Resilience and wisdom to stay happy in the years ahead
Alan Heeks 
Restoring our bond with Mother Earth I’m writing to share a vision with you which feels increasingly vital for our survival. This vision interweaves two ideas which I see discussed increasingly, but only rarely connected. One is the urgent need to increase local food production in the UK (especially vegetables, fruit, proteins), as climate change … Read more
Maybe: at least the outlook is promising… Food security is one of the issues which makes me compare the 2020s to the 1930s: there are huge problems looming, most people are in denial, but a few are making preparations which could be crucial. Some of these are in Wales, and as a fresh immigrant, I’m … Read more
Valuable insights from a mathematical ecologist Peter Turchin left the USSR age 20, in 1977, and has lived in the USA since then. His recent book, End Times, analyses the patterns in 100 historical crises, from Medieval France onwards. Two key drivers of crisis are a big widening of inequalities of wealth, and arising from … Read more
An extra-terrestrial view of our perplexities When even slightly plausible explanations fail, it’s time to try some which look highly off the wall, so give this one a test flight. It came to me in a dream while on holiday in the wilds of the Pennines. In my experience, dreams are one way that … Read more
Insights from Glastonbury… Yes, we’ve been talking about strengthening communities for years, but now we really need them. This blog shares insights from two sources: one is the Deep Adaptation Conference held in Glastonbury in June 2023, the other is the impressive community resilience initiatives happening in and around the town of Glastonbury. The conference … Read more
Online workshop: Thursday Oct 5, 2-4pm Hosted by Schumacher Institute and Seeding our Future As adaptation to climate change, food security and other issues becomes urgent, it’s clear that community-scale adaptation will be a crucial factor. But where are the templates, processes, role models, enabling networks? The aim of this workshop is to share … Read more
A weekend nature connection retreat, developing skills to enhance wellbeing and resilience Alan writes: I am not facilitating this event, but it uses some of my Natural Happiness material. If you’re a GP, Hospital Doctor or frontline NHS colleague, you might recognise that never before has there been such urgent need for the restorative … Read more
Some of our climate solutions are underwater! My interest in marine ecology arises because many of our ocean habitats are in an even worse state than those on land, but they’re getting little attention. However, it’s an exciting time where funds are flowing into this sector, which is still at an early, formative stage. Seaweed … Read more
Why organic navigation is better than analytical prescription In recent years, I’ve spent quite a lot of my time exploring the future outlook: recently, I feel I’m getting some valuable insights, at a time of massive change and uncertainty, when it seems that most people (and governments) can’t or won’t consider the future and how … Read more
Politically, it’s a different planet!Mae Cymru yn wleidyddol yn blaned arall Probably many of you reading this who live in the UK share my gloom about Whitehall politics, and the prospect of sensible, positive action on carbon emissions, food security, affordable housing, and more. Since early 2022, I’ve moved from vague impressions that things were … Read more