How lockdown can bring us closer to ourselves and our natural environment.

Now that the coronavirus pandemic has forced normality into our country, it creates space to pause, reflect, and empathize. Many workshops and courses are canceled, we can’t go to restaurants or cafes, schools are closed, and so on. Many emotions can surface. Fear, indifference, tension, rebelliousness, and also inspiration, creativity, solidarity… and many questions. As a young father, I feel this too: will my son Hazel stay healthy? Can he still visit his grandmother? What about my elderly mother?

And how can I best utilize the space that has become available? Where lies my “yes”? And where lies the “yes” that serves the collective?

First and foremost, it’s important for me to create space to reflect and empathize. This way, I can acknowledge my inner feelings and not let them overwhelm me. It’s a connection with my inner nature.

I also ask myself the question: how can I best be of service now with what I am passionate about? Where does my yes lie?

Where is my yes?

I am drawn outside, to our garden, the forest, our food forest.

So we went for a walk in the woods with the family, and apparently many people had the same idea. It was wonderful to connect with nature around us among the old trees.

There will also be plenty of space to work in our community garden. I’m looking forward to further sowing my food forest nursery and creating a few extra seed tables, imagining all the delicious and healthy things that can and already will come from the garden and the food forest. It’s the perfect time to harvest nettles, cleavers, garlic mustard, and other pesto or soup leaves. Cleansing and chock-full of vitamin C and other healthy nutrients.

I also continue to enthusiastically support people in their dream of a food forest, natural pond, or eco-garden, whether through design, consulting, or construction. Working outdoors is a joy for me, and the spring sunshine is good for my system and for the people I work with. We’ve therefore planned a design day entirely outdoors this week. We’ll likely be slightly distanced, yet still together.

And I think it would be wonderful to take our Hazel into the garden regularly and sow and plant together.

And the collective yes?

My dream for the collective is that we all transform our little patch of green space into an edible space. From a square meter planter or community garden to a food forest.

We could aim for as many places as possible that can feed us year-round. Perhaps then we’ll have to forage less at the supermarket because our gardens are still full, and we’ll once again build more resilience as a society by ensuring greater food sovereignty.

You don’t have to worry about gardening together. You’re less likely to catch COVID-19 outdoors, and if you really want to be careful, just maintain some distance or build a 1.5m x 1.5m vegetable garden. Then everyone can work from their own side and still garden together COVID-free ;-).

Everyone in their own way, from their own “yes.”Everyone in their own way, from their own “yes.”I also hope that we can direct the decisiveness and willingness we’re seeing to contain the coronavirus towards a more ecological world, a world in which we learn to reconnect with our natural environment from our natural being. And from there, take steps to make the ecological transition that is so desperately needed. Everyone in their own way, from their own “yes.”