Posted by Nir Halfon on Sun, Nov 08, 2009 @ 01:21 PM
It's been three weeks or perhaps even more since any of us (ie BD team) have seen the second years. They have gone feral in the woods. One could see them at break time sitting around the college brandishing carving knives and making a spoon or a baby rattle.
This as a result of the green woodwork module. During the last weeks each of the students in the second year have learned skills in coppicing, wood turning and carving and made a few different products from wood. They also explored the subject of Biodynamic sustainable woodland management. Mark Haughton taught green woodwork and Nick Reaside taught woodland management.
Sparkey has (almost) found a new calling and was making spoons, bowls and more things everyday. Others found it a bit more challenging but in the end all had a good experience and felt they have learnt some new skills. The module was very successful.
Woodlands have an important place on the farm in many ways and especially on a Biodynamic farm. They provide raw material for products, a source of energy, recreation, a place of relaxation and contemplation and a wildlife habitat. In the picture of the farm as a whole, woodland is very important, it brings in an element which cannot be found in a field. Steiner talks about the importance of woodland in its relation to the world of insects and birds and as a balancing and complementing force to the one of agriculture.
In addition from a sustainability point of view it is essential. Woodlands are multi-functional as I said before. Farms have got the luxury that they have the land to grow their own energy. I am not talking about biofuels. They are grown in a monoculture system which I don't see as healthy to our planet in the long run (or short term coming to think of it). Wood can provide energy in a much more wholesome and healthy way. Logs, Chips and Pellets are being used as fuels to heat homes. The different systems are suitable to different locations and applications. On a farm, for example, logs or wood chips work very well. In addition, over the weekend I came a cross the Jean Pain method which uses the composting process of wood brush (small clippings) to generate heat and methane.
Also in woodlands, farmers can grow their own building materials and fence posts, create places where people can connect with theselves and their environment and wildlife can live.
It is amazing how useful woodland can be as part of a farm. I was jealous of the students - green woodwork has been a hobby I've wanted to embrace for many years. It was the first time we had such a module in the course. I hope next year I will get a chance to join the students for at least a couple of sessions and make a spoon or a stool.
Posted by Nir Halfon on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 @ 05:11 AM
Once a year the first year BD students put on their backpacks and go traveling the south west on a tour de farm. For some going to visit farms is a relatively new experience and even for the more experienced there is something new to see. Every farm is completely different and every farmer has his or hers own opinions and methods (which are of course the Right way! for their farm, that is...). The idea of the farm as an individual really comes into light on this tour. The tour is also a time when the course students get to learn a bit more about each other and share a special experience.
Last Friday we returned from our farm tour. We spent a week in South Devon exploring a wide range of farms and gardens. The places we visited ranged from smallholdings which provide their local community with fresh vegetables or meat to large farms of thousand acres or more producing meat, vegetables, fruit selling their produce nation wide. The farmers and growers we met expressed a wide range of opinions from traditional practices to revolutionary and controversional.
For myself I can say, it was fascanating to see the different approaches to farming. All the farmers were dedicated to their work and produced wonderful products. It just shows how much of farming is in the attitude and following what one believes is right. Conviction seemed to be a key word amongst the students. One can learn farming from a text book but the farm as an organism doesn't know how to read... Each farm is unique in soil, topography, climate, native plants and animals. This symphony of natural conditions is orchastrated by the farmer who, in turn, interpets it in their own individual way. In that harmony one can find the farm as an individual. It relates to all farming systems whether they are chemical, organic or Biodynamic. However in BD this work becomes concious. This awareness then penetrates all the corners of the farms all the individual notes (yes I am getting carried away with this metaphor) and where it is manifested? In the feast we eat.
I would like to thank all the Farms and Gardens who opened their gates and welcomed us in this trour. It was truly an inspiring experience. Thanks to:
I look forward to the next years tour, there are so many more farms to see and more farmers to meet.