Category: BlogPage 2 of 8

Paris – towers, boats and beaches

Today we had a proper tourist day in Paris. We’ve been numerous times with our daughter but now she’s old enough to remember we decided to take in…

Ouistreham to Paris

The port of Ouistreham is about 15km from the city of Caen. Journey today began with a cycle along the canal de Caen à la Mer. The canal…

Caen to Santander

Today we begin our summer #surfacetravel continental adventure: from Caen in Normandy to Santander in Northern Spain. We are travelling via mixture of bicycle and train. The adventure…

If you want to save the planet… have dancing lessons

Serendipitously, as I was preparing for my first dance teaching workshop this morning at the Idler Festival, I spotted a quote in one of my other open browser…

A shout out to the dancing crowd at the Idler Festival

This post is a message to all the lovely people who joined one my dancing lessons at the Idler Festival. You were such a lovely crowd. I had…

Self-learning in systems, hair engineering + Idler Festival Day 1

A day of two halves: book writing this morning and then swing dance teaching at the Idler festival this evening, with some hair engineering in the middle. Enabling…

I was looking for a swing dancer but I found an engineer

On the programme at the Idler Festival, by workshops are simply listed as ‘Dance Teaching with Oliver Broadbent’. One participant came up to me at the end and,…

Regenerative Design, Net-Zero Design Error-Free Design and Swing Dancing

Sometimes when I write on this blog I like to distill my thoughts around one topic. But when there’s lots going on I prefer to write in more…

Ponts de Cé – Ancenis – Champsaucau

A multimodal stage on our journey through France, with 70km by bike, 7km by kayak and another 2km uphill to finish the day. We crossed the Maine river…

Customer lift

I followed this sign expecting some sort of encouragement or affirmation.

Notes from RESTORE report Sustainability, Restorative to Regenerative

Here are my notes from reading the RESTORE report ‘ (REthinking Sustainability TOwards a Regenerative Economy) Sustainability, Restorative to Regenerative – edited by Martin Brown and Edeltraud Haselsteiner…

Engineering of the commons

If we want to think really regeneratively about engineering and the creation of buildings, then maybe we should consider building materials as a common resource. I realise that…

Exploring regenerative practice for engineers

As James and I start to delve into the writing for our book on regenerative design for structural engineers, I am gathering my thoughts on what regenerative practice…

Notes on building local

This month I am writing an article on that explores what if we restricted construction material use to those from a local catchment. Rather than a global supply…

Following abundance versus desire

At our local allotments, permaculture teacher Mike Fiengold re-distributes food waste in the community. Even after he has sent food to various local charities there is lots left…

Coming from Bristol, London is a pleasure to cycle through

After a two-year break I am back on my bike in London. This morning a short hop from Paddington to Kings Cross. Having moved to Bristol almost four…

Take the meat out of meetings

Please, take the meat out of meetings. Then you can say, no animal died in the making of this decision. Some meetings are pointless. Don’t add to this…

Restorative versus regenerative design

Restorative and regenerative are two words I am hearing used interchangeably. Both are relevant to engineering and design. Both are approaches to design that are valuable. But they…

Too many emails – the Eiffel Over guide

I am a connoisseur of email-reduction strategies, so I share this for friends and colleagues of mine who I know are struggling with this at the moment. The…

Making the Regenerative Design Lab a Regenerative System

In today’s planning session for the Regenerative Design Lab with my co-facilitator Ellie Osborne, we asked what if we made the lab itself a regenerative system? Based on…

Why close the train doors 40 seconds before departure?

This announcement always irks me. “To ensure a timely departure, train doors will shut 40 seconds before departure.” It reminds me of what a senior Network Rail manager…

Recognise the desert to return it to life

When renewable systems are over exploited they fall into a desertlike state. In this state the system population is too low to support regrowth and the system structures…

Bristol: from rainforest to desert

Where I live, coal was so abundant near the surface that you could have dug a hole in your garden and found it lying there. This coal was…

Nothing to say but lots to show

I have nothing to say but lots to show you – Walter Benjamin. I heard this quote this morning on In Our Time and it really struck me….

Four characteristics of regenerative systems

Work on regenerative thinking progresses on all fronts. Book writing with my friend James on Monday (read his excellent blog on this process), developing regenerative practice at Hazel…

Start by lighting the fire

It’s the first thing we do at Hazel Hill Wood. Light the fire for everyone else. A clutch of tiny twigs, a handful of finger-thick branches, and some…

Carbon vs everything else: system health vs system outputs

I’m getting this down while it is fresh in my mind following a planning conversation with Will Arnold this morning for our Net Zero Structural Design course. In…

Think resilience to observe and enhance a system’s restorative powers

I underlined these words in Meadows’s Thinking in Systems primer. ‘Thinking about resilience enables us to observe and enhance a system’s restorative powers.’ As with so much in…

Humbelievable

Last Friday I took the train from York to Hull. Onboard I was speaking on the phone to Will Arnold about our Net Zero Structural Design Course. As…

Where is the bus station?

Seen at Turnpike Lane station. Both left and right lead to the buses, but why is right prioritised? Was there once a member of staff who got so…