Author: Jackie Kearney
The concept of ‘Listening to the Land’ seems to be a priority for the real food and farming movement at the current moment, with a dedicated Listening to the Land day kicking off the whole 2026 Oxford Real Farming Conference, exploring how building a reciprocal relationship with nature can support radical food system transformation. This was also the broad framing of this session, with insights shared by Indigenous scholar Lyla June on ancestral food systems; Kate Bigwood on embodied connection, healing and farming practice; Benedict Pollard on stewarding ancient oaks; and Ninian Stuart on reimagining hereditary land stewardship.
Remembering Our Ancestral Role as Stewards
A key question that framed this discussion was “how can we be land stewards for future generations?” While we oriented ourselves to think of those coming after us, we inevitably started by rooting ourselves in the past. Lyla set the scene for the discussion, sharing many examples from her rich knowledge of contemporary and ancient indigenous food systems. Lyla’s examples encouraged us to see the myriad of ways that humans can be a keystone species, how we can act as catalysts of biodiversity, as intentional cultivators enabling entire ecologies, as we have been around the world for thousands of years. Not only were the land stewardship practices of our ancestors profoundly sophisticated (in contrast to the conceptualisations of our ancestors as uncivilised, savage, cavemen) as outlined by Lyla, but she also called into question how civilised we are today, we who are “knowingly looting the future to serve the present”. To act as the true stewards that we have the potential to be, we must understand this potential and step into our power to catalyse life, and to serve the earth in a way that only humans are equipped to do, just as the beaver and the bumblebee are uniquely equipped to fulfil their roles.
How Do We Return to Stewardship?
After hearing examples of land stewardship practices that continued unbroken for thousands of years before ultimately becoming fractured as they are today, the conversation turned to asking – how can we return? Benedict, Kate and Ninian shared their processes of trying to become worthy stewards, and to leave their lands better than they found them. Benedict spoke of the power of peace he feels in the presence of the oak trees he stewards, his approach to them as beings and the ways he shows his reverence and awe in order to act reciprocally. Kate shared how her journey with her land has mirrored her approach in osteopathy, which must always start with a deep listening and sitting in service to hear what needs to be healed. Nianian’s sharing of his process was deeply rooted in the history and archaeology of the land and the lineage from which he comes, and which provides great wisdom. In answer to the question “how do we return”, the importance of stories and language became a key part of the discussion. The languages of the indigenous peoples of a land is the language of the land. When discussing his approach to stewardship over ownership, Ninian shared that there is no Gaelic word for land ownership, but there is for belonging to the land. The somewhat mystical power of language, stories, words, and names, and the clues that they hold for us was strongly apparent when the relevance of the panel’s names were shared. Benedict Pollard, explained that oak trees that aren’t maidens are pollards and that his name must have anticipated his calling, Ninian Stuart’s surname attests to his purpose as a steward and Kate Bigwood is quite literally working on cultivating a big wood on her land. When we wonder how to return, we should remember that there are still traces of our histories and relationships with the land all around us, right there for those who are listening.
Poignantly, Lyla pointed out that her surname comes from her father and her English-defying Scottish ancestry, to which she attributed her anticolonial fighting spirit and which led fittingly to a conversation about the forces that caused the great separations that we are seeking to heal. The indigenous peoples of lands all over the world have been divorced from the deep, reciprocal relationship we once had with our lands, at the hand of colonialism. Not only were our sacred connections to nature purposefully demolished by colonial forces, but so were the languages, spirituality, and art that held the keys to this connection.
Healing Separation and Rewilding the People
To return and heal this divide, the speakers advised us to start internally, reconnecting with ourselves, tuning into the land and the spiritual information that is still alive around us, and learning the histories of our own precolonial ancestors. Ultimately, to effectively steward this land for future generations, we must heal separation within ourselves, with the land and with one another – and this must not be exclusive of those without “ownership” of land, those who have been systematically marginalised and removed from any relationship with the land. Lyla shared that while she has never had access to land, she does have a message to steward, and through that she stewards land vicariously through those to whom she speaks. On this note, the final feeling taken away was an urgency to connect with others, to share the energy felt in this session, and an acknowledgment that the land is not the problem at hand, we need to rewild the people!
About the author: Jackie is a researcher, network facilitator, and project coordinator whose work focuses on localised climate resilience, ecosystem restoration and forced migration. Currently working with Re-Alliance and Regenerosity, and dedicated to supporting grassroots organisations working for a shift towards more equitable approaches to disaster, displacement and development, much of her work involves facilitating the formation of partnerships and amplifying marginalised voices through various forms of storytelling.
To learn more, check out this session in the ORFC archives.
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