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Eco Hero: Maddy Harland

Matilda Lee | 26.05.11

Maddy Harland is the editor of Permaculture Magazine, focused on positive solutions for sustainable living, and which has a thriving readership of 100,000 at a time when print publications are suffering and some are closing. She is a trustee of The Sustainability Centre in Hampshire, a former Naval training centre now restored to nature over many years and transformed into an educational centre and includes a growing area for special needs children, a woodland classroom lovingly created by Ben Law, the woodsmen and a woodland burial site so peaceful that people visit their loved ones and hold campfires/parties to remember them. 

What inspires you?

Wonderful people like Polly Higgins, who is currently campaigning for a new international law against ‘ecocide’ that makes corporations and nations accountable for deliberate habitat destruction that affects both people and ecologies on a broad scale. Currently Japanese taxpayers are picking up the bill for Fukushima whilst TEPCO is let off free. This will make companies like TEPCO and BP accountable for their actions and change the face of war: No more napalm or the use of irradiated bombs in the Middle East, for instance. People who are brave in the face of serious difficulty and are honest about their suffering also inspire me. No stiff upper lip! But my greatest inspiration is nature and our planet – we live on an exquisite interdependent world full of marvellous beauty and biodiversity. We are here to enhance this world, not to destroy it.

What makes you angry?

Abuse and inequity in all quarters. I was brought up by Quakers and made we aware of social justice from a young age. I studied English and American Literature at university and was deeply affected by novels like Another Country by Afro-American novelist, James Baldwin. Literature has the capacity to open up new worlds of experience that we usually wouldn’t have access to.

If you were Prime Minister, what would be the first thing you'd change?

I’d stop the ludicrous political bias towards building nuclear power plants that does not account for the financial commitment involved in decommissioning plants and storing waste for generations to come, let alone the carbon costs. I would push through a coherent national, regional and community level renewable energy strategy and take away some of the planning impediments. It amazes me how we are happy to build nuclear power stations on our coasts when we know that climate change will inevitably raise sea levels and at the same time abandon incentives that make installing renewables on an individual and community level viable.

Can individuals really make a difference?

Extraordinary individuals can make a difference but most of us ordinary ones cannot do so on our own. We need to be a ‘communion of subjects’ as Thomas Berry put it and then we can generate change even in small numbers.

What’s more urgent: changing things from the inside or starting a revolution on the outside?

We have to do both. We cannot advocate a change in lifestyle or worldview without doing the work ourselves. People know when we are not genuine. That’s why so many politicians fall on their faces and are unpopular. It would be ludicrous if I promoted permaculture globally and then didn’t practice any aspect of it. And besides, permaculture – a framework for low carbon living that draws together traditional wisdoms and modern technologies and practices – is my joy. I love growing my own food, making rainwater harvesting systems, supporting community-based projects… This is creative, innovative living and is not just ‘green’. I practise it in my own life because it is life-enhancing and I also want to share it with others are widely as possible.

What is the best meal you’ve had in your life? Cooked by whom? Eaten with whom?

I live with two chefs, my husband, Tim, and my daughter, Hayley, who is also a budding food writer so I am spoilt for choice but my favourite of meals is fresh food, some of it foraged, cooked outside as the sun sets over the sea on the north coast of Cornwall. It is shared with friends and family after a wonderful day walking, swimming and surfing, accompanied by a good French or Italian wine. Beautiful scenery, fresh food, well exercised bodies and the warm of friendship is a heady mixture. It makes me very happy.

Can you describe a typical work day?

Cup of tea in bed made by my beloved. Time then to contemplate the day. Quick breakfast, open the greenhouse and cold frames and water plants if needed. If there is time I walk around my permaculture garden and touch the many different fruiting trees and appreciate the wildflowers. Into work by 9 am. At 10 am we have team meeting to plan new projects and meet deadlines. I am very fond of the Permaculture magazine team and have great respect for the commitment they have given our publishing company over the years through thick and thin. I answer a lot of emails. Lately, I have been working on our new Permaculture online magazine, sourcing editorial, posting and promoting it. Every quarter we produce a print version of Permaculture too and I still edit each issue, so I have contact with people all over the world, which is a great inspiration. We also produce books and the occasional DVD. I rarely stop for lunch. I am a Trustee of the charity that runs the Sustainability Centre and have regular meetings and visitors here on site. I try to write something creative every day. I find writing very soothing. I also try to walk, garden or swim. I love being outside. I have recently developed a passion for sailing and kayaking. Sometimes I work until 7 or 8pm at night or go out and give a talk but I still try and connect with my family. I have a husband and two daughters. If push comes to shove they have to come first. I fall into bed with a book and am asleep by 11 pm.

How do you define success?

Certainly not by money, social status or possessions! What is important to me is for us all to express our creativity, follow our dreams, live our vision and try to live within a peaceful and harmonious context, both with people and our planet. I am often surprised by the depth and resourcefulness of many people. I am still learning that what we might see on the outside is not what is within. Never judge!

What’s the best advice anyone’s ever given you?

Sounds schmaltzy but: Live each day as if it is your last; always say sorry if you are in the wrong; tell people you love them; life is precious, never take it for granted, and live to the full.

What’s your favourite book or film of late?

The Biochar Solution by Albert Bates. It sounds dry but it is a veritable romp through the history of South America and the capacity of its indigenous peoples to create ‘black soil’ that sustained their civilizations for over a millennia. It is also all about the relationship between agriculture and the rise and fall of civilizations. Surprisingly, it is written with real literary flair and I appreciate that, being an English graduate. Albert is a permaculturist and so he is very solutions orientated and the greatest aspect of this, his most recent book, is the premise that we can reverse climate change and quickly, but only if we radically adopt low carbon agriculture and get our act together with global emissions. This book gives me hope.

Further information:
www.permaculture.co.uk
www.sustainability-centre.org

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