Daniela Natale @ready2see - Tumblr Blog

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Coming from Lithuania, a country known for its greenery, I have always had a special passion for nature. As a child I would often help my family in our summer home garden, or accompany them in forest foraging. When I moved to London 4 years ago, the disconnect between people and wildlife seemed acute. I felt strongly about human/nature bonds and how they enrich our lives, and felt determined to embrace this in London. Since then I have been thoroughly committed to finding ways to connect with nature by immersing myself in community based projects that share my hopes and views; an urban life amongst nature is not only possible, it is necessary. Communities thrive on knowledge-sharing, mutual support and a joint mission to care, in this case, for our land and its residents. I started my horticulture journey during the national lockdown by volunteering at my then local community mutual aid and gardening group, The Field New Cross. I quickly fell in love with their passion for community building via learning from each other, inspiring and nourishing eachother with art, protest and home grown vegetables! I took on the responsibility of helping organize and run volunteer food parcel deliveries during the pandemic, administering delivery schedules, enforcing COVID-19 regulations during pick-up and delivery as well as organizing contents of food parcels to ensure a nutritionally dense and fulfilling package. I was also working in the food garden and illustrating for the monthly newsletter. After moving to Peckham, I was determined to put my energy into something similar in the local community, so I joined OK Grow, a Southwark Council funded project geared towards the support of the residents of Aylesbury Estate’s Penbroke House. I worked with the head grower as we planted, grew and distributed food in mutual aid groups and charities such as Peckham Pantry. Our aim was to encourage community engagement and empowerment; we worked with council house residents to get involved in food growing, one

on one teaching of planting and plant care, which attracted many children who were otherwise playing in the outside areas of the estate. Their curiosity and determination to learn and help inspired me; I understood then that I want to work with children in this capacity as they are the ones to carry the wisdom of the earth into the future. At this time I also volunteered at Glengall Wharf Community Garden, where I took care of the rescue chicken coop and partook in their weekly gardening and DIY sessions.

Despite not holding any official horticulture qualifications yet, I believe I would make a great fit for the gardening educator role as my extensive volunteering in mutual aid & gardening communities has given me an array of practical skills such as food growing, community action organization & project management and having worked at managerial hospitality roles for many years I have acquired leadership and team building skills that would undoubtedly aid in working with groups of children looking to learn from and get inspired to work outdoors. Through my bachelors degree I have excelled in research/analysis and project completion, as well as developing productive time management and work/life balance skills which will enable me to put together a curriculum on whatever scale is needed and execute it creatively with mindfulness to each specific group.

Coming from Lithuania, a country known for its greenery, I have always had a special passion for nature. When I moved to London 4 years ago, the disconnect between people and wildlife seemed acute. Since then I have been thoroughly committed to finding ways to connect with nature by immersing myself in community based projects that share my hopes and views; an urban life amongst nature is not only possible, it is necessary. Communities thrive on knowledge-sharing, mutual support and a joint mission to care, in this case, for our land and its residents. Despite not having horticulture qualifications, I believe that my extensive volunteering and freelance work in mutual aid & gardening communities has given me an array of practical skills such as food growing, community action organization & project management and having been in managerial hospitality roles for many years I have acquired leadership and team building skills. Through my bachelors degree I have excelled in research/analysis and project completion, as well as developing productive time management and work/life balance skills. Above all, I have a true passion for working amongst people and nature, supporting each other and most importantly learning endlessly about how the natural world can bring us closer together.

Coming from Lithuania, a country that has always been very densely forested, I've spent a ton of time in nature since I was a child. In school, we were always taught about our national classical literature that was always marked by the cross-generational appreciation and championing of our woods and hills. In the summer, my mum and grandma would take me along with them to forage blueberries, raspberries, chantarelles, boletes & collect various herbs for drying. When I moved to the UK in 2019, it was surely difficult to adjust to the vast urbanization of land. I found myself striving to reinforce my connection and involvement with wildlife; I believed one could prosper in cities alongside nature, by listening, learning and conserving. I was pleased to find many local community gardens and mutual aid groups that shared my vision and passion for conservation and eco-centric activities as a way of life in London. I volunteered at the local rescue chicken coop and helped grow food for Aylesbury Estate residents. As the years went by, my confidence in engaging with British nature grew, and since I have made an active effort to plan hikes and camping trips with my friends where we forage wild goods and learn from each other about the indigenous plants of UK's landscape. I have a big passion for soil health and believe in no-dig, no-till farming, permaculture and forest gardens and would love to pursue a career in the conservation of land for healthy, empowered communities. I wish to learn about tree and mushroom identification for optimum ecological diversity that fosters not only animal, but people's communities, too. I have found that through my interest in nature I have been able to find communities that ground and inspire me, and I wish to uphold this space for other that are passionate about our natural world.

I first took up community garden/mutual aid volunteering during lockdown in 2020 at The Field, New Cross, which was my local community garden and mutual aid group. I took on the responsibility of helping organize and run volunteer food parcel deliveries during the pandemic, administering delivery schedules, enforcing COVID-19 regulations during pick-up and delivery as well as organizing contents of food parcels to ensure a nutritionally dense and fulfilling package. I was also working in the food garden and illustrating for the monthly newsletter. After moving to Peckham, I found OK Grow, a gardening project in Aylesbury Estate funded by Southwark Council geared towards the support of the residents of Penbroke House. I worked with the head grower as we planted, grew and distributed food in mutual aid groups and charities such as Peckham Pantry. Our aim was to encourage community engagement; we worked with council house residents to get involved in food growing, one on one teaching of planting and plant care. I also started volunteering at the Glengall Wharf chicken coop, where I took care of the rescue chickens once a week.

I currently live in Deptford, an extremely culturally and naturally diverse area of London. There are an abundance of parks and green spaces that home city-dwelling flora and fauna. The closest park to my home is the home base for a huge flock of Deptford pigeons. One can observe them resting, bathing and socializing while strolling to the weekend market. I often watch the family of foxes that hang out in the bushes right outside my living room window. They climb the fence that supports the shrubs and rest there during the day. In the evening they come visit us in the garden; it in not unusual to spot a mother fox with a couple of her cubs. Telegraph Hill is a short walk away, where one can find great ancient oaks that create shade and shelter for the park's residents. Squirrels are amongst the most common wild creatures here- they enjoy the parks visitors and the snacks they bring with them! The small nearby pond becomes a great mini ecosystem for ducks, toads and water insects such as dragonfly nymphs and water beetles. The many Rowan trees along the residential streets in Deptford attract Magpies and Crows, too. Amongst the local plants one should mention Eglantine, many types of Fern, Laurel and of course the Chestnut, which is a common tree all across London

I have received training in first aid & posses a food health and safety level 2 qualification. I have also undergone a permaculture course at The Glengall Wharf Gardens. My extensive volunteering in mutual aid & gardening communities has given me an array of practical skills such as food growing, community action organization & project management. I have worked in managerial hospitality roles for many years through which I have acquired leadership and team building skills. Through my bachelors degree I have excelled in research/analysis and project completion, as well as developing productive time management and work/life balance skills.