2011 Green Fair
Last year’s (2011) London Green Fair info
The 2011 London Green Fair turned out to be a great packed weekend. The sun shone brightly on Saturday and the place was heaving with people bustling about the Permaculture Zone taking part in workshops and chatting to people on the stalls- all to the sound of the Folk music nearby and the thumping world music stage in the distance. On Sunday the weather was overcast, so the crowds were less packed and everyone had a bit more time to talk and lounge about. Then came the rain and washed us slowly out. Packing up the site was a job and a half- I couldn’t believe that when I looked over to the main stage there were people still dancing soaked to the bone- hoho.
A great time was had by all. See you there next year : )
Click here for a great video on the London Green Fair from LifeArtsMedia
Click here for another video introducing the Permaculture Zone at the London Green Fair 2011
Saturday 4th June –
Workshop marquee:
1pm- Food Footprints game with Cinzia Sarigu
A taster session from the Carbon Conversations based on an interactive game that looks at the embodied emissions in food. www.carbonliteracyforum.org
2pm- Community Scale Infrastructure- United Diversity
Josef from United Diversity will be using Vinay Gupta’s 6 Ways to die concept to talk about how we need to be responsible for our own environment and can all build community scale infrastructure. www.uniteddiversity.com
3pm- Co-Operatives A to Z – OrganicLea
OrganicLea is London Permaculture’s most established project run as a co-operative. Come and learn what that means and how the co-operative model is even more relevant today than it has ever been. www.organiclea.org.uk
4pm-Playing with Conflict with Edward Nelson
We have all the environmental solutions ready to heal the planet, but the people need to catch up. Come and learn some tools on how to process conflict so we can join together to build a sustainable future. Based on Mindell’s Process Work, this participatory workshop will explore the many layers of conflict. It will combine both theory and practice and give you the opportunity to gain insights into how conflict dynamics can either fuel or flatten change.
5pm- Finding the Eye of the Storm with Elke Heyer
6pm- Ecocide- Polly Higgins
Polly Higgins, author of Eradicating Ecocide, barrister and international environmental lawyer proposed to the United Nations a law of Ecocide to be classed as an international law alongside Genocide as a Crime Against Peace. Ecocide is defined as the mass “damage, destruction to or loss of ecosystems of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been severely diminished.” In 2008 3,000 corporations caused $2.2 trillion dollars of biodiversity ecocide; Last year the destruction of our ecosystems reached an all time high. It is a crime to destroy large tracts of our land during war, but in peace-time there is no law against it. We can halt the destruction of our lands and seas, and Polly will be talking about how this can be done both at a local level and an international level. www.pollyhiggins.com www.thisisecocide.com
Workshop dome:
1pm- What is Permaculture?- Brighton Permaculture Trust
What is all this Permaculture anyway? Come and find out with this short introduction on where it came from and how it can inform your life, helping you creatively find solutions to the problems of sustainability. Led by Hedvig Murray
2pm- Permaculture Cup of tea- Rootsman Rakesh
Using a simple cup of tea, learn systems thinking Permaculture-style and find out how the whole is not just the sum of its parts. Bringing awareness to the ethical shopping dilemma you’ll be more equipped at seeing where you input makes a difference.
3pm- Permaculture Around the World- Maddy Harland (Permaculture Magazine)
Permaculture Magazine’s Maddy Harland will be talking about some of the amazing people and projects featured in her publication from around the world that are using Permaculture to design their livelihoods, homes, health & happiness.
4pm- Permaculture’s Principles of Attitude- Tomas Remiarz
Permaculture’s Principles of Attitude were happily appropriated and collected by one of Permaculture’s co-founders Bill Mollison and they continue to inform people and projects around the world. Learn how you might be able to apply them to your world.
5pm- LAND Network- Permaculture Association
The Permaculture Association’s LAND Demonstration Network is growing from strength to strength all around the country. Learn about what it’s up to, where you can find them, how to volunteer, and how to join the UK’s largest Permaculture project.
6pm- Empathic Communication (NVC)- Millie Baker
This is a taster session in managing disagreement and resolving conflict through empathic connection. Inspired by the ideas and practical techniques offered by NonViolent Communication, we will look at what takes place when communication becomes difficult and what can be done to respond constructively.
Workshop circle:
1pm- How to plant, harvest and restore urban fruit trees with the London Orchard Project
The London Orchard Project will share their experience of planting community orchards in public open spaces and establishing the Hackney Harvest urban fruit picking initiative. We’ll provide ideas and inspiration for people wanting to get more involved in planting, caring for and harvesting fruit trees in London.
2pm- Forest Gardening with Claire White (and planting at Capel Manor College)
Clare White is London’s most experienced Forest gardening teacher. At this session she will be giving a brief introduction to the idea and then leading the group around the corner to plant a small forest garden in the grounds of Capel Manor Horticultural college.
3pm- From seed to crop …for free with Dave Hamilton
To promote his new book Grow your food for free …well almost (Green Books 2011) money saving gardener Dave Hamilton will talk us through the process of growing vegetables for little or no money. Starting with seed saving and ending with harvesting he’ll discuss each step of the way in his knowledgeable and humorous manner. You don’t necessarily need to have an allotment or a garden to come along as Dave will talk about growing options for the gardenless gardeners. www.Selfsufficientish.com
4pm- Vertical Veg container growing workshop with Mark
Would you like to grow food on your balcony, window sill or patio? In this workshop you’ll learn how to grow food productively in containers. Through an interactive game, you’ll learn about the secrets of success and the common pitfalls, followed by a question and answer session. Vertical Veg inspires and supports people to grow high yields of food in small urban spaces.
5pm- Dealing with Pests in the garden with OrganicLea
Come and ask the organic permaculture professionals how to deal with the pests in your garden. After a brief talk you will be able to ask questions about your own garden and the problems you’ve been having. Open to all levels.
6pm- Why do we need natural beekeeping?- Natural Beekeeping Trust
Everyone now knows the plight of the honeybee, and beekeeping has become fashionable in London at last. But what sort of beekeeping? Penny Crowder from the Natural Beekeeping Trust will talk about the differences between natural and conventional methods, and the ways in which you can support the bees in your area.
Sunday 5th June – Free entrance
Workshop marquee:
1pm- Empathic Communication (NVC)- Millie Baker
This is a taster session in managing disagreement and resolving conflict through empathic connection. Inspired by the ideas and practical techniques offered by NonViolent Communication, we will look at what takes place when communication becomes difficult and what can be done to respond constructively.
2pm- Food Sovereignty and the fight against GM
The campaign against Genetically Modified crops was incredibly successful a decade ago. But patented seeds are now making a comeback in Europe, and the UK is again under threat. This introduction looks at the inspiring stories of peasant farmers across the world have been resisting GM, how their concerns relate to us, and ways we can help. STOP GM
3pm- LAND Project- Permaculture Association
The Permaculture Association’s LAND Demonstration Network is growing from strength to strength all around the country. Learn about what it’s up to, where you can find them, how to volunteer, and how to join the UK’s largest Permaculture project.
4pm- Food from the Sky- Azul
‘FOOD from the SKY’ is a world first – A pioneering food growing and educational initiative on the roof top of Thornton’s Budgens supermarket, Crouch End, North London. ‘A new template for our future’. Come and hear Azul talk about this wonderful project, how its doing and how you can get involved and replicate it near you.
5pm- Food Footprints game with Cinzia Sarigu
A taster session from the Carbon Conversations based on an interactive game that looks at the embodied emissions in food. www.carbonliteracyforum.org
6pm- Eco-affluent Convergence. How we can all survive peak oil and climate change and enjoy our future together? – Green Frontier.
“People in the rich nations of the world must wean themselves off their fossil fuel addictions, while people in the poor nations can leapfrog these dirty technologies completely. Together we can converge at a point where everyone and our environment are better off. Come to this workshop to find out more about eco-affluent convergence.” www.greenfrontier.org/eco-affluent-convergence/
Workshop dome:
1pm- What is Permaculture?- London Permaculture Network
What is all this Permaculture anyway? Come and find out with this short introduction on where it came from and how it can inform your life, helping you creatively find solutions to the problems of sustainability.
2pm- Inequalities in health & the effects on livelihood and the family unit with Sophie Christopher-Bowes
Sophie Christopher -Bowes works for an Eco-architecture planning & permaculture design social enterprise.
3pm- What is Permaculture?- Brighton Permaculture Trust
What is all this Permaculture anyway? Come and find out with this short introduction on where it came from and how it can inform your life, helping you creatively find solutions to the problems of sustainability. Led by Hedvig Murray
4pm- The Permaculture of Business- DecisionLab.or.uk
Martin Grimshaw will lead a participatory workshop exploring methods for bringing our values into the way we work together. From People Care to organisational permaculture, from Sociocracy or Collaborative Governance to your sustainable livelihood. What is the future company, as we would like to see it? How do we bring that future forward? How do we nudge our teams to become more like an agile, learning being?
5pm- Forest Gardening – Rootsman rakesh
Forest gardening is very fashionable in London’s thriving Permaculture scene. Come and find out why, and how you can plant your very own Forest garden with helpful tips on how to start.
6pm- Resourcing ourselves: Ecopsychology taster – Debbie Warrener
We are all fundamentally interconnected with the natural world around us – most clearly through our food and the air we breathe. However, an illusion of separation between humans and our environment predominates in Western society today. Ecopsychology provides practices and perspectives that address this and how destructive this is for both ourselves and the natural environment. Through such processes participants experience a deeper connection with themselves, each other and the wider natural world – and find themselves more fully resourced and grounded for their work. www.catalysingchangeagents.com
Workshop circle
1pm- Transition Leytonstone Poets
This session will be hosted by Transition Leytonstone, which boasts being first (and perhaps still the only) transition ecopoetry performance group. Including special guests.
2pm- Herb Walk – Christopher Hedley
North London’s most famous medical herbalist will be leading the group through the park, foraging for medicinal herbs and plants. All levels welcome. If you come late just look for the group which won’t be far off.
3pm- Using the web to snowball off-site green learning and activity- Project Dirt
The talk will draw on real life examples from Project Dirt – and demonstrate how the web can be used to i) improve collective learning, ii) promote one’s activities iii) access resources and iv) generate cross sector collaborations. The talk will be high tempo, practical and relate to real life situations. Extensive question asking will be made available at the end to engage the audience’s thinking as much as possible.
4pm- Dealing with Pests in the Garden- OrganicLea
Come and ask the organic permaculture professionals how to deal with the pests in your garden. After a brief talk you will be able to ask questions about your own garden and the problems you’ve been having. Open to all levels.
5pm- Vertical Veg container growing workshop with Mark
Would you like to grow food on your balcony, window sill or patio? In this workshop you’ll learn how to grow food productively in containers. Through an interactive game, you’ll learn about the secrets of success and the common pitfalls, followed by a question and answer session. Vertical Veg inspires and supports people to grow high yields of food in small urban spaces.
6pm- tbc
Got any ideas? Virtual surfing class? Air guitar session? The world is your lobster……
In the Permaculture Marquee
London Permaculture Network
London’s new Network that aims to connect green thinking Londoners and inspire them to use permaculture design tools to creative a vibrant sustainable future. It is also the group that had organised this Permaculture Zone, and the London Permaculture Festival this 16th July. www.LondonPermaculture.com
Permaculture Association UK
The Permaculture Association is the national charity that supports people to learn about and use permaculture. It’s dynamic LAND project is supporting the Permaculture Zone with essential funding. www.permaculture.org.uk
Permaculture Picturehouse
London’s monthly Permaculture inspired film event at Passing Clouds in Hackney.
Project Dirt
London’s premier social networking site for all things growing related. www.projectdirt.com
Green Frontier
Transforming degraded environments into biodiverse ecosystems with thriving human settlements, while reducing atmospheric CO2 to pre-industrial levels.
Vertical-Veg
Answering all your questions on small space and container gardening.
Natural Beekeeping Trust
Explaining the difference between conventional and natural beekeeping.
Also in the Permaculture Zone:
Permaculture Magazine
OrganicLea’s Plant stall and Gardening advice
LUSH cosmetics
Passing Clouds
A BLUEPRINT FOR AN ALTERNATIVE SOCIETY Including: organisations working on networking and stimulating alternative society; a revolutionary recruitment centre, with information on how to get involved in the ‘revolution’; information fact sheets on numerous issues ranging from land rights and enlightened agriculture to pharmaceutical industry and natural health. www.passingclouds.org
Art installations:
Quincunx– sprouted coppiced willow poles in a Quincunx formation – ‘A collection of trees in such squares forms a regular grove or wood, presenting parallel rows or alleys in different directions according to the spectator’s position’. Thomas Browne, in his Garden of Cyrus of 1658, claimed that the Persian King Cyrus was the first to plant trees in a quincunx. He also claimed to have discovered that it also appeared in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Sea Mandala –using ecorituality and yoga to develop landscape listening skills. Becoming better permaculture designers by raising our awareness of self, others and the environment. Landscape Listening Exercise at 3pm, 4 pm and 5 pm at the mandala circle. www.seamandala.co.uk
Permaculture Principles Garden – Sarah Veniard. Come and interact, ask questions and be inspired.