We have been, and continue to be, inspired by lots of people and places, stories and examples, ideas and dreams. We have so much still to learn and enjoy exploring a wide range of themes. Sometimes we seek inspiration, sometimes it comes unbidden. Often visitors to Tiggins Meadow inspire us which is one of the reasons we’re keen to share the space. We hope you also find inspiration from your exploration of Tiggins Meadow.
This is one of the places that inspired us enormously – these photos were taken near the centre of Ipswich (spot the houses?) on a site which used to be the town tip ! Then, when that moved out of town, this whole area was grassed over and mown regularly. It was dull and it certainly did not inspire or draw people in. It was boring and windy. Then along came Urban Buzz who did some magical redesigning. These photos were taken by me on a visit in June 2020 during lockdown – it was wonderful to see the beautiful landscape buzzing with bees and people.
I have worked for several years with Suffolk Wildlife Trust‘s Education team at Foxburrow Farm and in Ipswich parks and we are also Life Members. The staff, volunteers, children and teachers I’ve worked with are hugely inspirational in so many different ways. I remember the determination of a group of school children to include a wheelchair user in an exercise they were doing to measure the flow of the River Deben, making sure she could also get her feet wet and really experience the fun of the activity. And the Grandad who patiently helped his granddaughter build a bird nest box to place on her balcony, and multitudes of other examples showing me how much value people can get from time in nature and helping nature.
We have been lucky enough to visit many beautiful natural places, starting in childhood when our parents took us camping, exploring and walking. Some places were truly wild like the mountains of the Pyrenees, but picking blackberries on farmland in Somerset also gave great pleasure and lots of discover. Having read Isabella Tree’s book ‘Wilding’ about how she and her husband dramatically changed the way they farm their Knepp Estate in Sussex, we were inspired to visit there in 2019. Wow !
Orchard Barn is a project based near Needham Market in Suffolk. It’s a social enterprise specialising in natural and traditional building. Our friend Sarah Partridge who created the project is an incredibly talented and inspiring person who reminds us time and time again that people, the soil and the resources the natural world provides are intrinsically linked. She ably demonstrates how to foster and strengthen those links to the benefit of all three parts and she also shows how much people benefit from being able to be out of doors working with hands and minds together. We want Tiggins Meadow to be a place where people, the soil and the natural world work together in a healthy and productive way.
Books provide endless inspiration for us; for Peter Bill Mollison’s “Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual’ was hugely influential. Roger Deakin wrote beautifully about his engagement in the natural world around him in ‘Waterlog’ and at his home in Suffolk in ‘Notes from Walnut Tree Farm’ and are two of our favourite books. ‘The Man Who Planted Trees’ by Jean Giono made me realise how tiny, but persistent actions can add up and become something special. Wangari Mathai’s ‘The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience’ made me really appreciate how important and valuable it is to involve people. Mike Abbot’s ‘Living Wood: From Buying a Woodland to Making A Chair’ made us realise how possible it is to turn an idea into reality, helped by him showing us around his woodland so we could see it for real. Tom Pow’s ‘In Another World: Among Europe’s Dying Villages’ makes me think about the massive loss to humanity when we lose contact with the countryside. ‘The Way We Lived’ edited by Malcolm Margolin is a book of stories, songs and reminiscences of Native Americans which make me think about how we connect to the natural world around us. For information on wildlife Simone Bullion’s ‘The Mammals of Suffolk’ is an amazing resource and ‘Barn Owl’ by David Chandler is useful to us as well as having some beautiful photos of owls. This list is not exhaustive by any means, but must include a book which makes me want to weep ‘The Lost Words’ – this video is from that:
“We are embedded in nature. Neglecting this not only threatens future generations with catastrophic risks but is already blighting the lives of many today,” says Pedro Conceição, Director of the Human Development Report Office at UNDP.
WILD ABOUT TIGGINS 