Laura Brown, Teesside University Everyone wants to live longer. And we’re often told that the key to doing this is making healthier lifestyle choices, such as exercising, avoiding smoking and not drinking too much alcohol. Studies have also shown that diet can increase lifespan. A new study has found that eating healthier could extend lifespan…
Permaculture is a valuable sustainable design philosophy as well as a practical living guide for many around the world. Since it’s 1970s beginning permaculture has helped many of us breakdown and understand seemingly complex natural systems and patterns. The same ecological understanding seems to be lost for the most part. Traditional owners were taken off…
Davina Jackson, University of Kent Bali’s Green School recently celebrated its first decade of educating toddlers through teenagers (and their digital nomad parents) about eco-ethical design and cooperative living. Set in a village near Ubud, this tropical jungle campus of quirky bamboo pavilions has become a globally influential exhibition of one of this century’s significant…
Joshua Zeunert Food. It is the great unifier of place and race, the common ground sustaining our very existence. Why then, does food production feature so minimally in public space and urban design? Under the weight of looming threats to energy, population and economy, the time is ripe to rethink our design focus. Traditionally, urban…
Christina Ergas, University of Tennessee Big farming is both a victim of climate change and a contributor. Droughts, floods and soil degradation threaten crop yields. But agriculture produces nearly one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. A potential antidote to harmful monocultures is a form of community farming invented back in the 1970s: permaculture. Permaculture is…
A food web (or food chain) is a representation of the relationships that exist between species in an ecosystem. A food web is a diagram that shows the feeding relationships of various species within a given ecosystem, from top to bottom. How do we build a food web? Building a food web involves identifying what…
Permaculture is a design philosophy that focuses on the development of human systems based on natural ecosystems. It’s based on the idea that we often assume where our food comes from, along with our water sources and building materials. Permaculture really boils down to achieving our goals while using less energy. Permaculture is defined as…
It also includes 12 design principles that go beyond agriculture and offer an ecological approach to modern life and communities — such as energy savings and zero-waste living. It aims to create systems that are preserved not only for the present but also for future generations. It promotes the idea of working with nature rather…
A permaculture food forest is all about borrowing the best elements of a forest, mimicking nature to create a self-sustaining, healthy food garden to feed you and your family for years to come. So what is a permaculture food forest and why would you want to grow one?
Policymakers are responding to a growing recognition of food as medicine. udra11/Shutterstock.com