Story of Place
Anchoring this work in a ‘story of place’ is central to the success of We Are Avon:
…ancient stories of this place that relate to our indigeneity e.g. our celtic & druidic roots
…old stories of place in our region e.g Bath as sacred City of Water, market garden town, food sufficient, abundant orchards and largely wooded valley
…dominant stories of place e.g. colonization, industrial era, then modernization and ‘financialization of place’ (and its waters/lands)
… Emerging stories of place, Avon Bioregion as leader in regeneration, pioneering re-localisation of food systems, Bioregional transformation, circular economies of care
Our Roots
Where have the seeds of this project emerged from?
Why are the soil conditions right for this to emerge now?
What is the potential of this vision and collaboration?
Root 1: we need creative & collaborative solutions to the climate and nature crisis. The fragility and unsustainability in our current food systems regionally and globally is both the greatest driver of this crisis and the most potent solution.
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Root 2: Lived experience immersed in local food growing & movements, living the barriers to the emergence of regenerative food and land systems. We Are Avon as a solution to overcome these challenges together.
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Root 3: Learning from successes and challenges of previous waves of local food action. Foundations for emergence in this new context and time for action.
Root 4: Hope & vision for a bioregion coming back to life. We can build better food systems and we can have autonomy at the regional level to create these systems from the ground up, re-engaging people as regenerators of the nature around us.
Our Mission
To Enable, Facilitate and Catalyse the regeneration of our Avon bioregion and its communities at every scale, from gardens to cities to landscapes.
This vision is realized through the offering of regenerative services to our communities and lands, drawing upon a diverse team of skilled Regenerators and Advisors collaborating for an impactful web of change in collaboration with our clients.
Aims
Our Fundamental aim is to support the regeneration of life and communities together, starting with this place here and now.
1.Bring climate and nature solutions to practical action in our bioregion, using food that we grow and eat as an anchor for this work.
2.Work across boundaries to create a regenerative regional food system through Avon Producer co-operative and “The Hive” (Food Hub)
3.Secure and regenerate over 800 acres of land through Avon Land Trust, whilst cultivating food, livelihoods and resilience to environmental changes.
4.Accredited training of 12 new regenerative growers each year for the proliferation of sustainable land-based livelihoods, rippling out from an inspiring ‘Land Hub’ incubator farm for the region.
5. Empower communities, producers and organisations to take effective grassroots action on the climate and nature emergencies (emerge-with-agency's)
6.Work with and evolve regional Food Policy & Strategy to facilitate both better food systems and the cultural re-connection to food and land.
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7.Create a viable regional model for a UK-wide regeneration movement, where other bioregions (e.g. We are Exmoor) can catalyse community resilience and Relational food webs.
8. Regenerate our river, stop the harm, hold water companies accountable and take positive action to clean our waterways
Many more aims to be added and refined as the movement grows and we gather stakeholder voices !
Towards Community Resilience
From our work in regional food system,s on the ground, we have identified 3 core community needs (and many more!) that this project has been designed to address
3 community needs addressed:
1. A requirement for local, affordable, healthy food which does not come at a cost to the environment upon which we depend. An easier way for communities to access, procure and receive a range of these regenerative foods with accountability and source knowledge.
2. A yearning for purposeful livelihoods and the necessary training and land access to pursue this healthy choice. A need for the wider enabling/systemic conditions to be more favorable, inclusive and encouraging.
3. A need for a clean and healthy river for all stakeholders. Thousands of users enjoy and depend upon the river Avon from which is currently polluted largely by unsustainable agricultural practices and profit-based water companies. From boaters to fishermen to swimmers and walkers, there is a stronger than ever momentous call to protect our Avon.
