Today I was at SHYPP Leominster as part of an H Energy and and Herefordshire New Leaf funded event, working with lots of lovely people coming in to do workshops with me about chicken keeping, composting, seed sowing, gardening, cooking and lots of different crafts (needle felting a brooch, herb scented decorated bags, decorated seed planters and paper boat making)
you can read more about my day on my work blog, Moors Wood
Showing posts with label workshops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label workshops. Show all posts
Friday, 8 April 2016
Thursday, 3 September 2015
Green Gathering 2015
One of the things I did this August was to volunteer to help at Green Gathering, the most amazing green festival ever. Some of you may remember I went to the last Big Green Gathering back in 2007,
Well this is its baby sibling, risen out of the ashes of the sadly ( due to no fault of its own) defunct BGG which was cancelled at the last moment in 2009.
I traveled down to Peacefield Park, Chepstow during the last week of August, in beautiful weather, to set up camp for a week in the "temporary intentional village" which is the Permaculture area;
I set up my tent and a spare one for Compostgirl and a friend, who were coming for the first two days of the festival proper. I also had Algy and Mrs with me as I was doing a workshop on chicken keeping during the festival. So my car was full to the brim as you can see! You can just see the pen that Algy and Mrs shared in the lhs tent (it's the red thing)
I also helped to set up various structures - tents, yurts and helped with the chores in the Permaculture village.
I had fun with fellow Forest School Leaders, we were providing sessions for the festival goers and their children as well as any one else who wanted to have some fun :)
On Wednesday I was pleased to meet up again with John "Compost" Cossham and I spent a lot of time recording the process of setting up his compost waste reduction area.
The recycling areas dotted around the festival site are quite something! The dedicated recycling crew collect the carefully separated resources from the festival and all is recycled.
This is last years compost pile and the composting area on Wednesday morning, before John got clearing it up.
All the festival compostable waste was brought to John in bags and over the course of the week and the festival he (mostly single handedly!) created a huge compost heap which allows the festival putrecibles to compost down rather than going to landfill. The pile remains there unattended until next years GG.
This is a waste minimization process rather than a soil improver process, as the compost made is full of all sorts of stuff which won't decompose.
But is an amazing feat of work from the Recycling crew and John to reduce landfill from the festival site.
The composting area on Sunday
As well as helping John with the compost area and helping in the Permaculture village and with Forest School I also gave three workshops over the course of the festival, on chicken keeping and composting.
Apart from working hard, I met up with loads of other friends I have not seen for a long time.
I went to some excellent talks, chatted to so many people, bought an lovely poncho from The Woolly Pedlar,
saw some amazing artists and craft people
and of course I partied hard :) Seize The Day, Martha Tilson and Sentient were excellent!
We had two days of terrible rain but apart from that the weather was kind to us - on Wednesday night I was able to watch the meteor showers for several hours lying on my back in the grass :)
I came home Tuesday tired and in need of a shower and with aching knees, but very happy :)
Well this is its baby sibling, risen out of the ashes of the sadly ( due to no fault of its own) defunct BGG which was cancelled at the last moment in 2009.
I traveled down to Peacefield Park, Chepstow during the last week of August, in beautiful weather, to set up camp for a week in the "temporary intentional village" which is the Permaculture area;
I set up my tent and a spare one for Compostgirl and a friend, who were coming for the first two days of the festival proper. I also had Algy and Mrs with me as I was doing a workshop on chicken keeping during the festival. So my car was full to the brim as you can see! You can just see the pen that Algy and Mrs shared in the lhs tent (it's the red thing)
I also helped to set up various structures - tents, yurts and helped with the chores in the Permaculture village.
I had fun with fellow Forest School Leaders, we were providing sessions for the festival goers and their children as well as any one else who wanted to have some fun :)
On Wednesday I was pleased to meet up again with John "Compost" Cossham and I spent a lot of time recording the process of setting up his compost waste reduction area.
The recycling areas dotted around the festival site are quite something! The dedicated recycling crew collect the carefully separated resources from the festival and all is recycled.
This is last years compost pile and the composting area on Wednesday morning, before John got clearing it up.
All the festival compostable waste was brought to John in bags and over the course of the week and the festival he (mostly single handedly!) created a huge compost heap which allows the festival putrecibles to compost down rather than going to landfill. The pile remains there unattended until next years GG.
This is a waste minimization process rather than a soil improver process, as the compost made is full of all sorts of stuff which won't decompose.
But is an amazing feat of work from the Recycling crew and John to reduce landfill from the festival site.
The composting area on Sunday
As well as helping John with the compost area and helping in the Permaculture village and with Forest School I also gave three workshops over the course of the festival, on chicken keeping and composting.
Apart from working hard, I met up with loads of other friends I have not seen for a long time.
I went to some excellent talks, chatted to so many people, bought an lovely poncho from The Woolly Pedlar,
saw some amazing artists and craft people
and of course I partied hard :) Seize The Day, Martha Tilson and Sentient were excellent!
We had two days of terrible rain but apart from that the weather was kind to us - on Wednesday night I was able to watch the meteor showers for several hours lying on my back in the grass :)
I came home Tuesday tired and in need of a shower and with aching knees, but very happy :)
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Crafty things with leaves
I have been preserving autumn leaves today, for use at a craft workshop I am running in a few weeks time.
The method is quite simple, pick leaves, immerse in a mixture of 1 part glycerine, 2 parts water mix in a tray. Make sure the leaves are submerged, you might want to put something on top of them. Keep away from children and pets!
I will let you know how it turned out in a few days time.
Monday, 15 February 2010
Some Monday photographs
A very messy front garden
and a very untidy north border
Some help in the garden!
Tidy now.
I have feathery help in the compost area......
Lots of lovely crafting students and their creations.....
A smiley sun!A very messy Polytunnel, but THIS is a "before" shot"......the "after shot will come later this week....!
Saturday, 6 February 2010
A day out with fellow composters....and a really good talk!
Back from a lovely day out at a social gathering of Herefordshire and Worcestershire Master Composters held at Worcester Woods Country Park. We had a fabulous talk from a member of the Countryside Services, Senior Greenspace Officer Wade Muggleton, on his amazing recycled garden
Wade is a local award winning gardener and writer. His talk was titled "Gardening like a Womble! a talk on permaculture and gardening"
Wade has travelled extensively in New Zealand & Australia, visiting and working on organic farms and permaculture projects. He “walks the talk”, having spend the last 7 years developing his own small garden into an intensive food producing plot that contains more than 23 kinds of fruit and about 20 types of vegetables. “Grow It” magazine awarded him their coveted “plot of the year” award in 2009 and he writes for Permaculture magazine.
It was a really good talk, as Wade said, “if we use small garden plots and allotments we reduce carbon emissions, waste, transport and pollution.” He is the most amazing skip diver, vegetables and fruits were flourishing in an amazing variety of containers and raised beds. As you might expect from an audience of Master Composters, we then had a lively question and answer session .
We had some lovely lunch, followed by a workshop, again headed up by Wade, on making willow structures such as obelisks and hurdles. We all had a really good time and, as always ,I came away enthused and energised by these gatherings with like minded folk.
Also no hens were killed today and it was lovely weather.
Wade is a local award winning gardener and writer. His talk was titled "Gardening like a Womble! a talk on permaculture and gardening"
Wade has travelled extensively in New Zealand & Australia, visiting and working on organic farms and permaculture projects. He “walks the talk”, having spend the last 7 years developing his own small garden into an intensive food producing plot that contains more than 23 kinds of fruit and about 20 types of vegetables. “Grow It” magazine awarded him their coveted “plot of the year” award in 2009 and he writes for Permaculture magazine.
It was a really good talk, as Wade said, “if we use small garden plots and allotments we reduce carbon emissions, waste, transport and pollution.” He is the most amazing skip diver, vegetables and fruits were flourishing in an amazing variety of containers and raised beds. As you might expect from an audience of Master Composters, we then had a lively question and answer session .
We had some lovely lunch, followed by a workshop, again headed up by Wade, on making willow structures such as obelisks and hurdles. We all had a really good time and, as always ,I came away enthused and energised by these gatherings with like minded folk.
Wade demonstrating how to make a willow obelisk
So all in all a good day!.
Master Composters cutting willow.
Finally, if anyone reading this lives in Herefordshire or Worcestershire, the Waste Management team are looking for some more people to train as Master Composters? So, if you are interested, give me an email and I can give you more details?
Me and my lovely willow obelisk.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Paper crafting workshop for grown ups....
Monday night, car loaded up with paper craft stuff, card blanks, stuff to make envelopes, the paper and paper fabric and papercasts the participants all made last week...
Had to iron some of their paper as it was a bit thick and had dried crinkly, but have sorted it all out now!
and the stuff to make up tonights project, which are A5 notebook covers, which are then filled with A5 paper to make a note book...
I got some wonderful wallpaper sample books ( 3 very expensive books!) from the scrapstore and have spent a very nice afternoon making up cards and notepads and books, some as examples, some as future stock.
The envelopes look amazing, though I say so myself...I have used various nature magazines and some wallpaper as well, picking out wonderful pictures, and made beautiful lined envelopes which I will use for my cards, and they look ...wow...
Even CM thought they were good, and he is usually unimpressed by such stuff....
Must have shower before I go though, and get changed into clean, paint-y clothes, rather than clean, gardening clothes....
Couldn't get onto the RSPB site to upload my BGBW results...it was too busy
Update at 11 pm.....Late in from paper crafting workshop ( 10 pm...!) so sat on sofa, drank wine, watched Kirsty Young on social history of UK and went to bed. Slept well, but not long enough..
Had to iron some of their paper as it was a bit thick and had dried crinkly, but have sorted it all out now!
and the stuff to make up tonights project, which are A5 notebook covers, which are then filled with A5 paper to make a note book...
I got some wonderful wallpaper sample books ( 3 very expensive books!) from the scrapstore and have spent a very nice afternoon making up cards and notepads and books, some as examples, some as future stock.
The envelopes look amazing, though I say so myself...I have used various nature magazines and some wallpaper as well, picking out wonderful pictures, and made beautiful lined envelopes which I will use for my cards, and they look ...wow...
Even CM thought they were good, and he is usually unimpressed by such stuff....
Must have shower before I go though, and get changed into clean, paint-y clothes, rather than clean, gardening clothes....
Couldn't get onto the RSPB site to upload my BGBW results...it was too busy
Update at 11 pm.....Late in from paper crafting workshop ( 10 pm...!) so sat on sofa, drank wine, watched Kirsty Young on social history of UK and went to bed. Slept well, but not long enough..
Monday, 2 November 2009
A very busy half term holiday
As well as having fun with Compostgirl, I spent the half term holiday week leading up to Samhain/Halloween working with groups of children on various seasonal craft activities...mainly involving pumpkins ( now there's a surprise!)
All told I have been involved, one way or another, with the carving of 54 pumpkins, over the last 5 days in October.....
On one of my days off working we went round to see our very good friend M and her 2 lovely children for the day, we had lunch, the children played, M and I chatted and we carved ( you guessed it!) pumpkins!
Here is Compostgirl carving pumpkins with her friends.
The craft sessions I ran also involved lots of glue and glitter and orange paint
And lots of bats and spiders, of course!
I DO like my work :-) (even though it took a very long time to wash out all the glue and glitter in my hair.....)
but I think I will give pumpkin a miss for a few days...... :-))
All told I have been involved, one way or another, with the carving of 54 pumpkins, over the last 5 days in October.....
On one of my days off working we went round to see our very good friend M and her 2 lovely children for the day, we had lunch, the children played, M and I chatted and we carved ( you guessed it!) pumpkins!
Here is Compostgirl carving pumpkins with her friends.
The craft sessions I ran also involved lots of glue and glitter and orange paint
And lots of bats and spiders, of course!
I DO like my work :-) (even though it took a very long time to wash out all the glue and glitter in my hair.....)
but I think I will give pumpkin a miss for a few days...... :-))
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)