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Nurtured by Nature
Do you care deeply about the natural world? Have you struggled with eco-anxiety, overwhelm & despair due to the constant negative narrative about the environment & the mass depletion of biodiversity? Do you feel a sense of powerlessness & hopelessness in the face of the inaction at governmental level?
I’m on a mission to shift the conversation, searching out empowering solutions & evidence of what’s already being achieved, to restore our collective hope & remind us that we are not powerless bystanders.
At Nurtured By Nature I bring together a fascinating diversity of guests, offering their unique perspectives & guidance, as we discuss ways to marry ancient wisdom & modern culture in a synergy that enables us as a society to restore balance to our lives & environment & fully take responsibility for our role in healing our world.
I provide you with a space that you can return to for constant hope and inspiration, knowing that by coming together as a community, it allows us to amplify our impact, as we discover the tangible solutions of how we can all get involved & embrace these ideas to create a powerful movement for positive change.
Expect to hear stories & advice from authors, artists, photographers, musicians, health & wellness practitioners, incredible businesses prioritising nature, foragers, gardeners, farmers, food producers, scientists, conservationists & charities involved in habitat restoration, species protection & rewilding, & many more diverse voices, all united by our deep & abiding love for the natural world & a desire to make a positive impact.
So pull up a chair, join us in conversation & help weave these important messages into the world, whilst being empowered to make your own positive impact, to be part of the solution as we rediscover our true place in nature’s incredible tapestry.
Nurtured by Nature
Gardening For Nature with Claire Leadbitter, Irish Forest Garden
Welcome to episode 32 of the Nurtured by Nature podcast, today I'm delighted to be joined in conversation by Claire from the Irish Forest Garden. Claire is an incredible force for nature, having been friends with Mary Reynolds, the inspirational Chelsea award winning landscape designer for many years. In 2014 Claire and her family worked with Mary to bring the Forest Garden from her book the Garden Awakening to life on a small disused 1/8 acre paddock. This was the start of their incredible journey embracing their responsibility to become true guardians of the earth, no longer fighting against nature but working in harmony to nurture all creatures both rooted and un-rooted. As both Mary, Claire and her family’s vision has evolved so too has their approach and most recently they have expanded beyond the forest garden to embrace ARKing and offering up even more land to nurturing the native flora and fauna.
During this magical and laughter filled conversation, Claire takes us along on their journey from the challenges of starting at below zero in a nature depleted couch-grass filled landscape to the highs of seeing their hard work literally bare fruit and witnessing the myriad of creatures that have benefitted during their beautiful journey of co-creation with the earth. We share our mutual hopes as we acknowledge the changes that have occurred in our lifetime and how discussions around nature are seeping into the reality of more people. Claire imparts two profoundly simple but empowering pieces of wisdom for us all to embrace: Before doing something, always pause and ask Why? And Just Do It, no matter how small the action may feel, just make the decision at the start of this new year to just do something and take that first step to becoming part of the solution, you will surprised at how quickly nature steps into the spaces we make for her.
Learn more about Claire
I’m Claire Leadbitter and I’m sharing about our Forest Garden and ARK designs here in Wexford, Ireland which were inspired by Mary Reynolds and her books The Garden Awakening and We Are the ARK.
Trying for a gentle, organic approach to living with the land under our care, to feed ourselves and creating as much habitat as possible for native flora and fauna.
Website: www.irishforestgarden.ie
Instagram: www.instagram.com/irishforestgarden
Other Useful Links:
Mary Reynolds - https://marymary.ie/
We Are The Ark - https://wearetheark.org/
Books
The Garden Awakening: Designs to nurture our land and ourselves - Mary Reynolds
We Are the ARK: Returning Our Gardens to Their True Nature Through Acts of Restorative Kindness - Mary Reynolds
Thank you for being part of this journey with me, please Subscribe so you don't miss our future episodes, leave a review & share with friends to help these messages ripple out across the world.
More information about the Podcast & our host Fiona MacKay: Fiona Mackay Photography Website
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