Blue Borage fundraiser to continue the research presented at the 2025 International Biodynamic Research Conference
What an honour, what a privilege, to be asked to present the work of Maye Bruce at the 2025 International Biodynamic Research Conference.
This year the conference was held at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, United Kingdom from August 31st to September 4th, 2025.
About the Conference
From the conference website: https://www.biodynamic-research.org/
"Biodynamic agriculture is an approach to farming based on cooperation with nature and natural processes. Preceding the development of organic farming and agroecology, it continues to offer both an alternative conceptual foundation and practical framework for the sustainable transformation of food and farming systems. It also acknowledges the socio-cultural and spiritual dimensions of agriculture.
Research in biodynamic agriculture requires a holistic perspective – not only to account for the many dimensions of farming but also to embrace the potential contributions of diverse knowledge systems to truly understand, develop, and transform the field.
With the aim of discovering new perspectives in biodynamic agriculture research, the conference will place special emphasis on holistic approaches and study concepts.
We welcome research exploring various dimensions of biodynamics – whether ecological, artistic, humanistic, or economic – as well as research employing diverse methodologies and knowledge systems."
About the workshop
Kate and I presented the work of Maye Bruce, with her 'Quick Return' (QR) Compost Activator recipe, a methodology inspired by the phrase "the divinity within the flower is sufficient of itself"
This workshop was for small holders, allotment holders, urban gardeners, or anyone who wants to compost their vegetable scraps and garden waste to create fluffy, active, crumbly soil compost in six to eight weeks, without necessarily adding animal manure. It guided attendees through the floral activator recipes, inspired by Maye’s work and our own lived experience in an entertaining and light-hearted way, seeking to encourage and empower attendants to use what they have to grow high-quality soil.
This method will appeal to those who have questioned the need for animal parts in biodynamics, and wondered if there's a way to use the six herbs on their own: yarrow, chamomile, stinging nettle, dandelion, valerian and oak bark. Maye proved that they ARE effective without complicated processes, and that there are many other flowers and herbs that could also be used.
Katrina shared some of the often surprising results, including odour reduction and speeding up the decomposition of Harakeke (NZ Flax), a plant most people think can't be composted.
The Floral Compost Activator research questions.
In a nutshell:
Are the biodynamic herbs useful without the traditional methods of preparation making?
Are there other flowers and herbs that are also useful in enhancing our composting?
What are the improvements to the compost, and how do we measure or describe them?
What else needs to be investigated with regards to this methodology?
Could this be the answer to urban waste management?
Katrina's research
I began making the QR compost activator in January 2025, and quickly found the method highly effective. I took notes of all my observations and created an online community space within my online school, both to capture my own experiments and also share the learnings of others experimenting with the methodology.
The research phased moved into teaching & community building in June, and we're now based on Substack as 'The Flower Project'
We had an incredible opportunity to celebrate Maye Bruce, her work and lasting legacy in her own Cotswolds backyard. One hundred years ago, Maye brought this idea to the local biodynamic society and she ended up leaving. Maye could clearly see what others could not: that there would come a time when humans were so divorced from nature that they wouldn’t be able to find animal manure, and that the degradation of soil quality worldwide required an urgent need for compost.
Here we are, 2025, and we are losing potential new members of the biodynamic movement either because they cannot get their heads around the use of animal parts or because their lives are too busy to align their gardening practices with the cycles of the moon, let alone other planets. Maye’s Quick Return Method is an entry point for people to develop a fascination with flowers. And from there, we offer up a permission slip to let the flowers speak. The ripple effect of that could be part of what’s needed to open up biodynamics for the entire population.
Note: the Ko-Fi platform is perfect for crowdfunding, but if you are a company or organisation wishing to sponsor part of the research in exchange for promotion of your values-aligned product or service, then please reach out to Katrina to discuss: katrina@blueborage.co.nz