Fran Pickering

Fran Pickering

Diploma Tutor and a course convenor and tutor, Forest Garden Plot coordinator (1 of 5)

Fran completed her Permaculture design course with Brighton Permaculture Trust in 2002/3. And has been a member of the management team until its dissolution in 2020. During that time, she was a trustee for 5 years. Fran spent 3 years qualifying as a site carpenter and received her diploma in Permaculture Design in 2009, her teaching qualification in 2013, and has been a member of Brighton Permaculture Trust’s teaching faculty since then.

Her main areas of interest are in community building, education, good food and nutrition for all, and building greener homes.

Fran leads regular volunteer days at our Permaculture plot in Stanmer Park and teaches the Practical permaculture gardening course.

Q&A

Name your permaculture hero? Why them?

My heroes are:
Aranya Gardens because he is just such a lovely example of living a better life and bringing people in.
Bill Mollison for giving me his humour, vision and his principles.
Bryn Thomas for daring to dream of an orchard city.
Morag Gamble and Rosemary Morrow for their open hearted generosity to humanity and the people of permaculture, and for making it OK to be heard.

What is your favourite permaculture principle?

It varies, as I like to take time to really focus on one for a time, until it is really embedded, but currently “Beneficial connections”, as it is so creative and important to the cohesion of the whole and all the possibilities it brings.

Best example of permaculture in action?

Best example of permaculture in action in my life, is my natural swimming pond. It has quadrupled our biodiversity, our habitat, become a centre point for people care at home and in our wider community.

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Ilya Schippers

Ilya Schippers

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Ttai Morra

Ttai Morra

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Alex Penn

Alex Penn

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Lex Titterington

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Polly Charlton

Polly Charlton

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Stella Peyerl

Stella Peyerl

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Mischa Hewitt

Mischa Hewitt

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Jon Kalviac

Jon Kalviac

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Ian Brown

Ian Brown

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Daniel Holloway

Daniel Holloway

Tutor Daniel Holloway runs dh Solar Engineering, he designs and installs renewable heating systems. He is a designer and maker of sustainable systems, mechanical and ecological with permaculture as an underlying influence. Daniel teaches on the following courses: Rain...

Planting trees at Craven Vale

Embrace the opportunity to make a meaningful impact!

Whether you’re interested in environmental initiatives, community engagement, or skill-building, we welcome your involvement. Take an active part contributing your skills and passion to drive positive change by volunteering with us.