The Orchard at Wood End is the meeting place of the different strands of my work and a shared long term vision of living a more simple way of life.
About
For decades I have had a shared dream with my husband to live a life close to the earth and away from the frenetic speed and pressures of life. We have agonised about the impact of humans on the environment and longed for a space to protect our native wildlife and flora. We hold the belief that we could generate an income and sustain ourselves in growing food and keeping bees and in goods made from our produce, and be curious to learn about natural health and wellbeing through the old ways.
Almost from the beginning of my work as a counsellor over thirty years ago, I became aware of how people longed for sanctuary; time out, away from the pressures and challenges of life that had brought them into therapy. I experienced clients opening up and speaking of their inner worlds, their struggles and losses, and then witnessed as they packed them down again, straightened their outer persona to re-enter their worlds.
Some years ago the time felt right to invest my energy into the healing and therapeutic impact of working with dogs within my counselling work. I underwent training and qualified as an Animal Assisted Therapy Practitioner alongside finding two adorable little puppies that I trained with the help and support of a dog trainer and behaviourist. These two are now central to my therapeutic work both within my counselling and supervision practice and in the work we do in two special schools with children who have struggled within mainstream school.
More recently I realised the importance of symbolism and ceremony in the rites of passage in the human journey. Through my work I have sat alongside countless people as they have created ceremonies and rituals for letting go, inviting in, stepping through changes and healing from pain and loss. This understanding of our natural tendency to mark change and transition inspired me to train as a Family Celebrant and is an important strand that makes sense of my own journey.
We realized our dreams of securing our five acres of land in April 2019. We have many plans that we are just beginning to materialise. To restore and protect this little plot through replanting native hedging, wildflower meadows and naturalising woodland. To plant a medicine garden and learn the healing properties of plants. To provide natural habitats for wildlife and make a haven for bees. To offer the resource to reconnect people to nature and learn about ecosystems and wildlife and to meet themselves outside the bustle of their everyday lives. To develop community through the marking of the yearly cycle through celebration and shared projects.
All of these strands I aim to write about in different blog streams. Firstly to capture the journey for posterity and secondly to allow anyone who is interested to dip into what interests them most, and to invite you into our travels through the changing year.
