The Patchwork Initiative
The Patchwork Initiative's vision is to take small plots of unused green, or brown space and rewild them, or prepare them for community focused projects, for food growing, mental health support and permaculture education.
Each space offers something different, whether it is a community garden, a small section of grass verge or an allotment. Each one is designed and surveyed using the permaculture design process, with a special focus on the 3rd ethic, future care.
In creating this vision we aim to return land for use by wildlife and regenerative human land management, ensuring the future and resilience of both.
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PWI is led by a Patchwork Pioneer collective in collaboration with B3 Living
Our Patchwork Pioneers bio -
Wenderlynn- Wyld Edges CEO
My vision is for everyone to have access to land. This is harder in urban environments, where development takes away green space. We want to take unused patches of land, in and around urban locations, and rewild them or use them to connect community through growing food. In doing this we stand a better chance of preserving nature for future generations, and building more resilience communities.
Kathryn from Ecosoulfully
​From a young age, I was fascinated with the miracles in nature. A bee buzzing in a flower, a pet's golden eyes looking into mine, the orchestra of birdsong in the mornings and evenings, the resilience of wild animals surviving in challenging situations, the calmness and centeredness of trees. I am saddened by how humans continue to wage a war against nature with their careless destruction of nature, habitats and species (even in the micro-ecosystems of our backyards), their self-centred tossing of litter, and their aggressive use of chemicals and synthetic materials (including in our homes, food, air and water), which are challenging to life on this beautiful planet. I'm proud to be part of the Patchwork Initiative because it's a way to give back to nature and educate and thus support people to be more connected and grounded, through small patches of land in urban areas where nature is allowed to thrive.
Anastasia
Creative and Spiritual Earth Keeper.
Teacher and Therapist of Children and Adults. Ofsted Outstanding Mental Health Tutor.
Proud Member of Wyld Edges, Harmony Garden and The Patchwork Initiative: helping to reconnect fragmented patches of land; restoring them back to nature to flourish for the greater good.
Helen (Ellie), a former teacher has lived locally for 30 years.When she downsized she realised how much she was missing her garden which lead to her becoming a founding Harmony Gardens volunteer. Since then she taken the Wyld Edges Introduction to Permaculture and the Patchwork initiative is a logical extension of this.
Using permaculture design, and specifically the permaculture principle 'Small and Slow Solutions', we have surveyed and recorded details on each patch. The red dotted area in the above maps, shows where in Hertfordshire we are growing the Patchwork Initiative. There are volunteering opportunities at each of the patches. Please get in touch for more details.
Harmony Garden - Cheshunt
Type:
Suburban Community Garden
Function:
Wyld Edges' main permaculture demonstration LAND project, listed with the Permaculture Association UK.
This is where we deliver our peer supported mental health service and permaculture education.
​Growing technique:
Food forest system
Allotments - Hertford
Type:
Suburban local authority allotments
Function:
Residential allotments registered with the Permaculture Association UK as a LAND learner.
Growing Technique:
Plot 163b - forest forest
Plot 163a - in the design process of annuals and some food forest aspects.
St'Augustine's - Hoddesdon
Hertford Library
Lea Road - Hoddesdon
Type:
Suburban residential area
Function:
Grass verge left to rewild.
Growing Technique:
This patch is using the ARK initiative, this means no grass cutting or management. Using the principle, 'Observe and Interact', we will observe for a year to see what species of plant and insects there are.