Last week, I was accused of having a colonialist mindset by one of our more radical pickers. As we finished up the wild garlic season I was pondering whether we should consider roguing the woods to prevent the toxic garlic lookalike, lords- and-ladies, setting seed. By systematically identifying and removing this poisonous plant, I reckon we could double our picking speed and reduce the need for such skilled pickers to keep you safe. I laughed at the jibe, but sort of agreed – this would have been the first step in the 10,000 year progression from being part of nature as a hunter-gatherer, to sitting on top of it as a farmer; from being able to observe, understand, and wonder, to seeking to control and shape.
I was denying that humility with my restless need to improve, and I deserved to be mocked. Like many, I find it all too easy to rush through a day (and perhaps life in general) without taking stock of the wonders around me. Call it “being here”, being present or mindful, it can be hard to just… stop. I carried on smoking for years longer than I would otherwise have done, because stopping to roll a cigarette and pour coffee from a flask was the perfect break in the field. It forced me to pause. To look, listen, and take in the world around me; the view, the birds, the insects, flowers, and earth beneath my feet.
There is so much to love in one another and the natural world but if we don’t pause to notice it, we will not love or value it. And if, like me, you are afflicted with the need to be constantly useful, here is an excuse to stop that’s better than a cigarette: getting involved with a citizen science project.
The Flower Insect Timed Count (FIT Count) is coordinated by the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (POMS). It takes just 10 minutes to monitor the insects around you and can be done anywhere there are flowers – a pot on the windowsill, the wayside of a lane, your garden or local park. It’s a welcome opportunity to slow down and take in the natural world. If you’d like to give it a go, there’s more information on the POMS website (ukpoms.org.uk/fit- count-app). Perhaps the real challenge is to slow, notice, wonder, and love a little more intentionally. And to continue to resist the perpetual need for “improvement” – colonial or otherwise.
Our News from the Farm posts come from Riverford. They are the digital versions of the printed letters which go out to customers, every week via Riverford’s veg boxes. Guy Singh-Watson’s weekly newsletters connect people to the farm with refreshingly honest accounts of the trials and tribulations of producing organic food, and the occasional rant about farming, ethical and business issues he feels strongly about.
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