How we apply Permaculture to the Gaskell Garden Project.

At the heart of everything we do at The Gaskell Garden Project lie the principles and ethics of Permaculture.

The three main ethical principles of permaculture are: People care; Earth care; and Fair share. We have built our project on the solid foundations of these wonderful and inspiring ethical principles. We aim to create, we aim to build and we aim to share.

The garden is a space where the community can come together and nurture our social and emotional wellbeing, build friendships and care for our fellow humans and grow as individuals.

We design workshops around the principles and ethics of permaculture: to share knowledge and skills; learn how to live sustainably; grow and share food; and build skills for employment. The practical implementation of permaculture means that we not only get to enjoy the fruits of Mother Nature but we get to give back too.

The Project also improves the biodiversity of the local environment, provides habitat and recycles local waste materials through up-cycling. We have the firm belief that reallocating resources is essential.

At the heart of the garden is our beautiful spiral.

The spiral is not just a beautiful centrepiece but a wonderful tribute to the shapes of nature. The Spiral functions on many levels: offering a creative zone where we companion plant; adding colourful flowers to attract bees; maximising growing space; and improving the soil through the practical use of Hugel Bed design. At its full glory, the spiral is not just functional with its gift of fresh vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit but also a therapeutic and visual experience that allows us to follow the patterns of nature through a spiral walk of visual and sensory beauty.

We improve the soil through construction of Hugel Beds (Hugelkultur) which is a process of creating raised beds from decaying wood and composted plant materials.

The process of building Hugel Beds is hugely important in working with nature, increasing biodiversity and ensuring the soil is not just healthy but nourished and improved.

The Gaskell Garden Project offers workshops in many areas of permaculture in which we are always expanding as we learn and grow together. The Project has been welcomed to both local and national festivals to teach workshops and to spread the message of permaculture, social and community cohesion.

The workshops have included :

• Introduction to the Principles and ethics of permaculture
• Vegetable tower building and vertical gardens
• Urban Growing
• Pallet Garden building
• Pallet furniture building
• Chain saw carving
• Therapeutic Art and creative projects
• Mindfulness, meditation and yoga

The Project has brought together a wide variety of volunteers including local refugees and asylum seekers. Together we get to learn, grow and enjoy the wonderful gifts of nature while ensuring the roots of permaculture remain embedded in the Project: People Care; Earth Care; Fair Share.

The Gaskell Garden Project is proudly self sustained and raises funds through a mixture of workshops and events such as our ‘Pay as you Feel Meal’ and ‘Freedom Matters’ events.