my lecture on biodiversity and gardening

It was really great to be invited by the library in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe (Brussels) to provide a lecture on biodiversity and gardening. After one year of stuyding permaculture, I was eager to share some of the things I learned, but I think I was equally thrilled to be able to launch myself that evening as a garden designer !

It is a big step for me, but everything about it feels right! It combines hands on actions to improve our lifestyle and this in harmony with our environment. How to restore the land in its natural abundance and respect ethical principles for people and for nature.

Succession in nature and how to work with nature in your garden

At the lecture, I focused on how to increase biodiversity, how to make your garden more resilient, and how to work less and produce more. I talked about increasing biodiversity through edges and ecosystems, the importance of soil and water management for biodiversity and production, and how to mimic and speed up natural processes in the garden.

How to increase biodiversity with edges

A proper design of the garden is key to make an efficient, resiliant, and productive garden with low maintenance. It is amazing how one can even improve the soil while harvesting an abundance of food. Or how to replenish the underground aquafers as a nice side-effect of your garden project and how to be better prepared for severe climate effects. It was great to share and discuss all this with a nice audience!

Finally, I would like to thank the organizers - and especially Linda - for inviting me! Thank you as well for the book voucher. These are the great books I was able to buy:

looking very much forward to read these!

I really hope I will be able to give similar lectures in the future (in English and Dutch).

my garden design approved

So exicited to have my final work for the permaculture design course approved by Geoff Lawton. I choose our garden described on this blog and worked out a detailed design which I hope to implement in the coming years.

I hope this will lead to many more designs in future, both for people and for nature!

my diploma!

Here is the reason for the long silence on my blog: I went back to study and followed two online courses on permaculture. I finished the first one and got my diploma as a permaculture designer!
 

I am so thrilled about it! I now will be able to "work as a consultant, teacher or designer and restore land to its natural abundance". 

I really look forward to apply the things I learned in my own garden and hope to help others to create a natural abundance :-)