David Rushton: Food Forest Hui Thu 26 to Sat 28 Sep, 2013, Onepoto Domain Thursday evening 4-7pm Through the Auckland rush-hour traffic, busy lives, full schedules, and even a rushed flight from Wellington that came into being after a last-minute cancellation… All 40 of us have appeared here for… well, let’s see. Some of us already know each other; many, though, know only the place food forests have found in our hearts and plans. Here we find ourselves, hoping to take an important step with the support of this group of people we shyly suspect are souls akin and somehow connected. We meet James, he of the flood of preconference emails that have already reassured us that this coming together has been cared for lovingly and organised with experience, wisdom and attention to detail. James is one of those for whom beautiful moments will move tears. This was such a moment for many of us. Meditation, the programme read: Sandra inspired us into a calmer, grounded, even rooted and blossoming space – readying energies to harvest and be harvested. She then situated a calmer us within the productive structures of Human Centred Design. And soon it was time for us to start to play with it: after a warm-up to free the imagination a little - a loose association of ideas written and drawn around each table – Lucia led us to list, without any censorship by self or cohorts, all the players involved in a food forest: we included a plethora - inanimate, animal (including human) and biological. These post-it points, first pasted up randomly, next were gathered into centres of focus – clusters of thought pregnant with realisation. Trish Allen, beloved my many of us as a friend and inspiration, closed this first evening session with a presentation of her community garden and orchard projects in Matakana, fruit of much perseverance, despite the varied obstacles. Thanks for being with us, Trish. You’ve been an anchor for many spirits over the years. We closed with kai – simple and really delicious. Through Lisa in the kitchen and Jo and Bryan’s fresh food from Awhi Farm Centre for Sustainable Practice, the meal connected us yet again with the reasons we came. Looking forward to tomorrow!
Posted on: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 12:26:48 +0000
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