The Green Gathering

By Phil Moore of Permaculture People

A festival is a funny thing. A celebration, an escape, an alternative, a way of life. Many things rolled up into a musically charged programme of fun, frolics and serious chats. Often in a field. 

What struck me about the Green Gathering was its commitment. Appropriately billed as a 'gathering', and free from the dictates of advertising, the Green Gathering felt like a genuine attempt at saying, "Oi! Another world is possible and look-y right here!". A world where we think about where our shit goes (check their Indiegogo compost loo crowdfunder), where we can say no to things as well create spaces where differences in opinion can be heard respectfully; where consumerism isn't the barometer of modern living, and where the exchange of ideas, foods, crafts and skills are celebrated and shared.

Windmills and blue skies

Occupying a temporary space next to Chepstow raceourse with the shell of the 18th century Piercefield House lurching from one side and views toward Severn Bridge and into the folds of the green Wye Valley at the other, the Green Gathering is set at a striking location. 

Composed of different 'Zones' we were crewing at the Permaculture Zone which was to be our home for the next five days. We managed the info stall tent letting people know what was going on. The vivacious Mike Feingold held introductions to Permaculture, author and permaculture teacher Caroline Aitken shared her knowledge & passion for food preservation; Biochar Ed spoke of the wonders of pyrolysis, beekeeping introduction, chickens, composting, a solar power workshop and so much more took place. It was also a great chance to meet many faces - new and old.

A mini-festival within a festival the energy and diversity of the workshops was testament to the giddying array of what the Green Gathering had to offer.

Seed bomb making workshop

Recycling solar power windmill

Mike Feingold and paint

Caroline Aitken workshops

In the wider reaches of the fields music bounced and echoed around the hillside depressions that formed natural amphitheatres. The greats Seize the Day and Martha Tilston played alongside newcomers and regulars.

Walking from the Tipi Circle to the Healing Field through to the Faerie Glade and on to the campaign area, the ease with which different ideas sat side by side made for a refreshingly relaxed yet stimulating festival that was also child friendly.

All the energy and drama poured into a specific place for a set amount of time resulted in a beautiful world of music, muck & magic, politics, fancy dress and blowing bubbles where all hues of humans and tastes gathered and jiggled their wants and wares. 

Powered by the Sun yet motivated by people the Green Gathering isn't just an event. It's an idea. A long standing festival in the peculiarly British tradition of celebrating stuff in a field, the Green Gathering has a rich, and tumultuous, history. Such gatherings are fantastic opportunities to delve deeper in the ideas and practical workings of how to lead a low-impact lifestyle with having fun at the same time. I would heartily recommend it as a place to feed your soul and colour your imagination.

For more about the Green Gathering: http://www.greengathering.org.uk

The history of the Permaculture Zone at Green Gathering - and what's in store this year!

By Permaculture Association member and Permaculture Zone Coordinator Tammi Dallaston

Green Gathering's Permaculture Zone - a place to learn, get involved, and meet new friends!

From its roots at Lower Pertwood Farm in the late 1990s, the permaculture area at the Green Gathering (formerly Big Green Gathering) has always sought out and linked permaculture practitioners in the UK and beyond.


Our original gardens were designed by Patrick Whitefield, Ken Fern (Plants for a Future), Helen and Jim Morris-Ridout (Copper Beech designs), and Tammi Dallaston (Made in Mach), and tended by many many volunteers over the years. Since the festival moved to Somerset, and latterly Chepstow, the permaculture area has relied on temporary displays, engaging speakers and a diversity of practical workshops.


At our new home in Chepstow, the permaculture area is billed as a temporary intentional community. We eat together, organise our days together, freely ask for and offer help, and showcase an inclusive way of life that can be possible with the three permaculture tenets: earth care, people care and fair shares.

This year the Permaculture Area will incorporate a Green Parenting space, Forest School, Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF) stall, Permaculture Association and International Permaculture Convergence info, Patrick Whitefield Memorial, Organic Tannery, free Seed Swap, wood-powered thermo-electric and solar phone charging, and a fireside space for conversation, singing and plotting…

PLUS workshops, to include:
Introduction to Permaculture: by Mike Feingold; meet him on youtube

Ecovillage Living: a daily workshop discussing ecovillage living, Welsh planning law, designing your dream home/community, and life in the Lammas ecovillage, by Tao and Hoppi Wimbush

Growing for Preserving: see permacultureplate.blogspot.co.uk

Dynamic Woodland Management: using Permaculture Principles, with Stephen Watts

...and much much more.

Not yet a member? Join today!

Get ready to celebrate International Permaculture Day 2015!

International Permaculture Day takes place on May 3rd this year, and plans are already underway to celebrate in a variety of exciting ways!

Edible Landscapes London, just one of many fantastic projects within our network of permaculture demonstration sites, regularly host an annual plant give away to celebrate the event. This year's plant give away takes place on May 4th.

Edible plants at Edible Landscapes London

Edible Landscapes London is a volunteer-led project which aims to help Londoners grow more of their own food. They propagate edible plants which are then used on local growing projects. They also teach people how to recognise plants, identify which parts of the plant are edible, how to propagate them, how they are grown in a forest garden, and even how to cook with them.

Because we're based in a busy London park, we're very used to having people wander in to visit our project. International Permaculture Day is a great way of explicitly bringing the permaculture elements to the surface.

This year we're celebrating by showing people around our site and letting them leave with a few perennial plants for their community food growing project. - Jo Homan of Edible Landscapes London

A plant give away is a fantastic way to celebrate International Permaculture Day, as it gives people the opportunity to come together and meet like minded people, learn something new about permaculture and keep it in mind as they watch their new plant thrive throughout the year.

There are many other simple ways to celebrate throughout May. Why not host a permaculture coffee morning, share one of your permaculture designs with a local group, or invite friends to a permaculture meal?

This year Permaculture Association members can add their events and courses to www.permaculture.org.uk in association with International Permaculture Day - we will promote these to contacts in your area.

Be sure to had your events to International Permaculture Day website so that the Uk is well represented during this global celebration of permaculture!

• Check out the Edible Landscapes London facebook page here.
• www.ediblelandscapeslondon.org.uk