I have just returned from another round of watering our youngest trees on the land… It’s been a summer of periods of very dry weather and torrential downpours. Sadly for some of our broadleaf trees our watering efforts came too late. We have also finished defining the Northern Heath areas – this involved a lot of gorse cutting by hand over a two year period. There is a bit of chainsaw and brushcutter work left and then it will take minimal effort every two years to keep these precious habitats open.
As the covid restrictions were eased, what was most evident this summer was the increased human activity on the land. We had Paul Howell’s vision quest group camping here again for a week plus the shelter being used on a regular basis by the Northern Light Sangha and less regularly by other groups. Birgit Carow initiated and held gatherings around a fire for young families with small kids for many weeks on Friday mornings -it’s been a joy to see them around the picnic table and in the woods. We also had an unusual overnight visit from a lady with two horses who does cross country charity rides… In addition we had three work-parties with about 10 attendees each – to catch up with work in the Edible Woodland Garden with a small but much appreciated grant from Volunteering Matters to help fund this work. A few people have also started using and enjoying staying on our camping pads during the last couple of months. Other events included ‘Hinterland Tours’ being restarted with some great feedback and as you probably know this is the first year when we, the Findhorn Hinterland Trust, are offering our own retreat programmes.
I am particularly excited about running these retreats here in and for Hinterland as they are a way for us to share some of the wisdom amongst our members as well as the magic of the land. They also open a potential and much needed income stream for the Findhorn Hinterland Trust and the partnership with the Findhorn Foundation is proving to be a fruitful one – hopefully building a model of cross partnerships within our community in the future.
The first weekend retreat held at the beginning of July was very successful with two of the retreat participants coming back to support the next retreat. We are about to start that first week-long ‘Out of the Ashes – turning crisis into opportunity’ camping retreat in a few day’s time which, as I write this, is almost fully booked! There are 100 details to consider and organise before the first participants arrive. As this is a first for us there is still a good deal of learning involved …
On a personal level I am grateful for the FHT for having taken me on as their first employee after I was made redundant by the FF in June. It is a half time position and I have to be creative about finding other income but I believe that creating this position of employment for a Land Manager is another step for the trust towards a sustainable future.
Many blessings,
Kajedo Wanderer, August 9, 2021
Summer News from the Land August 21
I have just returned from another round of watering our youngest trees on the land… It’s been a summer of periods of very dry weather and torrential downpours. Sadly for some of our broadleaf trees our watering efforts came too late. We have also finished defining the Northern Heath areas – this involved a lot of gorse cutting by hand over a two year period. There is a bit of chainsaw and brushcutter work left and then it will take minimal effort every two years to keep these precious habitats open.
As the covid restrictions were eased, what was most evident this summer was the increased human activity on the land. We had Paul Howell’s vision quest group camping here again for a week plus the shelter being used on a regular basis by the Northern Light Sangha and less regularly by other groups. Birgit Carow initiated and held gatherings around a fire for young families with small kids for many weeks on Friday mornings -it’s been a joy to see them around the picnic table and in the woods. We also had an unusual overnight visit from a lady with two horses who does cross country charity rides… In addition we had three work-parties with about 10 attendees each – to catch up with work in the Edible Woodland Garden with a small but much appreciated grant from Volunteering Matters to help fund this work. A few people have also started using and enjoying staying on our camping pads during the last couple of months. Other events included ‘Hinterland Tours’ being restarted with some great feedback and as you probably know this is the first year when we, the Findhorn Hinterland Trust, are offering our own retreat programmes.
I am particularly excited about running these retreats here in and for Hinterland as they are a way for us to share some of the wisdom amongst our members as well as the magic of the land. They also open a potential and much needed income stream for the Findhorn Hinterland Trust and the partnership with the Findhorn Foundation is proving to be a fruitful one – hopefully building a model of cross partnerships within our community in the future.
The first weekend retreat held at the beginning of July was very successful with two of the retreat participants coming back to support the next retreat. We are about to start that first week-long ‘Out of the Ashes – turning crisis into opportunity’ camping retreat in a few day’s time which, as I write this, is almost fully booked! There are 100 details to consider and organise before the first participants arrive. As this is a first for us there is still a good deal of learning involved …
On a personal level I am grateful for the FHT for having taken me on as their first employee after I was made redundant by the FF in June. It is a half time position and I have to be creative about finding other income but I believe that creating this position of employment for a Land Manager is another step for the trust towards a sustainable future.
Many blessings,
Kajedo Wanderer, August 9, 2021