November has been a busy month for us here at Green Sparks. We have started work with our first cohort of children at a time of year when activity in the garden is usually centred around winding down rather than starting up. The kids have been weeding, composting, direct sowing, sowing for plug plants, getting to know the garden and planting out biennials for some early spring flowers in 2023. Dodging the occasional shower indoors we have been making nature pictures, painting plant labels and designing our own nature trail.
Back in the office we are looking forward to starting work with our second West Dorset school in December, as well as hearing back on a grant application and working towards developing new services for children in need of support. Our website must be up and running if you are reading this, and we’ve sent out our first invoice. It feels like it’s been a productive month all round.
November Reflections
Surprises: We may be the only nature-based business that is happy about the unseasonably warm and sunny November this year – it has allowed us to remain outdoors much more often than we dared to hope for at the beginning of the month.
Satisfactions: Building relationships with the kids has brought an immense sense of satisfaction with it, along with going to work in dungarees and wellies. This is our version of living the dream.
Dissatisfactions: Trying to find balance between developing Green Sparks and continuing to take on other work in the short term to pay the bills is a constant juggling act that we haven’t mastered yet. We have a lot to learn about promoting our work to obtain new contracts and it feels daunting at times.
Learning: This month we attended the Stepping Into Nature Conference at Kingston Maurward. It was inspiring to meet so many other local nature-based businesses and to learn from their successes and experiences. We are also reading ‘Wild Therapy: undomesticating inner and outer worlds’ by Nick Totton and learning more about no dig gardening from Charles Dowden on YouTube.