We’re already a quarter of the way through the year. April invites a different kind of energy — not more ideas, not more plans, but care. This month’s small shift is Tending what’s already growing — choosing care over expansion. That can feel counterintuitive, especially here in the northern hemisphere, where everything in us wants to sow, start, and push forward. But every system we begin brings a responsibility with it. The question is not just what can I create? — but what can I realistically care for? Here on the croft, that feels very real. There’s new life to tend — goat kids already, and goslings expected soon. With that comes responsibility. Aerial predators are part of the system here; crows will work together to distract the adults while another swoops in. It’s a reminder that care isn’t passive — it’s attentive, responsive, and sometimes protective. In the forest garden, all the layers are beginning to come to life again. Growth is happening whether I intervene or not. My role is to notice what needs support, not to overwhelm the system with more. I’m looking forward to hosting a forest garden session next week — an opportunity to share that way of seeing in practice. Care extends beyond land. I’m really pleased to be mentoring a small group through the PDC pathway, and to continue supporting a student nurse in Jerash through our community healthcare scholarship. These are also living systems — relationships, learning journeys — and they need the same kind of steady attention as any garden. On the learning side, the full Permaculture Practice series is now available as ebook and audio bundles on my website. I’ll also be sharing short monthly Small Shifts in Practice videos there — a way of grounding these ideas in lived experience, season by season. We’ve started using the Skool space more actively too. Our recent PDC call was a good reminder that learning deepens when we connect. I’m wondering whether a more informal community call might be something worth trying — something simple, human, and optional. Let me know if that’s something you’d value.

So pleased you've joined the group. Do introduce yourself, if you'd like.

I'm going to start sharing short recordings of living lightly in practice, following the seasonal monthly rhythms of my Small Shifts guide. I'm just learning how to use the technology, so you'll have to excuse my bobbing head and the typo. Feedback and constructive criticism gratefully received.