There lies a 4 acre piece of land, just outside Glastonbury, on the Godney road, opposite from the ancient site of the Glastonbury Lake Village. A special piece of land. A lady owns it right now, but she will put it into community trust. A community food garden for all. 

A group of 35 or more people visited the land last weekend, and planted 120 tree saplings, including hazel and holly, to create a beautiful meandering hedgerow. Willow already grows there. What a delight it will all become for future generations. And for us, now, and in years to come.

The Glastonbury Friends of the Earth group recently did a film showing of Tawai: A Voice from the Forest. Bruce Parry visits a people in Borneo, and treks with them through their forest home. The Penan never felt scarcity before, until the forest began to be cut down for palm oil and pipelines, and a foreign aid group built them a house. Suddenly they became aware of time, because they needed to turn to agriculture to feed themselves. They have to cut down the forest that sustained them for generations, to grow their crops. 

The forest gives food like a mother gives milk. Food will never be withheld. Fruit grows, falls, and seeds sow themselves to grow other trees. Simple and easy. When you feel hunger, you go out and find food. There always exists something to sustain you in a forest.  Planting community forests like the one currently in progress in Glastonbury will be a vital part of humanity's future, not to mention the future of many other plant, insect and animal species. 

You are invited to this forest garden to sit, contemplate, picnic with friends, or just be in a quiet natural space. The forest is ours, as long as we respect and honour it. A gentleman who accompanied the tree-planters taught us a simple healing technique, to send light to the saplings so they are happy when they are planted in the ground. A beautiful gift. And the forest will give back, a thousand-fold. 

Juliet originally trained as geologist, one of two females in a class of 60 males. When she left university her options were limited: employment in either the nuclear industry or an oil rig. She had trouble finding a job because of her gender, and so decided to drop geology. Juliet first went into peace campaigning work, and then switched to healing work.
Mural on the Healing Waters Retreat and Sanctuary, founded by Juliet
Juliet delights at how great it is that we can now go straight for what we are good at, we can shine our lights on the planet so much easier than when she came out of university. She believes that we are all needed now to make a difference at this critical time on the planet. Each of us need to do what we are good at, and accept that we each do it differently. By co-creating our lives in this way, the planet doesn't have to be in the crisis we find it now. We can turn global warming and any other issue around, and can do it now if we all do our part.

Ultimately everyone on the planet wants the same thing, we just come at it from a different starting point and different points of view. If we listen deeply to each other, we can co-create change. After the recent US elections, people were so disappointed Trump got voted in, but Juliet confesses that she wouldn't have been happy if Hilary Clinton was voted in either. But in fact an interview with Trump supporters shows that both sets of voters are expressing the same thing: they want change, they want corruption to stop, they are ordinary people wanting better lives, forced to choose what they see as the lesser of two evils. We need unity instead of opposition after the voting.

After university Juliet went to India, where she read about the anti-nuclear movement. She came back to London and went to a huge anti-nuclear gathering, where she heard about Peace Camps. Greenham Common was one of them, but there were many others outside military bases in the UK and one in Italy. Juliet went to Molesworth camp, where they were planning on putting nuclear missiles. Molesworth was on the front line of the anti-nuclear movement: they held many demonstrations, broke fences, painted the buildings white, talked to and tried to convert soldiers. They created a human chainbetween Molesworth and other base 13 miles away. The movements at Greenham common worked, and the base was closed down. The fence was broken up and sent around the world as a token of a successful campaign.

Juliet then organised a 3 month Peace Walk from Faslane base in Scotland and Greenham Common, a distance of 1,000 miles. It was a great experience for Juliet to organise and participate in it, along with monks from a Buddhist temple in Milton Keynes. The monks promoted peace by walking, chanting, and fasting outside military bases. Although Juliet found that this sort of non-violent direct action was very powerful, she started to see that even more powerful was to not be in resistance at all, but to work with healing instead. That took her to Glastonbury.

Before stopping her involvement in activism, Juliet went on a final peace campaign to Eritrea, Africa. There people were growing wheat on a military base, in a movement called 'Wheat to the Starving'. The military police ploughed up the wheat that had started to grow, which triggered response from the international peace movement, and supplies of wheat were sent to Eritrea. Juliet went out to see to the distribution of the wheat. She saw first hand what many of us only see in photographs: people living with no food, just skin and bones. She found it extremely inspiring and continued to support them after moving to Glastonbury.

That image of starving children and war has tormented Juliet all her life, but she now sees it differently: it's not just a disaster, it's done on purpose. When I nodded in agreement, Juliet said: ''I feel your acknowledgement, because 20 years ago no one realised this.'' Julian Assange of Wikileaks showed so clearly how wars are deliberately started. Because of this people feel overwhelmed, hopeless and despairing, but if we look at it like this, then that's what we go towards. It's crucial to realise that with these emotions, we give our power to those in control: it's important not to get sucked into despair. We have so much power with every single thing we do: we give power to corporations with what we buy.

When we make a choice to live differently, ethically, morally, eat wholesome food, form good relationships, create communities, we are not giving power to that which makes us despair. It's all about the way we live our lives.

Leaves in the pond at the Healing Gardens
​Juliet began healing in 1980 in Glastonbury. She first trained as cranial sacral therapist, from which she learned two fundamental truths.

1- the most significant things happen to us before birth: we have consciousness pre-conception. The key points during our development (conception, when the eggs are released from the ovaries, the movement of sperm, how we grow in womb, our birth) all have profound imprints on our psyche. These are literally life and death moments, which leave strong patterns affecting our ability to cope in the world. These are the underlying imprints to trauma, and if we heal and re-pattern them, we can liberate the energy in our lives. We can change the way our life plays out, healing feelings that we can't succeed, or that our boundaries are overrun, and much more.

2- how fundamental trauma is in our lives and how much it affects us. Everyone on this planet is highly traumatised, and if they are healed, they are able to shine their light much brighter. With trauma it is easy to move into anger, despair and depression, meaning we do not function at our optimal level.

Juliet does one-to-one healing using many tools including cranial sacral therapy, and she trains others in trauma healing skills. This is essential if working as a therapist. Juliet's vision is that every person has trauma healing skills and knows how trauma affects us, including the police, teachers etc. Many from Juliet's generation were called stupid or lazy in class when they could not keep up, had tantrums, or were spacing-out. But these are in fact trauma symptoms. If children are given help from teachers rather than being ridiculed or ignored, then rather than growing up as failures, rebels, criminals or addicts, (all people with addictions are traumatised), they can instead shine their light on the world.

Juliet believes that this is the key to the shift in consciousness on planet. Trauma affects our ability to connect, to speak, to feel safe in relationships, even to make eye contact. How many people on this planet are in fear? They can't relate, can't feel safe, meaning they are either easily manipulated or they become the next Trump and Clinton: why do these people live from a place of greed, where does that come from? Trauma underlines every problem.

Trauma is not so difficult to heal. It's not a mental thing, you can't talk someone out of it, in fact counselling can cause re-traumatisation. For so long people have believed that if we get into the emotion, express it properly, then it would heal. It doesn't heal, it actually re-traumatises as the body thinks its happening again. When a person is screaming, their memory says this event is happening in this moment and the body goes into fight or flight mode: deeply embedding the trauma to the nervous system. A lot of people still practising this method- even in Glastonbury. Juliet tells me it is not necessary to remember the event: true trauma healing works with nervous system. She doesn't focus on a specific event, but focuses on what is happening in the body at that moment, and brings attention to that and work with that.
Woman made by children at the Healing Gardens
I am hoping to be a mother one day, and so I am very interested in the pre-natal side of what Juliet has been talking about.
I ask: ''can you heal the trauma before the baby is born or prevent it from occurring?''

Juliet runs healing birth workshops, about healing ones own birth. Quite often pregnant women come, because what happened in your own birth influences the way you give birth: you can project trauma onto your present pregnancy. Birth is potentially very dangerous, and doctors and midwives often go into their own birth trauma. This sense of emergency means that often interventions are put into place  that may be unnecessary. To fully support a woman giving birth it's essential to be in one's own power, and not activated into one's own trauma. That is also true for the mother giving birth: it is important not to be activated into your own birth.

The mother needs to be present and in constant communication with her baby, working together through the dance of the labour. The baby has to make some choices how to get down birth canal: humans are the only creature that has to turn the head to be born. The more the mother is in connection with the baby, freely moving her body in response to what baby is doing, the easier it is to get through, and the baby feels supported. In hospital the mother is on her back, full of drugs, fearful, and in pain. The drugs are calculated on her weight not the babies' weight, meaning the baby is unable to make conscious choices because he or she is overwhelmed with drugs! Everything about the way we give birth is harmful and highly traumatising.

And afterwards the baby suffers more trauma when she or he is taken away for weighing and washing. This breaks bonding period: those first 20 minutes are critical for the setting of the nervous system, for the baby to normalise and connect with the mother. Likewise the cutting of umbilical cord is traumatising, because it cuts off the blood supply to the baby, forcing the baby very dramatically to take their first breath. It is a good idea to let it stop pulsating before it's cut, to lessen the shock to the umbilical area. Some mothers birth the placenta and carry that around with the baby until it drops off.

To answer the question of preventing pre-natal trauma, Juliet emphasises that if the mother is in continual communication with the baby, the baby feels loved and supported, and the mother always puts the baby first in everything- then trauma can be reduced. This is easier said than done! There is a point called the 'discovery phase', which is extremely traumatising for the baby: when the mother finds out she is pregnant! Whether she is happy or unhappy, the surge of hormones when she discovers she is carrying a child, is a lot for the baby to handle. If the mother is distracted by economic problems, illness, someone dying etc, the baby feels isolated and the mothers' body is not being taken care of. Pregnancy is a time of putting everything aside and being in constant communicating with the child: because they understand everything. 

Juliets' Projects:

Juliet runs Healing Birth Wounds workshops in Glastonbury with the midwife Julia Duthie. It is part of the Healing Waters Retreat and Sanctuary, founded by Juliet. People from all over the world come and a group of therapists work there doing wide range of healing work.

The Healing Gardens is separate, but all the projects have a link: healing. It's all about be conscious of what our bodies are telling us, what food we put in our bodies, and it's about creating community. 

The gardens consist of 3 huge growing areas, each one a 13m circle. They are named earth, air, fire circles, and are all interlinked. There are also chickens, bees, orchards, a pond and wildlife area. There are 25 members, and they have gardening days together or they can come whenever they want to help. The aim is to have lots of fun and gatherings. Membership costs £2.50 a month, around £30 a year, and gives you access to the gardens whenever you like, and in return for work you get a share in the produce. 

Looking down on the Healing Gardens, Glastonbury
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​Juliets' vision of the future:

Her 26 year old daughter was despairing when Trump came into power, and Juliet told her that when she's Juliet's age, the world will look very different. Her daughter thought she meant different in a bad way, but Juliet explained:

''I think evolution is upward, and consciousness is growing. The world will be a wonderful place. New technology and the way we relate to each other gives the potential for immense change on the planet. I come from a position of positivity and trust, and I see the goodness that flowers from each one of us.''

​Bon shares with me her story of how she came to be head gardener of such an incredible project, and describes how it changed her life.

Since she was a youngster she felt that the way we live is unnatural. Bon came out of school with few qualifications through 'fighting the system'. She worked in an office for a while and then began working in an elderly home, where she loved listening to people's stories, and hearing what they have been through in life.

England was driving Bon ''bonkers'' and she wanted to explore other places and see what was out there. She travelled to Greece, adored it, but she still felt unsettled in herself. Upon returning she went to live in Tottenham, London. Perhaps not the best choice as it was only a few years after the Broadwater Farm riots, which you can read about here. Bon lived in a squat for some time, where she could feel the struggle of the people around her. These were people without a place or purpose, many with drug addictions, again very disconnected from themselves and the natural world. Bon conceived her first child and moved to Worthing when her daughter was 8 months old. Later she spent a year in France and had her second daughter.

​Before going to Greece Bon fell in love. She adored the man and considered it a perfect relationship. One day he disappeared and she didn't hear from him for 8 years. After she'd had her second daughter, he got in touch again and it turned out he'd been in prison for attempted armed robbery. He came out of prison a very different person, dramatically changed from a soft 17 year old to a violent, angry person. Bon decided to rekindle the love affair, and consequently endured a violent relationship.

​​Bon tells me that it was creativeness that got her out of it. She went to college and completed an access course in art and design, and later a degree in ceramics. She spent two years making ceramic eggs.

It was working with the earth and the sacred egg shape that sparked a massive healing process, and helped her reconnect with herself and the earth. Many people who go through violent relationships have their confidence battered, and Bon felt hers return through her art.

And then, she says ''I fell in love again, stupidly!'' Bon went to Yorkshire and had 2 more children, who kept her very busy. Then they moved back down to the West Country. Bon spent a year training to be a gardener, and then did an apprenticeship, working in people's private gardens. She says her real connection began when she started at the Red Brick Building Community Garden. Here she connected to people as well as the earth, whereas while gardening privately she felt disconnected from society. 

Two and a half years ago Bon started working at the Community Garden. The structures were already there, but there were no groups or real 'community'. She started up the gardening club first, which happens on Wednesday mornings and is open to anyone. Sometimes a lot of people come, sometimes not. Spring tends to be a good time for volunteers, as people want to start planting and learn the basics of how to get a garden going. There is also the Orchard Vale club for adults with learning difficulties. Bon loves watching other peoples' interactions with them. As individuals these people are so in themselves, and are happy to get on and do anything. Bon says ''If I'm in a low mood, I come down here and they bring me up straight away.''

​The 'Mind' group will begin in September every Friday afternoon. The idea of this group is gardening for mental well-being. Bon describes how people sometimes dip in and out of volunteering when they feel low, and how much it supports them to potter around and plant seeds. One lady had lost her mother, and a memorial bench was put up for her here. This lady felt the garden saved her life at times, as she could come here, be around people but not have to interact too much, be part of something, and watch something grow. It is a magical process to watch plants grow. Living with the seasons brings you back to yourself.

The space is fantastic for children to connect with this cycle within themselves, as Bon has discovered with the Home Education group. The children love watering and having water flights, picking flowers and making perfume, and making connection with earth and plants. This is a very free flow group, as they do one structured thing such as planting seeds, and the rest of the time they potter around doing what interests them. And the adults love it too, of course!  

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​Bon says that is both the gardening and the people that make her feel more satisfied, connected, and happier. For much of her life Bon has been isolated: she brought up her children on her own and chose jobs where she could work solo. Being here has changed her in many ways. Being in the middle of two different neighbours: Zigzag on one side, full of Bohemian free spirits, and the Red Brick Building (photo above) on the other, more commercial but still creative, Bon feels its like a microcosm of the world. 

​The Community Garden also runs workshops. In the Pond Building course they learned how to create large and small ponds, about the ecosystem of ponds and how they feed wildlife. The Planting for Pollinators course covered the decline of honey bees and how support them; solitary bees, hover-flies and other pollinators; and how to create habitats for them. My own first session volunteering here was creating a deadwood fence (photos below) that encourages pollinators, birds, mice and other creatures. The Soil School gave information on how to look after soil and the microbes and animals within it.

The Community Garden is closely connected to the group Feed Avalon, and together they run a 2 week permaculture course at the 5 acre garden at Compton Dundon. The participants get a qualification at the end of it. They will also run a mushroom foraging course there in November, in the ancient woods that the gardens back on to.

Bon loves how these 3 aspects work together: the Community Garden, Feed Avalon, and Compton Dundon. She feels supported on so many levels and able to ask for things, which is something she has never had before. Bon feels that this supportive community spirit is a huge part of her recent growth. 

The Avalon Wildflower Park across the road is all about creating habitat for pollinators, highlighting the lack of wildlife around to support bees. There is a plan to put a hive up there, with no frames as they won't be taking any honey. It will be an empty hollow in which the bees will make their own structure, like in a tree. The aim is to get back to basics, watch and observe the bees without interfering, but still be responsible for them and check for disease.

The food grown in the Community Garden gets picked and given to the people that work there. There is not enough space to grow food for supplying a business, although it may be possible with the mushroom farm that will be created soon. Bon likes the idea of getting mushrooms out into the public and informing about their health benefits.

She says she would love the council to give her 20 acres of land to create a growing school, where schools groups could come. She believes getting children interested in the natural cycles is an integral part of their personal growth. 

Bon is excited in that she sees everything coming together this year, and increasingly she feels an 'interconnectedness' with everything. It's now more than a thought pattern, for her its that deep feeling of 'knowing' we are all one. It's within nature that you feel it on a physical level. Bon says she feels more on an even key with herself. Becoming vegan helped, as she feels a lightness that wasn't there before. And she feels mentally 'lighter' as well, having fewer negative thoughts.

She feels so privileged to work with so many wonderful people, and to see them get so much joy from flowers and nature. Getting to know everyone around has helped her to break down barriers on a personal level, opening up and allowing herself to be vulnerable.
She says ''I feel very blessed.''

We talk for a while about pain, victim-hood, trauma, and 'fighting the system' and how the only real way to make a difference is to work within yourself. When that peace becomes a natural feeling, others will pick up on it too, and in some small way it changes them.