At Paradise Cooperative we seek to inspire. We want to show people what is possible when you work within nature rather than trying to control it.
We also advocate an “experiment, learn, share” culture. There is a wide range of knowledge and experience in our volunteering group, and we utilise this knowledge base when undertaking new projects. Not everything works, but even our mistakes can be useful lessons and positive experiences.
Newt
Our wildlife pond is a perfect example. What is now a beautiful and thriving addition to our onsite biodiversity, is in fact the third iteration of our pond. Twice before we dug it out, and twice it leaked, despite our best efforts. Each failure was disappointing, but we learned and tried again. And now our wildlife pond is a thing of beauty (although we may be a little biased).
Wildflowers
Another example is our wildflower meadow. OK, meadow may be a bit generous, but we dug up a large area by the pond and planted a native wildflower mix during lockdown 2020. This is part of our commitment to supporting biodiversity, but if it looks beautiful that helps too. We plan to recover seed each Autumn to share with the wider community and hope to inspire people to give over some space for pollinators, even if it’s just a wildflower window box.