Hull Greenshare Conference: Organising the Hull Permaculture Network

by Lausanne Tranter

 Member of the Permaculture Association

The Hull Greenshare Conference  was held on the 19th of March at the Guildhall in Hull. An impressive 90 people attended to listen to a varied array of speakers, including Joe Atkinson who gave a presentation on the principles of Permaculture and their relevance today.

Other speakers were:

Cllr. Mancey (Portfolio holder): Energy City
Simon Bowens (FoE): Energy in UK
Kate Macdonald, Lisa Bovill: Timebanks & Alternative exchange mechanisms
Joanna Bevan (City University New York): Community Resilience
Mick Marston (UK Fed. City farms & Community gardens)

This interesting list probably demonstrates the key

role of Hull Greenshare Network as a meeting point.

The network aims to provide a way for environmentally minded/green organisations to communicate and connect with each other and the public and private sector.

It also aims to inspire,promote and celebrate the green agenda and support green initiatives.

We also organised sessions of table-top discussions in-between the speakers, and I facilitated a morning session on permaculture. It was quite informal, but I was able to demonstrate how simple it is to incorporate the principles of permaculture into everyday life around the home. The plan was for 10 people to attend each discussion and I'm pleased to say I had10! Joe Atkinson hosted a session in the afternoon - again all spaces filled - where he explained design priciples and also encouraged more people to join the Hull Permaculture Network.

All in all, it was a successful and enjoyable Conference


Hull Permaculture Network

The newly created group met for the first time on wed 2nd April. 10 of us met up in the pub and had a lovely evening getting to know each other and talk about our various plots and projects. we all decided that we should visit each others sites, and help each other as and when required. We're a very informal gathering of folk with the same interests. So far we have about 25 people interested in getting involved. Last Wenesday, we came up with a few ideas, such as cider making at one couples apple-filled garden next autumn, and building a cob oven.

It's early days yet, but watch this space!