by Wilf Richards, North East Permaculture co-ordinator So, the first North East of England Permaculture Convergence went better than we could have expected! We would have been happy with 30 to 50 folk but we went over our maximum capacity and reached 120. The day was perfect - good weather, no technical hitches and plenty of help. The event was hosted by LAND Centre Scotswood Natural Community Garden in the west end of Newcastle on 30 July 2016. We started the event with pizza cooked in their wood fired oven and then after our opening circle and introduction by Wilf Richards, (local permaculture teacher and co-organiser), we had a choice of over twenty workshops to attend over the next three hours. Workshops ranged from the practical to the theoretical, from biochar to upcycling laptops, from solar boats to compassionate communication, from passivhaus to straw bales. We were particularly pleased and very grateful to Ed Tyler, the founder of Scotswood Garden back in 1995, for joining us from his Scottish home and also to Graham Bell and Nancy Woodhead for joining us from their Forest Garden in Coldstream. We even had a great evening of music in local bar Bar Loco which even included some permaculture themed lyrics for us to join in with. Fantastic, we'll be doing it again next year. Find us on Facebook. What participants said Ruth Hayward: “Thanks it was a great day, lots of useful networking and learning, looking forward to next year” Milena: “I loved the venue - Scotswood garden is absolutely amazing and created the perfect space for me to feel like I escaped a busy world, and emerged in something unpolluted, natural and welcoming. The diversity of it also suited perfectly the diversity of people attending and issues touched." William Mortada: "Thanks for a great day... and lovely food!” Phil Rigby: "Great attendance at an excellent event. Well done Wilf Richards and the organisers.... and big shout to all at Scotswood natural community garden....never seen it looking better.” Copied to clipboard