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Exeter is blessed to be surrounded by green fields, many producing amazing organic produce. There is also a great network of footpaths, bridle paths and green lanes to be explored. Everyone knows that fresh organic produce, exercise, fresh air and fine company are good for you, so why not combine all four?
“At Mincing Lake Apples we love the idea of people walking out to the farm, including it in their daily activity, supporting local farmers and actually seeing where we cultivate our local produce.” –Â Gill Baker, Mincing Lake Apples
Always may there be a stand of balsam set back from the river, and a mama beaver emerged from her nest into early dusk, grooming her punky, wicked fur, steeping her tail in the water & eating, the noise of her chomping like kissing; & always her kits will be slipping under the fringe of the willow to reach her, and almost with a sigh, almost with a shrug she’ll turn and waddle up the bank dock a branch and trawl it back to where they bicker & play & feed in their recess of water & reed; & the bliss of their dwelling will rest on the evening, it is here.
Come iris, come moor grass, come sphagnum and sedge, come water mint growing round the beaver-lawn’s edge; come aspen, come willow, come guelder, come hazel, come hawker, come mayfly, come blue demoiselle; come otter, come bubble-mouse, water vole and shrew, come pearl-bordered fritillary and silver studded blue; come yellow hammer, warbler, come dipper and teal, come stone loach, come stickleback, lamprey and eel, come spangled reed beetle supping air through a straw for the river keeper is returned once more.
vi Heartsong
Always may there be a stand of balsam set back from the river, and a mama beaver emerged from her nest into early dusk, grooming her punky, wicked fur, steeping her tail in the water & eating, the noise of her chomping like kissing; & always her kits will be slipping under the fringe of the willow to reach her, and almost with a sigh, almost with a shrug she’ll turn and waddle up the bank dock a branch and trawl it back to where they bicker & play & feed in their recess of water & reed; & the bliss of their dwelling will rest on the evening, it is here.
Watch as they re-meander the straitened river rewet the meadow till it is part mire a mosaic of pond and bog and cropped beaver-lawn; river keepers thinning the wood letting the light back in.
This illustration reflects the centrality of the river to this beautiful location. Inset vignettes reflect some of the hopes and aspirations of the local people Phil engaged with when drafting. They depict: an electric water taxi; tree planting; increased use of cycles; and a rewilding of road verges.
Render unto the sea what belongs to the sea: give her back her nurseries the sheltered grassy places where a seahorse might court where a pipefish might thread the translucent ribbon of its tail. Down into pewter broken water drop the hessian bags, the tenderly raised seedlings – bed them in, lay the ground for underwater prairies and pray - that the wild herds come to grasp at sea grass, graze on plankton – for shy digestive tubes to populate the silt – for the shimmy of dorsal fins in the tangled meadow, with their precarious games of hide and seek, the electric dappled fry; and at last for the stalked jellyfish to extend its starry crown – as in the old days we made the gods a little house or shrine & timidly but inevitably they came.
In the infant pool multicoloured lights twinkle under foot –green, violet, blue – and a baby reaches a plump hand down through shallow water to touch the stars. I’ve swum my lengths in the lanes and now drink coffee and watch as a woman learns to float in the twenty metre pool. She lowers herself halfway then jerks back up, clutching her heart. Her friend shows her again how to trust in water, how to let it hold you like a child. Meanwhile a white-haired woman riding a swimming noodle like a horse gently cycles past. Her legs pedal through the moonish underwater light with slow pale grace. Now she is doing calf raises, holding on to the noodle for balance. Such beauty and perseverance. Her breasts spilling over the cut of her costume are buoyed by the water and dancing by themselves. I understand the tenderness of the learner pool, but the building is beyond me – how it orients south to optimise warmth, how it captures and gifts cool to the north-facing gym, or how the external thermometer with its exquisite sensors relays data to the building which then decides whether to open or close its louvres, move or store heat – I swear it is a mind that thinks. It’s been designed to withstand the next eighty years. And what will you find there, dear future swimmer? Some of the babies splashing in the infant pool will perhaps be doing slow lengths then. Dear ones, I wish you perseverance and gentle effort. I wish you health. I wish you love that responds like this Passivhaus - that offers to cool or warm according to your needs; and I will the water to cradle your future bones while we who are here now sleep.
Row upon row of silvery-black panels, tilt toward the house of God which is the sun. . There’s a microscopic world we can barely even imagine – blazing photons that stream across ninety million miles of space to shower these thin glass planes with a billion small shocks, bright abundance that falls even through cool northern skies, even on our dullest days – gold so plentiful we cannot catch it all, but spread these panels like nets beneath a tree of golden apricots or apron-skirts catching yellow windfalls. And I think of that German fairy tale of the little orphan girl who gave away everything she owned – her loaf of good black bread, her clothes – until she stood in a dark wood, not a stitch to cover her nakedness teeth clattering, praying hard, who found herself suddenly arrayed in finest linen, and all around her falling star-gold – motes she spread her skirts to catch – so many coins she never hungered or was cold again. The poorest countries are rich in sunshine. This is what I wish for them.
Watch as they re-meander the straitened river rewet the meadow till it is part mire a mosaic of pond and bog and cropped beaver-lawn; river keepers thinning the wood letting the light back in.
water is a shapeshifter that can brim ooze weep percolate through stone that drips trickles evaporates into invisible air hard to catch impossible to corral yet this is our vocation – to keep a fluid steadiness in the lush & green-shoot places – & water is all our husbandry: how to dam & brace how to shore it up with sticks & stones & mud whatever we can find old fenceposts, bricks we cross-weave daub & fix impound the water do not let it run
Water shaman; double-lidded, double-lipped, back toes webbed like a bat’s black wing. It combs perfumed oil through its deep dark coat with a special split toe. It must have a moat. It must have a lodge piled high with sticks and mud and inside it, a nest of dry shredded wood. It must have a shallow pool so the kits can learn to swim and an underwater tunnel to enter the lodge unseen. To fell a tree, you must have a reinforced skull & ferrous, orange teeth. To survive, you must have foresight & stealth. I tutored you, woodsman. I showed you how to coppice & thin, how to ford a stream. I taught the engineer to dam, & terrace, & sluice, I taught the salmon to leap & the willow to shoot. I owe you nothing. You made me extinct. Now I’m teaching you how to come back from the brink.
River rats, Coptic dogs, driven from the demesnes and wapentakes hunted par force in the waterways with dogs and traps and clubs; good money paid for their pelt’s stiff hair and voluptuous underfur; the sensuous elixir of their castoreum, its scent of vanilla, chypre and plum; their paddle-tail’s backcountry fat, and their sweet red Lenten meat. Two pence bounty paid in Bolton Percy Church for the last beaver’s head. How often do we get the chance to try again?
At the focal point of this Vision is Wembury Beach and the Mewstone: a marine conservation area and the home of a water sampling citizen science project where the stream flows onto the beach. This location is a focus for public engagement with the natural world, biodiversity and further citizen science via a variety of organisations such as the National Trust and Devon Wildlife Trust, as well as local community events such as those organised by Wembury Environment Group, the Primary School and the Sailing Club.
This Vision has as its centre the church and the Mewstone. The 8 images orbiting it embody the variety of carbon net zero initiatives happening locally with Wembury Environment Group but also individual householder actions:
“From making the most of our existing growing spaces, to our programmes to retrofit homes, develop cycling and walking routes and a new solar farm, we are working to tackle the climate emergency. By 2030 we need to have done much more. We need everyone to help to take action, large or small. For Torbay Council this map of suggested walking routes is a great way of showing how tackling climate change might help Torbay Thrive, visualising our ambition in an easy-to-understand format, and inviting people to get out and discover for themselves what is happening and what more might be done.” – Jacqui Warren, Climate Emergency Officer, Torbay Council
“The illustration shows green initiatives Brixton already has in place, as well as ways they can build on those. It features wildflower verges and trees for the Queen’s Canopy planted by the ‘Bee Wild’ environment group; the rewilding of the old Cofflete Mill site owned by the Parish, to increase biodiversity and conserve the surrounding natural habitats; Southwest Composting – a project that now not only processes all of South Hams Green waste, but also provides a community composting facility for all Parishioners. The map reflects the walking routes and development of active travel routes featuring Silverbridge Way, and work done to establish links to neighbouring areas.
The map also makes its way through Brixton’s aspirations: it includes the solar farm at Gentian Hill and raises the possibility of increaomg solar capacity with discreet installations in both residential and community settings; vehicle charging points; improving cycle routes to reduce car usage; edible borders. The map uses the idea of walking to educate people on how they can play their part in building a natural and sustainable environment for future generations to enjoy, whilst keeping the rural community feel that makes Brixton Parish the chosen place for so many to live in.” – Stuart Nix, Brixton Parish Council
This lively illustration includes a repair cafe, a clothes swap, an apple press and a bike repairer, electric charging points, an allotment with children harvesting vegetables, and fruit trees. Flowering plants enhance the biodiversity of the community areas and reflect the aspiration of the Bee-wild conservation group in the village to create more pollinator-friendly habitats.