As you know my passion is to care for nature and mother earth.  My friends on Great Barrier, Joanna, (who is professionally editing my Edible Weed book. If you know anyone needing an editor contact her) and Ro, knowing this about me, sent me a You Tube link.  It is about the Kogi people living surrounded by jungle, deep in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountains of Colombia. They have been living in deliberate seclusion since the Spanish conquest 500 years ago.  They are highly attuned to nature and believe they exist to care for the world - a world they fear we are destroying. They made contact with the outside world to give us a message from the 'heart of the world'.  It is meant to move us, to wake us up and stop this destruction and stripping of the earth's natural resources. I am so glad I have seen this extraordinary documentary.

After watching the impactful documentary about the Kogi people and their warning about what is happening to mother earth, this documentary gave real hope. It is a positive story about ordinary people coming together to effect change.  It is called the Bentley Effect and shows how a well organised, very large group of people stopped multi nationals drilling and fracking for natural gas.  It is an uplifting, moving, at times scary, beautifully crafted documentary taken over 5 years by producer Brendan Shoebridge.

I had the privilege of having Brendan, his wife Stephanie and two children stay at my place in their campervan.  Naomi, who featured in the film was my first guest in this house since I moved in.  I was honoured to support them in their amazing work to make a difference in protecting mother earth.  They are over from Australia doing screenings of the documentary all over New Zealand.  See the screenings schedule here.

In my garden

I'm watching all the plants wake up and come to life.  My peas are growing, broad beans flowering. The red and white kakabeaks (Clianthus puniceus) I have inherited are a joy.  One day I noticed two gold finches sitting on the flowering puha (Sonchus oleraceus) plants pulling off the tufts of fluff, chucking it aside and eating the seeds.  I was so pleased I had not pulled the Puha out.  If I had I would not have provided food for these pretty little birds nor seen this lovely sight. I also have early gladiolis that are so lovely and bright (above). The goldfinch to the left is on a plant like ox tongue (Helminothotheca echioides)  which has prickly seed heads. I don't know exactly which plant the gold finch is sitting on because this is a photo from the internet.

Denholm and Roannes' giant plantain next to a normal size broad leaf plantain (Plantago major) and a very large broad leaf dock leaf (Rumex obtusifolius). Obviously fertile soil enables  and encourages weeds to grow huge. Plantain is such an incredibly valuable plant.  A proven wound healer, draws out puss, deals with insect bites and stings and provides all kinds of nutrition. This link here provides huge detailed information about this plant. I've also written about it in a blog here.

Workshop on the orchard near Katikati with a large hedge mustard (Sisymbrium officinale) under the flowering peach tree.