September 14 2026
Dear All,
I’ve just returned from Oxford, where I went to the 60th anniversary celebration of “Resurgence and Ecology” magazine at Wadham College. The theme, “One With The Earth” was all about us being part of nature, not separate from it. We are nature. And as Satish Kumar reminded us in his opening talk, “human” comes from “humus” (earth) and “nature” and “natal” have one root. The earth we live on is not a resource for us, or an object to be used, but a living organism, of which we are a part.
We met for a day in the gardens of Wadham College, among ancient trees. The marquee we sat in was attractively patterned, yurt-shaped and decorated with flowers, fruit and pots. The food was delicious, and vegetarian. Wadham had offered its grounds for free – an example of how widely Satish and “Resurgence” are now respected and welcomed. The day started with Seth Tabatznik’s songs and guitar, and ended with Alice Oswald’s poetry. In between, we moved between uplifting talks and ideas, questions, some answers, and the harsh realities of climate change, or climate crisis as it now is. How to live in the world as it is; how to love others even if they totally disagree with all we believe in; how to eat more rationally; how to make change both through direct action and through quieter means; how to see through all the flack that comes at us. Caroline Lucas, former head of the Green Party, was a panelist, so was Jonathon Porritt, a long-time campaigner for sustainable development, and Areeba Hamid, who works for Greenpeace. Livia Giuggioli (who has a farm in Italy) and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (who has apple orchards) had a friendly shouting-match on the relative merits of the tomato and the apple – and we all tasted some truly wonderful tomatoes and apple slices.
I first met Satish in the 1980’s when I was living in Edinburgh and went down to Greenham Common with some other women. I wrote about the women’s protest there, and sent it to “Resurgence” where it was published, and Satish asked me to write more articles – so I did, and we became friends. I went down to Devon to stay with him and his wife June, and taught for a week in the Small School in Hartland. He came north and stayed with us – notably at Lindisfarne, on another walk for peace, around the UK. Since I’ve moved to the US, we have hardly seen each other, so it was lovely to meet up all these years later, and connect once again.
Satish came to England originally on a walk for peace, that took him further, to the US and Japan. While he was here, E.F. Schumacher (“Small is Beautiful”) asked him if he would be the editor of “Resurgence” as the current editor was moving to Africa. Satish said he couldn’t, as he was going back to India to re-join Gandhi’s land movement there. Schumacher said, there are a lot of Gandhians in India; we need one here. So, Satish stayed, edited a magazine that was not in his first language, and settled in Devon with June. The rest – his long and amazing life – you can read in “Peace Is Possible”, a new book out with an introduction by Michael Molpurgo, which is an amalgam of his three memoirs to date. “No Destination” was his first, his account of the long walk from India for peace.
It’s been a privilege to know this remarkable man, who has just turned 90 – with several parties to celebrate it, as he said. Yesterday I was impressed and enchanted once again by his liveliness, his un-tiring vision of what’s possible, and his love of life.
Go well…
Affectionately, Ros