As we all venture into this new chapter, with some from as near as just outside the vibrant town of Totnes, and others as far as South Korea and Washington D.C., we are coming to the mark of our first week at Lower Sharpham Farm. In less than five days, us 10 previously strangers, who have come from all walks of life, have cozily settled into our new homes for the next three months, and have quickly developed a fondness and sense of community with each other. We are all at different stages of our journey in a life lived with and for nature, but the enthusiasm, curiosity, and eagerness to learn, have been emphatically felt from the first moment.
This week has been a week of induction, of getting to know one another, and of wrapping our heads around what Ambios, the team here at the farm, and the wider context of Devon’s nature-recovery network, are doing in the face of the ecological crisis of our time.
Of getting to know the landscape which surrounds us, and which we will be part of continuing to shape over the next few months. From arriving loaded with bags and expectations on the first day to sharing our stories and journeys under the canopy of a deep green woodland – promising to hold our doubts, insecurities, dreams, and ambitions with dear safety. Greeting the abundance of vegetables and herbs in the garden and polytunnel, as well as the animals that are as much part of the Ambios family as the humans – the Mangalitza pigs, the belted Galloway cows, the Konik ponies, the hens, ducks and sheep, friendly pups Yeti and Sen, and Manny the cat, who has shown her acceptance of this new cohort as she has chosen her napping spots on our laps. A day of glowing sunshine harvesting apples which will soon be pressed to make cider, with our new friends from United Response, which ended with a swim in the Dart as the evening golden sun stretched over the valley. We’ve shared many meals and stories around the table, and already established new traditions, like night yoga in the learning yurt.
With this new moon, we are embarking on a journey which already feels life-changing and deeply transformative. We are soaking ourselves in the farm’s story of hope, inspiration and empowerment to prove a different way of life. One in which we manage the land for biodiversity and people to thrive, one in which we let nature be our guide, and one in which we take care of our community and our planet.
✍ Autumn Ambios Nature Recovery Trainees
