Resurgence & Ecologist magazine Issue 324 • January/February 2021
Resilience

In this issue of Resurgence & Ecologist we celebrate resilience. The community response to the challenges of 2020 has shown that our connections with each other can weave a safety net of resilience against the hardest times. With this in mind, in this issue we visit communities across the world, from London to Zimbabwe, to explore how, despite differences in culture, climate and history, people are building resilience amid uncertainty. From having fun together in the kitchen, to bringing back traditional grain, to organising ecosystem restoration camps, connecting people with each other and Nature is key.

Elsewhere, Colin Tudge, co-founder of the Oxford Real Farming Conference, explores the connection between food banks and land ownership, and Anne Baring takes us back four millennia to a time when worship of the Great Mother was replaced by the Great Father, and the dire consequences this had for the future of humanity.

Highlights

An interview with Magid Magid: Renuka Odedra
Fenced In: Colin Tudge
Farming for Justice: Claire Ratinon
Nourishing Community: Dee Woods
Grains of Hope: Method Gundidza

Featured articles

The Green Munias

Sahil Zutshi reports on a conservation project that is restoring natural habitat in forests of Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary, home to five of the eight species of munias found in India. The project aims to build a better home for the green munias currently threatened by habitat loss, unmanaged tourism, pesticides and the risk from trapping.
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Fenced In

Colin Tudge takes a look at farming and land ownership throughout the years, highlighting the need for a new generation of farmers and radical reform of food production. "What's really needed is a far more egalitarian economy so that no one is too poor to live with dignity and no one is damagingly rich."
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Nourishing the Community

Dee Woods, co-founder of Granville Community Kitchen, talks about what resilience means to her and the Granville community. Since 2004 the community kitchen has grown from serving around 50 families to over 200 and has created a safe space for the most disaffected to raise their voices to advocate for structural change at local, national and international level.
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Welcome to London

An innovative walking project set up by Fences & Frontiers is helping refugees and asylum seekers feel welcome in London. Jini Reddy reports on a project that offers a chance for people to build friendships, practice language skills and gain a sense of community. Never Walk Alone is a much-needed grassroots community initiative bringing people together.
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Seasonal Light

Winter days may be shorter, but this is a time when we can find hidden treasures within the landscape. Kathryn Aalto savours this time of reflection, appreciating the beauty of a changing landscape and the opportunity to look within. She encourages us to "Set time aside to intentionally watch how the shadows from the low winters sun differ from high summer sun shadows."
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Seeing into the Life of Things

In his final piece for Resurgence, Poetry Editor, Peter Abbs shares a selection of poems that bear witness to the extraordinary power of observing and connecting, of perception transforming into vision, and joy and harmony opening our eyes to the deep nature of things.
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Picture Credits

Cover image: Artwork by Leah Duncan @leahduncan; The Green Munias: A pair of green munias © Ainsley Priestman; Fenced In: Illustration © Mark Conlan/Ikon Images; Nourishing the Community: Dee Woods in Granville Community Garden © Orlando Gili; Welcome to London: Photograph courtesy of Fences and Frontiers; Seasonal Light: The Shadow Embrace by Tara Turner www.tara-turner.pixels.com; Seeing Into The Life of Things: Artwork by Stef Mitchell Instagram @stefmitchellprint; The Last Word: The first known photographs of snow, by Wilson Bentley; Celebrating a Great American Tradition: Family Tree, 2014 by Rebecca Clark

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