Following on from the first post in our water miracle series (It’ll take a miracle… and we can do that) – how do we go from the knowledge of the solutions needed to achieving practical change? Here are five things we can do in any given scenario listed above to help move the country towards the water miracle needed: 1. Practice voluntary simplicity How can that help? Well, by minimising the trail of stuff in our lives, right back to source, we can begin to live without unnecessary ingredients in our foodstuffs (avoiding food with chemicals added during growing, avoiding…
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This is the text of a talk which was given to the Eco-Quaker group in summer 2020. Re-imagining Society Sustainably Imagining a future as clear,clean and beautiful as can be,with wholesome human interactions,enjoyment of natureand our needs met from the abundant earth. As we look at the state of the world around us and the impacts we are having on the natural world andone another, it can be quite overwhelming. It can often be difficult to know how to best respond. I’dlike to suggest five things that we can do in our own lives that can make a difference. Firstly,…
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Here’s a copy of a presentation given recently in Knocklyon, Dublin with the report underneath:
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Wildlife gardens are specially designed and planted to provide the maximum benefit to birds, butterflies and bees, as well as attractive places for people. They tend to be lower maintenance than ordinary garden designs; allowing the wildlife to get on with its life and you to get on with yours. A wildlife garden can be any size, from a postage-stamp urban lawn surrounded by butterfly friendly shrubs and flowers, to large wildflower meadows with hedgehogs and sparrow hawks. Have a look at Mary Reynolds’ We Are the Ark for a wealth of information and ideas about creating more wildlife friendly…
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Report for Feasta on April 27, 2023 The most recent meeting of the Waste Advisory Group to the Dept of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) examined forthcoming waste legislation; a presentation on the proposed Critical Raw Materials Act; and an outline of the Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan. My attention was particularly drawn by the new Critical Raw Materials Act. An excerpt from the DECC presentation brief states that: Critical raw materials (CRMs) are indispensable inputs in our economy, particularly as they are used to manufacture technologies required for the deployment of green energy, for the digital transition or for…
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Click here to hear the podcast December 26th, 2022 | 44:35 Episode Summary In this episode, we chat with Feidhlim Harty. Feidhlim is an environmental consultant based in County Clare. In today’s chat, we look at some sustainable solutions for treating waste water from rural domestic buildings, and chat about Feidhlim’s own experiences renovating a rural vernacular cottage. This episode will be of interest to anyone who is hoping to renovate a vernacular building that doesn’t currently have any services. Hosted by Tríona Byrne. Edited by Deirdre Keeley. Artwork by Róisín Beirne. Theme music by Cillian Byrne. Generously supported by…
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Link to podcast (Apr 9, 2022): https://www.drewpearlman.com/?powerpress_pinw=784-podcast. Féidhlim Harty is a writer and director of an environmental consultancy company specializing in reed bed and other eco-friendly sewage options. He is the author of various books such as Get Rid of Your Bin, Septic Tank Options and Alternatives as well as Toward Zero Waste: How to live a circular life. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two daughters, vegetable garden and lots of Willow trees. This episode’s sponsor is Chelsea Green Publishing: Chelsea Green is recognized as a leading publisher of books about restorative living, diet-focused integrative health, organic…
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Féidhlim Harty tracks the principle of succession in a wild garden. First published on Nov 22, 2021 in Horticulture Connected (link below). We bought our house in 2008, just as the housing bubble was at its most inflated. I’d never really wanted to move, but it had been on the cards and now it was time. We got the keys in April. I don’t think there was a single day that summer without rain. The back kitchen door opened south onto grey skies and a growing puddle that swelled to a broad shallow pond as the days lengthened and then…
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Féidhlim Harty explores the marriage of science and art that brought about an ethical and principled design revolution. First published on December 18, 2020 in Horticulture Connected. Link below. Permaculture; that’s, like, organic gardening but with more of a hippy twist, isn’t it? Well, if that’s what you want in your garden, then perhaps, but really it’s a lot broader than that. It is essentially the science and art of designing sustainable systems of any sort that support human needs while protecting the environment. The term permaculture derives from permanent agriculture or permanent culture. It is a design approach that…
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Permaculture offers a design approach for meeting human needs without impacting negatively on the natural world. Rooted in core ethics and guided by an evolving set of permaculture principles, it can be a wonderful tool for any design process, from a back garden to a greening of your city. Inherently, permaculture design has the natural world as an overt focus. Thus we can use this as a way to design landscapes, gardens, farms, businesses or communities that are both productive (yielding the things we want to achieve) and regenerative (for people, planet and the future). Edible landscaping, as the name…