First, I’d like to say thank you for finding your way here. I really hope you enjoy reading the posts on the blog and if you’re working on any kind of nature friendly or climate action project that you’d like to share, please get in touch, because I’d love to hear from you.

Abundant Times is technically a year late. This time last year, I was busy building the website with a January 2023 launch planned, but unfortunately life threw a bit of a curve ball and instead of the big unveil, I was diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer. I’ve spent most of 2023 having treatment but now I’m NED – No Evidence of Disease – and I’m very excited to be back in creative mode and finally going live! As well as the site and the blog, in 2024 I’m planning to launch a Zine. I’m not sure on the timing of this yet but I’ll send out newsletter updates as well as posting regularly on the Abundant Times Instagram and Twitter (I refuse to call it X) pages, so stay tuned! There’s also an Abundant Times Films YouTube channel. I’m hoping to get some funding to kickstart this and will update further in the new year.

So, why did I decide to do this project? If you’re reading this I imagine, like me, you care deeply about nature and our beautiful planet. I feel connected to the trees, plants, birds, insects, fungi, stars, moon, every living organism and the energy that surrounds it. Seeing the constant destruction and the total disregard from people in power, governments and corporations is devastating and frankly in some small way I wanted to do something about it. I’ve been studying permaculture for the past couple of years working towards my design and teaching certificates under the tutorage of the amazing Morag Gamble. I feel incredibly lucky to be a student at Morag’s Permaculture Education Institute, I’ve learnt so much from her, the other students and contributors over the past couple of years. The doors have opened to a wonderful world of edible plants, ecology, indigenous wisdom, systems thinking and more that I’m certain I wouldn’t have found had it not been for Morag and the course.

My PDC is based on my allotment plot, which I acquired in January 2020 just before Covid hit. I grow lots of veg and fruit, mostly from seed for food, pollinators and teas and to provide a safe haven for nature. I encourage a balanced ecosystem by being as gentle as I can, feeding my soil regularly with bokashi and compost made onsite, practising no dig and recycling all my waste. I have a four-barrel rainwater harvesting system, so that I can try and limit my use of mains water. It’s a work in progress and I’m learning every day. Along with the woods it’s my absolute happy place.

I’m very lucky to be the publicist for a wonderful environmental documentary film called Six Inches of Soil, which premieres in the UK in January 2024. It follows the inspiring story of British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food – to heal the soil, benefit our health and provide for local communities. You can watch the Six Inches of Soil trailer here.

I’m also a PR strategist and content developer in the media and entertainment industry. Before falling into PR many moons ago, I was a broadcast technology journalist, so I’ve been writing for nearly 25 years. I also love to paint and I’ve created all the artwork on the website including the Abundant Times logo. You can see all my artwork here on Instagram.

Pablo Picasso said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” And that’s what I want to do with this blog. I want to know what your gifts are and then share them. There’s a huge movement of people who have a strong connection to nature, whose eyes are fully open to the damage that we’re doing as humans. If we want to live in a world where we can ALL be safe then we need to act now. By taking a gentler approach to being, we really can have lives that are abundant in so many ways. Let’s share our stories and learn from each other.

Much love and positivity,
Kate x