Our Ethos

In some ways, The Hedgewise Collective represents quite a diverse range of interests and skills; but there are some common threads that weave us all together. 

You might even say that our commonalities amount to an ‘ethos’; it is not just what we do, but how and why we do it.

 

Each of us in some way is trying to learn from nature in all the different ways that we can. Whether that is by learning about the properties of different plants for making baskets or herbal remedies, or whether we are learning about mushroom cultivation, permaculture, or through mindfulness and nature connection work for mental health. We are quite deliberately saying learning from nature, rather than learning about nature. Learning about nature implies that nature is a subject to be studied, like maths or psychology. Learning From nature implies that nature is the teacher - and that is how it is for us. Learning from implies a relationship; which it is; not just with an abstract notion of nature, but with all the living beings of the more-than-human-world that we come into contact with.

 

It matters to us also, how we do what we do. That’s an other aspect of valuing relationships. It is really important to us, for instance, in our relationships with each other within the collective and with all the people that join in with our community events, that we honour and listen to each others perspectives. We may not always get things right by everyone, but our ethos is one of actively working towards understanding and inclusivity. In nature, the more diverse an ecosystem is, the healthier it is; and we try to apply this same principle to valueing diversity in our activities and interactions.

 

Relating to plants, trees, animals, or rocks and rivers even, as living beings in their own right, can seem a little contraditory to how we are taught to see ’nature’ in this society. We tend to see any non-human being as an ‘it’ rather than as a ‘who’. Plants, for instance, have very different intelligences and ways of existing to humans. Within the Hedgewise Collective, we are exploring different ways of relating to, and getting to know these other beings; through art, mindfulness, and bushcrafts for instance, or through the science of ecology and mycology.

 

Something else we can learn from nature and the study of ecosystems. is the value of collaboration. In the sciences of ecology, mycology and evolutionary biology, relatively recent discoveries have revolutionised old school thinking that competition drives evolution. Life, and effective ecosystems, we are learning, are far more driven by mutualistic support and collaboration than previously thought. Finding ways to learn about and practive collaboration within the collective, is also another way in which we are trying to ‘learn from nature’, and is a part of our underlying ethos.

 

Being in relationship, with any being, requires an understanding of each others differences and needs. It is inherently reciprocal - it requires some give and take. Within the collective, we are trying to find ways to give back to nature. We are each of us trying to cultivate a ’spirit of reciprocity’ with what we do. Some of us, for instance are raising money through our events to pay for tree planting on the land; some of us are getting involved and helping Al (the custodian of the land where our yurt classroom space is situated) to enhance the biodiversity of the site. We are also enquiring through our many different practices; ‘how do we give back to the earth?, how do we truly listen, and understand how to give back?’. Celebrating and sharing knowledge, skills and appreciation of nature, or the .more-than-human-world are also ways that we can give back, and give thanks to the land.