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Kate Cook interviews Tim Mead, early adopter of Organic farming and founder of Yeo Valley Farms, Somerset, famous for their organic milk and yogurts. Kate and Tim explore the importance of sourcing great food, free from chemicals so that not only is it good for the planet, but contributes to your own vibrant health too. How we can support our farmers, supporting the journey from field to fork, and why it matters to us in our shiny offices so far from the countryside.

If we were to look at a little pinch of healthy soil under the microscope, we might be surprised to see that instead of a pinch of inert dirt, we would be looking at a teaming universe of life and activity almost beyond our comprehension. A galaxy of millions of microorganisms, all contributing to an ecological web of life.

Over the last year we have concentrated all our attention towards ill health, but of course the other side of the coin is good health, and strong resilience.   As with any illness, we need to keep well (!) and fostering resilience is both a mental and physical game.  Mental because our reaction to stressors in the form of chronic stress (long term and relentless) due to production of stress hormones can seriously deplete the immune system (both cellular and humoral immunity, two arms of the immune system).  Acute stress (like exams) only suppresses one part of the immune system, the cellular part, as a contrast.   Of course, your individual circumstance, like your age can really determine if your immunity/resilience will be Ox like or not! 

We think of ourselves as rational human machines – in fact our bodies are highly adaptable, but they can only take so much.  Taking back control of vital energy in your industry starts with yourself through making some simple tweaks to your understanding of what nourishes you.

In these extraordinary times, leaders of schools have had to become adaptable, flexible and nimble, getting systems to fit in with the ever-shifting sands of Government regulation and restriction.