TTW was delighted to be able to offer Fox’s Field as ‘field’ research (literally) for a group of students from Bristol in December. The students are on a one-year course in ‘Practical Sustainability’ with Shift – an organisation that provides “innovative and immersive training in building skills and practices for community-centered regeneration and resilience.”

The students had been assigned a task to do soil testing and some blue sky (or is that damp earth?) thinking about the site and come up with some design solutions and suggestions. Here’s a short write-up by Alys Bowerman, one of the students, about their experience:

“Despite the drizzly, overcast day and the M5 being temporarily shut Teresa, Emma, Robbie and I arrived at Fox’s Field full of enthusiasm, to be met by an equal amount of it in the form of Anita Roy and Helen Gillingham, from Transition Town Wellington. As part of our Practical Sustainability course with Shift Bristol we get to visit various community projects in the guise of trainee permaculture designers, with this project focusing on soil and fertility.

Having seen a video about Fox’s Field via the Transition Towns Network we were excited to see the forest garden for ourselves. We were shown around the site by Helen, who was a wealth of knowledge, passionately explaining what had already been done, what was planned, and the challenges and successes so far. I think we all felt a little out of our depth, but we took a collective deep breath, remembering this was a learning experience for us.

We dug 4 inspection pits to assess the soil formation and fertility. The biggest challenge seemed to be around the amount of water on the site. The history of the site, with the wool mill nearby, plays a key part in this. Having looked at old maps it became apparent that local waterways were redirected towards the mill.

We put our permaculture designer hats on and came up with some ideas of what could be done. Our suggestions include clearing out and extending the existing ditch at the top of the site, with the creation of a network of small ponds in the area where water currently pools, turning a boggy area into a beautiful home for wildlife.

A longer term strategy, and an opportunity for a great community ‘permablitz’ day or two, would be to dig the ditch a bit deeper, creating a mound of soil (a swale) in between the ditch and the garden. This could then be planted with water-loving species such as iris, reeds and willow, which would suck up water, reducing the amount to run-off down the site. In addition, the willow would act as a windbreak, and could be cut to be used for community activities.

We had a great time visiting Fox’s Field, we felt so welcomed, but more than anything we felt inspired. Here is a wonderful example of what a group of people can do to create a difference, both in their community and for the environment. We all agreed we would love to come back and help out, and to see how the forest garden and TTW thrives in the future.”