4. Catch & Store Energy

'Catch and Store energy' is the second principle of permaculture and understanding how we can capture energy in the landscape is integral, which is why I have focused much of this output time on summarising my research into how we can best manage our soils, water and sewage. 

Energy is also about energy flow which is when the concept of zoning comes into its own. It is a conceptual tool to help place elements in the system to save time, energy and labour (1). In Gaia’s Garden (2), Toby Hemmingway articulates that zones are based on dynamic relationships. This means to use zoning as a tool to design Brook End I have needed to look at my family’s relationship with all the elements of our site. He communicates that choosing the zone in which to place a design element depends on two things:

     • The number of times we need to visit the plant, animal or structure
     • The number of times it needs us to visit it.

You can view how I have used this tool here as well as my decisions based on zoning here. Ensuring the best placement through understanding relavant location, zoning areas of our activity can be one of the most effective ways of saving and using ours and our system's energy at Brook End.