[April 2021] - Graham Bell on Permaculture

[George Mochrie]

In honour of spring, April's film is an interview with permaculture pioneer Graham Bell at his garden in the Borders. Graham talks about his life, his passion for permaculture and shares his thoughts on the wider environmental problems the world faces and how we can transition to a more sustainable existence. In the middle of the interview he gives us a tour of his remarkable garden.

Permaculture is considered by many as a part of a possible response to and mitigation of the present environmental issues. It was developed in Australia, and many of the best known permaculture projects are located in sub-tropical climates. Graham has successfully applied permaculture to an (albeit southern) Scottish climate and has had some pretty startling results.

There is a brief discussion about computers near the start of the interview which (while it interests me) seems a bit out of place. It runs from 6:34 to 13:48, so if you like you can skip that bit.



What do you think of the possibilities this video presents? Is a future in which the majority of people engage in permaculture possible or desirable? Can it be used to help people "unplug" from the global industrial economy that is destroying the environment and instead (re)create local sustainable economies that can continue to provide a comfortable quality of life?

In Sutherland there are over 100 acres of land per person, in Scotland as a whole there are more than 3.5 acres per person. While much of this land is unsuitable for cultivation, a large proportion of it is. One of the advantages of permaculture is that it lends itself to application at small scales which can be more easily tailored to the particular local climate and soil.

Regardless of the wider context, this is something we can all do now!