I spent the first weekend of September at the Do Lectures in Wales. This amazing event (now in its second year) brought together 80 people from all walks of life to hear an eclectic series of short talks in a wonderful teepee. The presentations, many of which had an environmental / sustainable theme, were designed to inspire every member of the audience to go and do the thing they really want to do.

Topics covered by the speakers ranged from inventing waterproof concrete to creating a solar economy, from cycling around the world to building the 8th wonder of the world, and from defending the rights of indigenous communities in the Amazon to protesting against genetically modified crops in Britain.

Yet these inspirational talks were only one aspect of what made the Do Lectures a special experience. Every component of the weekend - from the locally grown, incredibly tasty organic food to the wood cutting and doodling workshops to the geodesic dome accommodation - all contributed to the spirit of Do that pervaded fforest [sic], where the lectures were held.

Although capturing the magic we created is a physical impossibility, the next best thing is currently being produced by the filming team of Sean, Sam, Steve and Rob who are beavering away to produce videos of every presentation. Meanwhile, Simon is editing a documentary of the whole event and Soup is revamping the website.

I will be writing about some of the speakers as their talks become available online in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can enjoy some superb images of the Do Lectures from a cohort of talented photographers, including James Bowden, George Bridgeman, Jonathan Cherry, Oli Barrett and Naomi Calvert. And I've just spotted that there are yet more pics over on the flickr pool.

Leonora Oppenheim bravely fought off a debilitating illness to interview every speaker for Treehugger. And Neil Cocker's four comprehensive blog posts convey a flavour of what took place both on and off stage.

I was blown away by the heroic lengths that some people had gone to in order to take part in the Do Lectures, including Helen Harrop who produced a beautiful book whilst she was at fforest. Helen has dedicated her creation to the people who enabled her to attend. Helen is planning to auction the book off to the highest bidder to help raise funds to enable her to attend next year's Do Lectures. Now that's what I call Do-ing.

I’d like to express my gratitude to the founders of Howies, David and Claire Hieatt, for creating the Do Lectures and for inviting me to attend. Congratulations to Claire Margetts and Ben Bowen for successfully turning the Do Founders' vision into reality, and also to Andy Middleton from TYF who did an amazing job of compèring the whole event. Thanks too to Andy Kirkpatrick for introducing me to the Do Lectures team.

I’d also like to mention the chefs, suppliers, supporters and volunteers, as well as the fforest staff. They all worked like Trojans to ensure that everyone was able to relax and thoroughly enjoy themselves.

Most importantly, I would like to thank everyone who attended for making the Do Lectures so special. I learnt more from you than you'll ever know.

When I reluctantly returned from Wales last Monday, someone asked me what the Do Lectures were like. I said that the weekend had been "an expedition for the mind”. A week on and I still feel that way.