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I've been busy figuring out the ins and outs of agriculture and food growing in the Borders, especially around Jedburgh. Here's what I've found out. First, farmers are very friendly and interesting people but they're hard to pin down. Must be part of the job. I did establish a few contacts to talk to later and discovered that some farmers here are looking into regenerative farming, which I assume has to do with soil sustainability and the wider ecology around land use. I wonder if that's why younger people seem to be becoming more interested?
A small group in the town is interested in local food growing, so we'll begin by identifying sites around the town to place planters, tell people what we're doing and then plant food that people can pick when it's ready. What I like about sitting down with others is the different ideas that people come out with. One idea that came up was to eventually establish a trail around the town where you could visit the planters and maybe have benches at some points along the route. There's also been a suggestion to look at growing herbs again in Greyfriars Garden, where in the 15th century Franciscan monks would have grown medicinal herbs and plants for dyes and so on. Maybe even some kind of Physic Garden. There are a few hoops to jump through but so far the signs are positive.
I did some historical digging to find out if there were ever any peasant's revolts in the Borders but couldn't find any records. Maybe we could stage and film a (non-violent) modern-day peasant's revolt that makes unreasonable demands of the powers such as sustainable and diverse food growing, care for the soil, wildlife corridors, carbon capture, getting rid of land use for shooting. Then maybe proceed to a suitable field and burn some effigies. Fun and games.
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