Luke’s April 2025 Update
It’s been an interesting month of reflection, an amazing month of beautiful weather that makes you feel so alive, certainly great to be able to spend more time in nature, discovering the science behind “Vitamin N” (for nature), the healing powers of the natural world.
On my travels I was lucky enough to visit Brussels and take part in a conference for Regenerative Food Systems Investment, RFSI. Farmers are the foundation of a regenerative food system, yet they still face massive barriers when it comes to implementing regenerative practices in the field, not the least of which are land access and appropriate investment. This was a key take-away from the first session which I was lucky enough to be featured, thank goodness I wasn’t last up, I would have spent 2 days worrying about it.
Day 2 was underpinned by more important questions and gave me reason to raise many of my own as we try and navigate through these extremely difficult times, I know that there certainly needs to be a wealth of investment in regenerative agriculture and food, but this conference filled me with so much hope as it is clearly happening in nearly every sector the world has to offer. “How can we create systems that want to INVEST IN LIFE?” RFSI kicked off its second annual RFSI Europe event in Brussels by reflecting on this question.
The future of food is such an exciting place to be and even living in our micro world of the Chew Valley I truly believe we can help be a voice in the world of regeneration.
Upon my return, Spring sprung into life, we started calving and the pigs farrowed like no tomorrow. The cold evenings and mornings still meant grass growth was slow but it was great too spend so much time with the sun shining down, precious moments in the UK.
We have also been working really hard in the background on bringing exciting events to the Chew Valley – we have Fire In Your Soul, Back To Mine and highly anticipated and much thought about Nesta Valley Eco Camp, one where we might even be able to add some live music in the mix and bring more much needed entertainment to our lives.
Check out our latest press release for Fire in your Soul.
I cant wait to bring this event to life and really hope you can join us. It is my life’s journey through food and farming and how we envision a future where our food systems work in harmony with the land–and we know it’s within reach.
The answers have always been here–soil health, biodiversity, and working with nature. Regenerative farming practices aren’t new; much of it is rooted in ancestral wisdom carried through generations. We are simply trying to tell a story because change begins with awareness and conversations around the fire, music, poems, food and sharing are all actionable ways to get involved in the regenerative movement.
What an exciting time to be alive, the shift has moved from ‘why’ to ‘how’ and so many solutions are emerging.
On another note I managed to complete the London Landmarks half marathon for Harvey Hext appeal, even surprised myself with time of 1.31, thanks to everyone who very kindly donated, an amazing response and quite staggering total amount of £16 million raised with that one event.
I thought it would be good to bring you news of Mike Hurford, he is doing great, has put on some good weight and feeling positive within himself. He is still waiting for the full results but has set himself a charity target of his own by doing another Wing Walk which we all think is mental but if you would like to donate to this great cause, Mike would be so very grateful for your support.
Podcast I’m listening to
Not only because my good friend Rob Pope helped me get through the marathon as I listened to his audio book Becoming Forrest but he also has a new Podcast called Super Human.
Article of the month :-
Quote of the month
“Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.”
– Aldous Huxley