HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Volunteer

 

Our regular sessions run every Sunday 10am – 2pm, and every Tuesday 10am – 3pm. No need to book, just come and join in! Please bring sturdy footwear, waterproofs, and warm clothes.

*During winter months, and extreme weather, we may have to cancel sessions to ensure volunteer safety. To check the session is still running, please email us at info@ediblelandscapeslondon.org.uk, before travelling to our volunteer days. 

 

Regular Sessions

 

Sessions are led by one experienced leader and one trainee. We encourage new volunteers to engage with forest gardening experience as much as possible on these days, to connect with the unusual edible plants by tasting them in a guided tour, and learn a little about each one.

Typical sessions will vary according to the season, often including such tasks as: propagation, planting, harvesting, pruning, composting, carpentry, sign making, and garden taste tours. Visitors can enjoy a relaxed atmosphere, with good banter and herbal tea to go around.

There is normally a shared vegan lunch with a salad foraged from the garden.

 

Become a Session Leader

 

We encourage new volunteers to become session leaders. We pair all new session leaders with an experienced member of the team, and give you an induction. It’s an excellent way to learn. If you are interested please do get in touch!

Why volunteer?

 

The feedback from our volunteers is that they love being out in nature, learning new skills, and being part of a community. It is a unique opportunity to learn about Forest Gardening in an urban context, and above all to have fun.

Mental and physical health benefits

 

Spending time in nature holds infinite rewards, benefiting our mental and physical well being.  The National Forest Garden Scheme has information here.

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Other Ways to Help

Ecological and Climate Action

 

Spread the love! It is important to remember we have power as individuals acting towards positive change. Together, we are unstoppable. Life on this planet is worth advocating for. It feels valuable to support the work of both local and international organisations working to protect it. When we look around, there are many ways to do this.

In our local work, we partner with other ecologically focused organisations such as TCV, and the London Wildlife Trust. As members of Capital Growth, we can take part in initiatives such as their London-wide campaign to help track nature and care for wildlife. We keep links to these charities on our Blog and Outreach pages. It is deeply rewarding to join in with both practical work and grassroots campaigns. It keeps us connected.

The Climate Coalition and Extinction Rebellion help us to come together with grassroots actions on climate. On a global scale, movements such as Stop Ecocide are advocating to Protect the Earth in Law. Important steps forward are already being made in Europe, Scotland, and the UK. We can all get behind these campaigns. Organisations can choose to become members of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, a network committed to the universal adoption and implementation of legal systems that recognize, respect and enforce the Rights of Nature. We can support a paradigm shift towards acknowledging and valuing of the rights of Indigenous peoples, who offer protection of the landscapes, ecosystems and rainforests on which we all depend.

In the UK, we can call for positive change in our energy systems and legislation. Ways forward include supporting a Climate and Ecology Bill, a UK transition toward renewables,  a Green New Deal, and opposing new fossil fuel extraction. For example Rosebank, in the UK’s North Sea. In the case of Rosebank, apart from the local ecosystem devastation it would cause, the oil and gas reserves it would produce amount to more than the combined annual CO2 emissions of all 28 low-income countries in the world, including Uganda, Ethiopia and Mozambique. 

These are just a few of the many actions we can take. There is a world of change possible, when we act together!

Please bring us your ideas. While no single campaign can ever act as a silver bullet, there is a spectrum of creative ways we can start to transition to a better future. Moving forward, we are hoping to create more space for these conversations. 

Rewilding Finsbury Park

 

If you are interested in helping to increase biodiversity within Finsbury Park, come join our partner group FFP Re-wilding. We meet on the last Saturday of each month (10am – 1pm) at the Central Cafe. Participants learn skills in nature conservation, and get stuck in while enjoying a lively get-together. Tasks include planting trees, perennials, and creating habitat such as stag beetle loggeries and woven dead hedges. The aims and organisers of this group overlap with our own, and we often work together to create projects. Come along, bring a friend. To join there is no need to book. Just turn up with gloves, practical clothing and footwear.

 

Create Nature Friendly Spaces and Gardens

 

Another creative way to help our wild friends, is to build sanctuary areas in your own garden, or community space. This could start with placing a simple pile of logs or sticks in a shady secluded spot. You could get together with your family to build a bug hotel, or create a small pond… perhaps a compost bay out of recycled pallets, or a bay area to hold leaf mulch. Or plant a range of native and nature-friendly perennials with flowers and fruit, available throughout the year. It is ideal to include a good selection of native plants, as well as plants tolerant to drought. There are lots of simple guides and advice online to get you started with ideas. For a wider range of design advice, we often find it helpful to search for garden tips related to ‘permaculture’.

If you have the inclination, you could even start a communal garden space near you. It is a good way to connect with new friends. We can donate plants, and back you up with supportive energies and advice.

Live Consciously and Share the Knowledge

 

It is always possible to make incremental changes in our day to day lives. Whether it is the way we travel, the food we eat, or the clothes we wear, we can become aware of our habits, set intentions and follow them with actions. When we share our changes more collectively, with friends and family, these changes can act as a catalyst for a wider paradigm shift. Let’s spread the love and share our ideas for new ways to live.  

We would like to share a beautiful website resource – 52 Climate Actions – which evolved to promote permaculture based solutions to climate change. 

 

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