The Kite Garden: Play with Ecosystem Thinking

As the seasons change, we’ll gather in Together Culture’s permaculture garden project on Prospect Row – weaving between Brandon Court and the Free Press – to learn from nature, think in ecosystems, and grow a deeper sense of nature-relatedness. And yes, we’ll also get our hands in the dirt.

Across three connected sessions, we’ll use the garden as both classroom and metaphor: exploring how ecosystems work, how change really happens, and what it means to cultivate capacity in ourselves, our work, and our communities.

You’ll:

• Spend time in the garden learning practical permaculture principles
• Explore social science frameworks that unlock new ways of seeing your life and work
• Choose something in society that is causing some tension - something you’re interested in changing. This could be in a team at work, a community you belong to, or wider society. You’ll work with this across all three sessions.
• Connect with others who care about nature, systems, and doing things differently

Each session stands alone, but they’re designed as a journey. Session 1 widens your lens, Session 2 explores how change actually happens, and Session 3 looks at how we cultivate long-term capacity to create societal change.

If you’re interested in developing your ecosystem thinking skills for making change at work or in wider society, this series is for you. Book the full series for the biggest impact.

In this first session, we’ll slow down, step into the garden, and practice seeing the world through an ecosystem lens.

In the garden

We’ll start by exploring the permaculture zones in our Prospect Row garden. You’ll learn how permaculture designers think about space, energy, and relationships – and how that shapes where things are planted and how they’re cared for.

In social science

We’ll introduce Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model – a way of understanding how different “zones” of your life (you, your family, your work, your community, governance and culture) shape who you are and what you believe. You’ll map your own ecosystem so you can literally see the layers that influence you.

In your community

You’ll then choose something in society that is causing some tension - something you’re interested in changing. We’ll use Brofenbrenner’s model to develop an idea of where an opportunity for evolution might sit.

Change is rarely neat. Ecosystems – and humans – rely on tension, uncertainty and difference to adapt and evolve. In Session 2, we’ll explore how that plays out in nature and in our own ways of thinking about change.

In the garden

We’ll spend time observing the blossoms. Blossoms are about possibility and transition – beautiful, temporary, a little uncertain. We’ll use them as a living prompt for noticing change, tension, and the “not yet”.

In social science

Drawing on work from the Good Shift, a systems thinking and change institute in Australia, we’ll explore seven different “change worldviews”. It turns out we often assume we’re on the same page about change… when actually, we’re thinking in totally different ways. How we think shapes what we notice, what we believe is true, and how we act. You’ll be invited to discover you own change worldview and notice how it shows up in your life, work, and relationships.

In your community

We’ll bring back the real life scenario you chose in Session 1 and look at it through different change worldviews. What happens if you approach it as something to fix? To nurture? To experiment with? To completely reimagine?

You’ll leave with a clearer sense of your own default worldview, and new options for working with the societal point of tension you’re exploring across the series.

This session builds on Session 1, but you’re welcome even if you missed it. If you can, join all three for the biggest change impact.

In our final session, we’ll zoom out to ask: how do ecosystems – and communities – build capacity over time? What does it mean to move from “providing a service” to cultivating something more resilient and alive?

In the garden

We’ll share the co-created “What does it mean to be a gardener?” insights from our Brandon Court community development work. Together we’ll explore how a gardener doesn’t just “do tasks”, but builds capacity – slowly, patiently – through skills, deep trust, experimentation, and trying new (and sometimes bigger) things.

In social science

We’ll look at a simple model that contrasts “service delivery” with “capacity building”. For example, libraries have often been framed as service places – but what would it look like if we saw them as capacity-building places, where skills, relationships and confidence grow?

In your community

You’ll reflect on the journey you’ve taken across the series with the real life scenario you wanted to change, and how you might shift from “servicing” it (managing, firefighting, fixing) to cultivating it (building capacity in yourself, others, and your wider ecosystem).

You’ll leave with a practical sense of how to use ecosystem thinking for making change at work or in society, and ideas for next steps in your own change journey.

This is the third step in a three-part journey, and it will be richest if you’ve joined us for Sessions 1 and 2. If you’re able, we warmly encourage you to book the full series and travel through the whole cycle of developing ecosystem thinking skills.

Together Culture Members: Tickets included in membership; tickets available until 1 week before the event

Public: Tickets available at Pay What You Can rate

• Community: £15
• Sustainer: £25
• Supporter: £40

We’re a community of collaborative culture changemakers reimagining how inclusive change happens and sticks. Find out more at www.togetherculture.com

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