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t's easy to lose our sense of place in the modern, sophisticated world of today. I am fortunate that much of my life has been spent either living or roaming around in North Britain. It is my home, and I would like to see it in a better state.

Our main challenge is to act within the "third ethic" of permaculture - to live within the limits of what the land can provide. The whole of the British Isles regenerated itself after being covered in ice 20,000 years ago. This story is about how we settled in that wilderness and how we went on from those exciting beginnings.

This is my first attempt at telling the tale. I look forward to others, more eloquent than myself, to take the observation further. It is an important story, and it need to be told. All stable societies have their creation myths, a sense of where they come from. They have a relationship with their home landscapes and a deep understanding of the natural world around them. It is even more important because, as the philosophers say, those who cannot learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.