Conference 2019: Aonghus Gordon

Biography:

Aonghus Gordon (BA, PGCE, MEd) is Founder and Executive Chair of Ruskin Mill Trust.

In 1983, Aonghus founded Ruskin Mill Centre for Cultural Development, and pioneered the Living Earth Training course. In 1996, Ruskin Mill Trust was founded, for special needs education. In 2005, Aonghus was awarded Social Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young and The Times newspaper.

Ruskin Mill Trust currently operates five specialist colleges and three schools, including five Demeter certified farms and seven certified market gardens.  In addition, there are a number of social enterprise initiatives, with a focus on cafés (of which there are five), and life skill training projects. Their inspiration is drawn from Rudolf Steiner, John Ruskin and William Morris.

The Trust’s Field Centre currently runs a Master’s in collaboration with Lillehammer Inland University, Norway. The Field Centre sponsors extensive research and currently supports four PhD’s in craft pedagogy, biodynamic ecology and Rudolf Steiner’s sensory integration, including research into the Trust’s method.

Ruskin Mill Trust currently works in the US, China, Hungary and Norway.

Keynote Talk:  Spirit of place, connecting to our environment in harmony for health, respect and holism

The talk will focus on a method to re-imagine place so as to access the genius of place.  The genius loci audit lies at the foundation of ensuring that biodynamic ecology offers harmony, health and integration – a form of environmental ‘medicine’.

Aonghus is also leading Saturday’s Themed Session:

BD in Education & Therapy: Biodynamics in education and therapy, research and practice: educating through activity and the value of BD.

This workshop will explore a number of Rudolf Steiner’s foundational principles for ensuring health, nutrition and sensory integration through biodynamic ecology.  It will also touch on the significance of animal types as supporting mirrors in behaviour management.