Green Books – serie

A fascinating manifesto, proposing that the world should be split into smaller regions to distribute power more evenly.Written by one of the most original political thinkers of the 20th century, in The Breakdown of Nations, Leopold Kohr shows that throughout history people living in small states are happier, more peaceful, more creative and more prosperous. He argues that virtually all our political and social problems would be greatly diminished if the world’s major countries were to dissolve back into the small states from which they sprang. Rather than making even larger political unions, in the mistaken belief that this will bring peace and security, we should minimise the aggregation of power by returning to a patchwork of small, relatively powerless states where leaders are accessible to and responsive to the people.Originally published in 1957, this new edition features forewords by Neal Ascherson and Richard Body. The material has been noted for its striking relevance to the current political situation, with globalisation, war, nuclear weapons and the rise of electronic gadgets leading to concern over whether we should re-examine the implications of the size of political groupings, whether they be states, nations or federations.In these turbulent times, recognise the beauty and potential in small political nations with this inspiring read.

Bring in the energy of wild places and work in harmony with the land to grow your own food and live sustainably.In this beautifully illustrated book, award-winning garden designer Mary Reynolds encourages us to create a bond with the land to restore its health and feel its energy. Drawing inspiration from permaculture traditions as well as the ancient multi-tiered approach of forest gardening, Mary demonstrates how to create a magical garden that is an expanding, living, interconnected ecosystem.The Garden Awakening is both art and inspiration for any garden lover seeking to create a positive and natural space while incorporating sustainable living such as growing your own food. It combines practical step-by-step instructions with spiritual, ancient Celtic stories to help you awaken any garden space, nurturing it to benefit both the land and the people in it. This design approach allows ecosystems to be whole and in balance while providing a place for human beings to live happy and productive lives.Transform your garden into a vibrant, wild area that embraces the spiritual side of nature with this wonderful read.

Something is stirring. People around the world are deciding that the well-being of their community and its economy lies with them.They're people like you. They've had enough, and, rather than waiting for permission, they're rolling up their sleeves, getting together with friends and neighbours, and doing something about it. Whether they start small or big, they're finding that just doing stuff can transform their neighbourhoods and their lives. The Power of Just Doing Stuff argues that this shift represents the seeds of a new economy - the answer to our desperate search for a new way forward - and at its heart is people deciding that change starts with them. Communities worldwide are already modelling a more local economy rooted in place, in well-being, in entrepreneurship, and in creativity. And it works. Packed with inspiring real-life examples of how to change things, this book ties in with the increasing focus on community action during tough economic times. This brilliant book is ideal for schools, community groups and campaigners as well as the general public and Transition groups.

A toolkit for effective change, packed with useful information on how to influence the behaviour of human beings for the better. The pressing issues of today clamour for solutions, yet to a surprising degree past and present efforts to effect social change have been based on little more than hunches. This book dispels many of the myths that prevent social change projects from succeeding, and replaces them with the best of what we know from social and motivational psychology and lessons from projects that have worked.Changeology simplifies a vast body of theory and practice into six principles: buzz, hope, enabling environments, sticky solutions, ‘can do’ and the right inviter. These are explained with fascinating real-life stories and a look at the hard evidence, with amusing anecdotes and stories throughout.This fascinating book is relevant to change projects both large and small, and in almost any area of activity but with an emphasis on key topics such as climate change, poverty, obesity, AIDS, tobacco and drug use. Written in an easy, accessible style by change facilitator Les Robinson, it is aimed at a worldwide audience of professionals and individuals who are acting to make change in their corporations, cities and neighbourhoods, as well as in their own lives.

How do you cook heartnuts, hawthorn fruits or hostas? What’s the best way to preserve autumn olives or to dry chestnuts? Forest gardening – a novel way of growing edible crops in different vertical layers – is attracting increasing interest, for gardens large or small. But when it comes to harvest time, how do you make the most of the produce?From bamboo shoots and beech leaves to medlars and mashua, Food from your Forest Garden offers creative and imaginative ways to enjoy the crops from your forest garden. It provides cooking advice and recipe suggestions, with notes on every species in the bestselling Creating a Forest Garden by Martin Crawford. The book includes more than 100 recipes for over 50 different species, presented by season, plus raw food options. It also provides information on the plants’ nutritional value, with advice on harvesting and processing, as well as detailed instructions on preserving methods, from traditional preserves such as jams to ferments and fruit leathers. With beautiful colour photographs of plants and recipes, this book is an invaluable resource for making the most of your forest garden – and an inspiration for anyone thinking of growing and using forest garden crops.

A comprehensive practical manual for professionals and self-builders, this innovative book explains the many benefits of building with hempcrete.Hempcrete is a building material with excellent, environmentally friendly properties. It’s made from lime and hemp shivs (a waste product from hemp fibre growing) and can be used for walks, floor and roof insulation. Hempcrete is breathable, absorbing and emitting moisture; this helps regulate internal humidity, avoiding trapped moisture and mould growth, and creating healthier buildings. It provides excellent acoustic and thermal insulation, and it is lightweight, which reduces construction costs.Whether you’re working on a new build or are planning a renovation, The Hempcrete Book tells you everything you need to know to get started with hempcrete. It describes how to source and mix it, and provides a detailed account of construction techniques, highlighting potential pitfalls and how to avoid them. With fully illustrated design notes and examples of completed builds, this book is a powerful tool for any eco-builder.

A beautifully designed book full of creative ideas and fun activities to get your children outdoors, with a foreword by Chris Packham.Spending time outdoors and interacting with the elements gives our senses a host of stimuli that cannot be recreated indoors. Whether you’re splashing in muddy puddles, making shelters, foraging blackberries, playing hide and seek or watching birds, experiencing the natural world reduces stress, makes us feel alive and lays critical foundations for a healthy developing brain.Learning with Nature is ideal for parents, teachers and youth workers looking to enrich children’s learning through nature and teach them to enjoy and respect the great outdoors. Written by experienced Forest School practitioners, it is packed with more than 100 tried and tested games and activities suitable for groups of children aged between 3 and 16, which aim to help children develop key practical and social skills and gain a better awareness of the world. The book is well-organised and features step-by-step instructions, age guides, a list of resources needed, and invisible learning points.Explore, have fun, make things and learn about nature with this fantastic guide.

An accessible and comprehensive guide, filled with everything you need to set up your own mini-farm and live more self-sufficiently.With the help of this handy book, you can grow all the fruit and vegetables your family needs, raise animals for meat and eggs, keep fish and bees, and even produce firewood on a plot of land of just one acre or less – all alongside your work and family life.Whether you have a garden, a paddock or perhaps the corner of a field, Sally Morgan guides you through various useful topics, including growing fruit and vegetables throughout the year, producing fish with aquaponics, and keeping livestock – poultry, pigs, sheep and goats. There is also helpful information on how to layout your plot, including fencing, poly tunnels or greenhouses, and tips on managing soil fertility. This updated edition also includes a chapter on coping with extreme weather conditions.Filled with practical advice, Living on One Acre or Less is essential reading for anyone who aspires to take control of their food supply or who wants to do more with the land they've got.

Filled with helpful tips and beautiful photographs, this guide contains everything you need to create your own forest garden.Forest Gardening, or agroforestry, is a way of growing edible crops while allowing nature to do most of the work. Species are chosen for their beneficial effects on each other, creating a healthy system that maintains its own fertility, with little need for digging, weeding or pest control. The result of this largely perennial planting is a tranquil, beautiful and productive space, where you can cultivate your own fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms and even forage firewood and honey. Whether in a small back garden or in a larger plot, forest gardens really benefit the environment and are also a viable solution to the challenge of a changing climate. The soil thrives from being covered with plants all year round and is also able to store more water after heavy rains, minimising flooding and erosion and helping plants to survive through drought. Forest gardens also store carbon dioxide in the soil and in the woody biomass of the trees and shrubs. The mixed variety of plants further boosts the health of the ecosystem by ensuring a balance of predators and beneficial insects.Creating a Forest Garden is a bible for permaculture and forest gardening, with practical advice on how to create a forest garden, from planning and design to planting and maintenance. It includes a detailed directory of over 500 trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, annuals, root crops and climbers. As well as more familiar plants such as fig and apple trees, blackcurrants and rosemary shrubs, you can grow your own chokeberries, goji berries, yams, heartnuts, bamboo shoots and buffalo currants.Grow a forest garden with this handy guide and become more self-sufficient while also enjoying the natural beauty and environmental benefits of these wonderful green spaces.

With low-cost and sustainable DIY projects, this practical guide helps gardeners to make use of small spaces by growing upwards. Vertical gardening offers great opportunities to grow flowers, vegetables, succulents and herbs, particularly for those with a balcony, patio or compact garden. It can also be a fantastic way to showcase creative and sustainable design choices, whether you've got wood, terracotta pots, burlap sacks, fabric or even plastic bottles. From privacy screens to foldable storage, this helpful guide includes step-by-step DIY projects, plant care tips and tricks, and practical information on the special challenges that come with planting in a compact garden, including advice on pests, drainage and plants suited for gardens with limited light. Beautifully illustrated throughout with aspirational photography and useful diagrams, Vertical Gardening celebrates the versatility of growing up in a small or awkward space.

‘Mandatory reading for everyone in our design practice.’ CHARLIE LUXTON‘A deeply fascinating book.’ MARK BRINKLEYDrawing from extensive experience, award-winning architect Jon Broome and design engineer Nick Grant celebrate undervalued ideas that have stood the test of time.The Good Building Book provides provocative and empowering insights, along with critical analysis, to help rethink design and construction.- Guides readers through project development, from single home to larger projects.- Examines performance standards and navigates commercial aspects such as budgets, contracts, and consultants.- Explores strategic design and principles of good details for building elements, weaving together aesthetics, performance, and value in context.- Offers practical principles and design strategies relevant for a rapidly changing world.- Features more than 150 photos and a further 90 diagrams.Whether you’re a designer or contractor, building user or client, student or teacher, this solution-focused book provides a new way of thinking about how we shape the built environment for a sustainable future.

A modern guide to help you grow cut flowers for pleasure or profit.Fill your home with the colours and scents of flowers you’ve planted yourself, and enjoy the mindfulness, patience and creativity that growing them brings.In The Flower Farmer’s Year, artisan flower farmer, florist, and educator Georgie Newbery shares everything you need to know; from starting a cut-flower patch, optimising bed layout and choosing what to grow, to cutting, conditioning, and arranging your flowers. A comprehensive year planner is also included to keep your land productive all year.And if you discover you love growing flowers, and you have more than will fit on your kitchen table and more than your friends can enjoy, you might consider selling some. This book offers down-to-earth guidance and expert advice on making a profit from cut flowers, marketing your business, andmaking the most of social media.Whether you dream of armfuls of sustainable, homegrown flowers for your home or a family wedding, or you want to to earn a living doing something you love, this book is for you.

Learn to make your own natural beauty products with this collection of organic, beginner-friendly recipes.In The Natural Beauty Book, environmentalist and forager Tiffany Francis-Baker shares more than 40 everyday recipes that use nourishing, eco-friendly and affordable ingredients. From toothpaste and shampoo to soothing body scrubs and bath bombs, each recipe includes clear instructions, suitability for different skin or hair types, application techniques and storage tips.Aided with beautiful illustrations and photographs throughout, this book also features a useful directory on the most common natural ingredients and the issues they are used to address. A comprehensive introduction outlines the art of making your own skincare, as well as information on the rhythms and cycles of the skin, how the menstrual cycle affects the skin, and how to safely use products when dealing with skin sensitivity and allergies.Discover the power of natural ingredients, practice self-care and have fun along the way with this empowering guide.

A beautifully illustrated, step-by-step guide to growing native orchids from seed in your garden.Learn how to cherish these remarkable flowers and help them flourish in their natural habitat with this easy-to-use guide. Native orchids are neither difficult to cultivate nor require special conditions to thrive, and while a large meadow may be beyond the reach of most, the corner of a garden or a pot on a patio can provide a home to a spectacular display. This unique book includes valuable information on which species of orchids will work in your garden and what companion plants to grow next to them, as well as instructions on how to grow orchids from seed or in a container and how to start an orchid meadow or add orchids to an orchard, preserving and promoting local ecosystems.Beautifully illustrated throughout with photographs and illustrations, this essential guide will show you how easy it is to grow native orchids and how to create a protected environment in which declining species can thrive undisturbed.

The UK’s leading no-dig gardening expert, Charles Dowding, draws on his years of experience to show how easy it is to start a new vegetable garden.Any plot - whether a building site, overgrown with weeds or unwanted lawn - can be turned into a beautiful and productive vegetable area. Charles's no-nonsense and straightforward advice is the perfect starting point for the beginner or experienced gardener.The book takes you step-by-step through everything - from planning, clearing the ground and the early stages of starting a vegetable garden, to growing in polytunnels and greenhouses. There is also helpful guidance on how to use mulch, ways to minimise digging, and planting/sowing tips across the seasons.Filled with labour-saving ideas and the techniques that Charles uses to garden so successfully, How to Create a Vegetable Garden is illustrated throughout with photos and tales from Charles's first year in his new vegetable garden.

The Housebuilder’s Bible by Mark Brinkley is the UK’s best-selling guide to self-building and home improvement, with over 200,000 copies sold. First self-published in 1994, it has become a trusted reference for a wide range of readers, including self-builders, architects, contractors, surveyors, estate agents, and home improvers.Drawing on over 40 years of experience, Brinkley offers a highly readable and insightful handbook that demystifies the design and construction process. The book blends regularly updated practical guidance – such as trade prices, planning advice, and building regulations – with thoughtful commentary on how and why we build the way we do, and how we might do it better.Designed to be a Rough Guide to homebuilding in the UK, the book includes detailed costings, recommendations, and regulatory information. Key topics are clearly presented with the help of mono photos, graphics, tables, making it an indispensable resource for anyone planning a building project.