Wenderlynn Bagnall - Educator Profile

Biography

I am a wife, mother of two adult children and nanna to Bodhi. I grew up in a rural village in Hertfordshire 20 miles north of London. I was lucky to have access to nature being surrounded by fields and trees. My parents were conventional farmers as was my grandfather. I missed the opportunity to be part of this experience being the youngest of my siblings.

My life was shaped by a violent, dysfunctional family, poor education due to bullying and struggling to learn, mental illness as a teenager and social exclusion as a result. I never settled into a career, not having any qualifications. Whilst having a young family I went to college part-time, gaining several qualifications and became a Mature Students Officer. I later became a victim of domestic violence which was to become another milestone in shaping my life. I started work in further education as a facilitator and lecturer, supporting and teaching marginalised groups and young offenders.
For most, these events would have sealed the story of their life. I recognised these challenges as being the symptoms to the current social system which is suppose to support us all. It is these issues and the source which perpetuates them, which have become the focus for my work as an activist, permaculturist and a permaculture eduator.

In 2009, whilst being on the committee of a local transition towns group, I discovered permaculture. Being part of this group was a step towards a more sustainable way of life. In 2010 I was made redundant from my further education role. This lead to a change in paradigm and in 2011, whilst still living in Hertfordshire, my husband and I bought a small plot of land in Devon. Here we developed our land-based skills and started to put into practice the theory of permaculture.

I attended my first permaculture course in Brighton in 2012. I took my Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC), in July 2013 with Aranya at Ourganics in Devon. My group experience led me to want to learn more about social Permaculture. I started my Diploma In Applied Permaculture Design in October 2013 and attended my first social permaculture course in November 2013.

In 2015 to 2020, I spent 5 years teaching permaculture and living off-grid in North West Devon, running a LAND (Learning and Network Demonstration), learner project and plant nursery called Wishtree. This was an experimental, small holding project, demonstrating applied permaculture design. Living at Wishtree shifted my life into a different paradigm, changing and developing a strong sense of psychological resilience . During this time we set up a social enterprise, called North Devon Permaculture CIC, delivering permaculture education to individuals, preschools and community groups. Living off-grid came to an end when COVID affected our income and a family member indirectly died as a result of COVID itself. This left a vulnerable, elderly relative needing to be cared for. Regarding all of this. we adapted to change, sold Wishtree to another permaculturist, moved location and renamed the social enterprise to Wyld Edges to teach permaulture education in urban settings, with community groups and organisations and schools. Our new LAND learner project is a called. (Please see the LAND learner listing for more details)

I regularly attend the online educator meetings to keep up best practice as a permaculture educator.

I am currently studying and researching whether I am an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person, the medical term is Sensory Processing Sensitivity). At present my research, and the support of an HSP community and psychotherapist, leads me to believe I am. This is a recognised trait in 20% of the population. Understanding more about this has helped me to make sense of why I daily find the world overwhelming, and as a result experience anxiety and depression. I openly talk about my anxiety and depression and use permaculture to help me cope with its affects. I am a MIND campaigner and value the support MIND gives me as a poor mental health sufferer.

In addition to the above I am an Earth Protector and have signed up to the Stop Ecoside campaign.

Qualifications and skills
Qualifications: 

Current

•Wyld Edges Community Interest Company, permaculture education, Hertfordshire - co-founder and director
•Studying towards my Diploma In Applied Permaculture Design - since 2013

Teacher Training 2010 - 2021

• Children In Permaculture Permaculture Design Certificate [Lusi Alderstoww and Nim Robins]
• Training of Teachers [ online with Graham Bell and Rakesh Bhambri ]
• Introduction to Engaging Children in Permaculture [Landmatters, Devon, Lusi Alderslowe & Rakesh Bhambri]
• Resilience Practitioner Training [online with Chris Johnstone]
• Permaculture Educators Course [Friland, Denmark, Andy Goldring and Cathrine Dolleris]
• 7 Ways To Think Differently (People & Permaculture) [Ragman’s Lane Farm, Gloucs, Looby and Peter Cow]
• Introduction to Permaculture [Karuna, Shropshire, Jan Martin ]
• Permaculture Design Certificate [Well End, London, Aranya]
• CTLLS - Adult education [Hertford Regional College, Hertfordshire, Debbie Perkins]
• English GCSE - Grade B [Hertford Regional College, Hertfordshire, Sonia]
• Psychology GCSE - Grade D [Hertford Regional College, Hertfordshire ]

Courses 2011 - 2021
• Youth Mental Health First Aider [Online MHFA England]
• Sociocracy (Rakocracy) [Online with Rakesh Rootsman]
• Social Enterprise Training [Dartington Devon & Plymouth]
• Permaculture Livelihood [ Aranya, Ourganics, Dorset]
• 7 Ways To Think Differently [Looby, Gilwell Park, London]
• People & Permaculture Facilitators In Training [Looby, The Fold, Bransford, Worcester]
• Permaculture Design Certificate [ Aranya, Ourganics, Dorset]
• Practical Permaculture Gardening [Brighton Permaculture Trust]
• Practical Horticulture skills [Capel Manor College, Hertfordshire, Level 1]
• Introduction To The Environment - [Open University module only, level 4 equiv]



Skills, technical expertise and areas of interest: 

Skills, technical experience
• Community building
• Online teaching
• Off-grid resilience
• Mental health
• Project management
• Effective Communiction
• Alternative goverance
• Agroforestry
• Food Forest
• Producing and harvesting food naturally
• Hedgelaying
• Woodland management
• Scything
• No dig gardening
• Edible Garden Design and implementation
• Low maintenance and low cost gardening
• Propagation of unusual edible and useful trees and plants
• Working knowledge of Animal husbandry
• First flush diversion
• Rain water catchment
• Working knowledge of water collection and harvesting using ditches, swales and ponds.
• Regenerative living
• Upcycling
• Facilitation of community groups
• Facilitation
• Talks on edible gardening
• Talks on permaculture
• Creating a Permaculture livelihood
• Using solutions based thinking
• Community resilience and regeneration
• Managing a livelihood on a very low income.
• Fund raising
• Crowdfunding
• Disadvantaged youths and other marginalised groups
• Social entrepreneurship
• Reiki Master Practitioner
• Social Media
• Basic web design
• Online teaching

Areas of interest
• Introducing Permaculture into the national curriculum
• Mental illness/wellbeing
• Social Permaculture - specilising in networking and community building
• Growing edible and useful perennial plants
• Designing land based systems
• Garden/ land based design
• Edible Garden Designs
• The Design Web
• 8 forms of capital
• Systems thinking
• Building resilient and regenerative communities
• Localisation
• Decentralisation
• Devolution
• Regenerative and resilient living
• Gift economy
• Transition Towns
• Permaculture and mental illness
• Regenerative living
• Rabindranath Tagore
• Raising awareness that we are nature, we just need to find our way again.
• Holding on to the child within us all
• Herbalism
• Open seed pollination
• REconomy
• Non violent communication
• Right livelihood
• Using paganism in designing
• Social entrepreneurship
• Reiki
• Fund raising
• Volunteering
• Recycling - how to reuse just about everything!



Areas of Permaculture Design Experience: 

• Studying towards Diploma In Applied Permaculture Design
• Running and living on an off-grid permaculture LAND learner project 2015 - 2020
• Teaching Introduction To Permaculture
• Children In Permaculture
• Food and Emotional Resilience
• I was a joint co-founder of Thriving Ways.
• Since 2013 I have created and co-created several private edible garden designs
• I am co-founder and director of Wyld Edges Community Interest Company, social enterprise.
• I used The Design Web to create the original North Devon Permaculture Network in 2014
• Co- designed a pilot project to create and edible garden for a local preschool
• Designing selfcare for mental wellbeing using Permaculture tools and techniques.

Teaching Information
Offering teaching in the following geographical areas: 
Hertfordshire, Devon (online only at present)
I teach at weekends.
I teach in the evenings.

Please contact me for details.

Contact: 
Please contact me by email at [email protected]

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