Richmond Permaculture Network Design Collect

In computer terminology “A network is a group of two or more computers or other electronic devices that are interconnected for the purpose of exchanging data and sharing resources.”

In this section I will guide the reader through a short journey of my town Richmond, collecting relevant information to paint a picture of the town to help understand if there is a place for a network of people interested in all thing's permaculture.

I will then look at what I can bring to the table, to understand the role I can play in setting up such a network.

To finish, I will collate a set of six questions that can be shared with a few interested friends that will help in the next section to evaluate the direction I need to take this design.

To begin let us consider the permaculture ethics of earth care, people care, and fair share.

Earth Care

I’ve always had an appreciation for where I live, the biodiversity of the local area kindled a passion in me for the natural world at a very early age. As the seasons have come and gone my yearning to go here and there becomes less and less. Richmond is where I was born, the place I call home. It’s a peaceful place, with beautiful countryside and stunning views as far as the eye can see.

With the decline of flora and fauna throughout the British Isles, Richmondshire is holding on as long as it can to as many species as possible. In recent years the town has seen the return of otters on the river swale, barn owls nesting in the town, and cuckoos can still be heard calling for a mate in late spring, after returning to nest in the woodlands outlaying the town.

For the knowing forager, the town is a bountiful larder with an abundance of food only a short walk away. From ancient woodlands, hedge backs, riverbanks, meadows, and moorland to heather moor, all accessible on foot, the town is a magical place to live, and to grow.

People Care

Richmond is a town that has seen many changes, a town that tells many stories. Central to the town is the castle nestled amongst a market town that has grown around it over the last nine hundred years. The town has a deep history of life in England, this can be seen through the changes in the architecture of the town. It is a timeless experience walking across the cobbled marketplace or through the hidden alleyways that lead to views of a world that once was.

As the town grows, new people come to experience the enchantment of living in such a town. As old traditions start to die out the stories live on, passed down through word of mouth the blood of the past flows on.

Fair Share

Every year the river swale draws thousands of tourists into the town, each taking away stories of a time when life was good, to be reminisced upon when the name Richmond is spoken in conversation. I experience this so many times when asked where I live, it seems everybody at some point has visited the town, often in childhood when the summer days are at their longest.

Perhaps I’m inclined to speak highly of my town, for how many people get to have a view including a castle from their gardens. Rather, I believe it’s the town speaking through those who can see how much Richmond ought to share. Words that remind people of a past long forgotten and encourage a desire to rekindle the times when things seemed so much simpler than today.

As mystical as Richmond may sound, it is a town that faces the everyday challenges of all rural communities. As the world changes our focus also needs to change, Richmond has a great deal to contribute to the welfare of its people, for they are the town.

The Town

Richmond is a market town situated on the edge of the North Yorkshire Dales National Park. The town was founded in 1071 by the Breton Alan Rufus on the lands granted to him by Willian the Conqueror. Moving forward in time, according to the 2011 census the town’s population was 8,413.

The main features of the town are Richmond Castle which was completed in 1086 and the river Swale. Above the town is an old horse racecourse, race meetings were held here from 1765 – 1891.

The river Swale is around 100m above sea level and the racecourse around 250m above sea level with a 1.2-mile distance between them. This gives the town many different microclimates due to all the hills. The local average temperatures are 20.8 C maximum and 11.7 C minimum for July with 10.9 C maximum and 0.9 C minimum for January. The average monthly amount of precipitation for July has been recorded at 51.3 mm. and 55.5 mm. for January with an annual rainfall of 641.9mm. The frost-free growing season starts from April 1st until November 1st totalling 214 days.

The Gardens

Richmond is a town full of gardens, many of which are presented in what has become the traditional English garden of lawns and flowers. Amongst these gardens, there are a few that grow fruit and vegetables along with those of a wilder nature. Overall, the observation would be that the town has its fair share of passionate gardeners, who spend many hours each week improving and maintaining their gardens.

The town also has 4 allotment sites, a community orchard, along with many fruit trees that have been left to go feral.

Another important question is around time. I’ve toyed with the idea of setting up a local permaculture network many times only to find I do not have enough time to dedicate to such a project.

In recent years I’ve moved into a new house and have spent the past four years working on permaculture designs for my gardens. These are at a point where I’m now able to start and focus on growing plants.

Another major consumer of my time has been the very thing that this design is part of and that is the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design. Throughout the growing season, I’m working in the gardens and in winter I’m writing up designs leaving me very little time to take on extra work.

With the end date for my diploma in the summer of 2022, I will soon have much more time to play with.

Keeping it simple I’ve put together six questions to ask a few people I know, that have shown interest in what I have been doing these past few years in my gardens. I wanted the questions to be short and to the point.

Here are the questions I sent out:

Permaculture, is this a new term for you or one you are familiar with? Please elaborate if you are familiar with it to help me recognize your level of understanding.
Are you growing any of your food, and If so, where do you grow it? (Garden, allotment, in the house, etc.)
Do you have an interest in a solutions approach to sustainable living and self-reliance, one that delivers meaningful results through diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems?
Are you interested in creating healthy environments and lifestyle abundance by mimicking the patterns and relationships we can find in nature?
Are you interested in being part of a learning, sharing, and action network focused entirely on Permaculture?
From the above questions, does anything stand out that is of interest, or you have experience with, or would just like to learn more about?

A summary of the answers will be part of the next section - Evaluate.