very specific to which animal, the soil quality, climate and purpose of keeping animals. 

What I loved about the day was the changing classrooms, the temperature dropped today and we have been mostly in unheated spaces. A team of people helped stage a new learning space in the green house which warmed us all and gave us a new classroom experience! The wonders of informal learning, always inspired!

Day 5 - Community farm day

The day started with a tear and a breakfast reflection. Reflecting on the old and how it can transform into something new (dreamcatcher). The past may not have been what we want now or for the future, but there is so much wisdom and choices and good intentions. The responsibility is with us to move into a future that makes sense for us and days like these are really idealistic. 
After days of studying the soil and the connections between the plants, microorganisms, animal grazing and mulching material we understand there is a vital connection between them all, when one connection breaks or is removed the systems quality and productivity is lowered. 
This also seems true in a community system, when we each take our role and do it... be it a task or an activity, a communication or an organisation, each role is as important as the other a connection in the link of a functioning system and we can see when a task isn't done or if a message wasn't communicated, the smooth running is affected and so we can observe and reflect and alter the component or maybe is just time for a dance, a hug, a sharing moment around the fire to regain the balance in the system. 

Another day of study today @The northern lights project.

Topic - Green manure! 

We explored different ways to use crops as ground cover, fertilizar and much. As with most if this weeks topics we return to the same very important points of land regeneration. Diversifying the land and most importantly improving the quality of the soil. Another great way to do that is by planting crops with different root systems to give better soil structure and adding nitrogen enhancing crops to the ground cover as well. The soil should never be bare. So the crops are planted on the land to prepare it for the coming season, you can chop it down and plant straight into it. This means all the nutrients return to the soil and the structure isn't disturbed by pulling out the roots. There are so many techniques coming into regenerative farming, it's very exciting to be a part of it. 

We also got a great team together to improve the fencing system here on the farm! Now the sheep will have more space and hopefully they won't get into the veggies    

Ending the day around the fire is so warming in these cold days and today was no different. As our connections with each other strengthen, we realise how close we are to the end of this intense training.