A cultural disconnection between the man-made world and the biosphere lies behind the grave challenges we face today. We either don’t think about rivers, soils, and biodiversity at all – or we treat them as resources whose only purpose is to feed the economy. This ‘metabolic rift’ – between the living world, and the economic […]
learning & design
Connected Botanic Garden
At Pontio, in North Wales, a new Masters by Research in Relational Design (#api_MRRD) helps you make a positive step-change in a live wellness project for a region. Here is a project scenario. When the first botanical gardens were established 3,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, they combined scientific enquiry with public education. Today’s botanical […]
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Arborists Arising: From Tree Care to Tree Camping
At Pontio, in North Wales, a new Masters by Research in Relational Design (#api_MRRD) helps you make a positive step-change in a live wellness project for a region. One project scenario could involve performance equipment for professional arborists.
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A roof, a skill, a market: The multiple dimensions of scale
“Beware the scale trap”. In a Letter To Philanthropists Parker Mitchell, a former CEO of Engineers Without Borders in Canada, advised potential donors that “scale is important, but don’t rush it. Most good ideas take time – to iron out the details, to bring down the costs, to be tested in different environments”. Organic demand-driven scale will […]
Also posted in city & bioregion, development & design
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Lean Logic: A Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It
Five years ago I obtained an extraordinary 736 page book called Lean Logic: A Dictionary For The Future and How To Survive It. Written over a thirty year period by the English ecologist David Fleming, the book had been published in a limited edition after the author’s untimely death. Now, thanks to an heroic, expert […]
Also posted in perception, transition & design
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Biennials and system change
I was invited to give a keynote in Milan to the general assembly of the International Biennials Association. My talk was called Life’s Work: Biennials and Regeneration. Here below is a summary: The sad-looking structure above was the Dutch Pavilion not long after the Hannover World Expo ended in 2000. Having helped to write the […]
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Wild Learning: 96 Ecological Learning Resources
Although we’ve allowed the metabolic interaction between man and the earth to wither, educators are working on a cure.
Also posted in Handouts & Lists
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How We Meet Is As Important As Why
This is the text of my talk at the OuiShare Festival in Paris today. Did any of you wander around in a group last night – trying to agree on a place to eat? Welcome to the sharing economy! Sharing is hard! And that’s just about one meal. Think about the food systems of a […]
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Urban-Rural reconnection: research statement for Tongji University
In April, I began work as an adjunct (visiting) professor at Tongji University (College of Design and Innovation) in Shanghai. As part of the appointment process, I submitted the research statement below. This text accompanies the new preface for the Chinese edition of my book and my recent paper for the journal She Ji, Bioregioning: […]