Learn & Do

On May 3rd, we teamed up with Indie Lincs to take over the Lincoln Arts Centre (LAC) to create a one of a kind event that mixed sustainability, film, food and farming. We weren’t totally sure what to expect, since it was our first time running something like this, but by the end of the day we had so many happy attendees!

We started the day with a screening of The Nettle Dress film which had more than a few people tearing up in the audience. It followed the story of Allan Brown as he creates a dress entirely out of nettles from local forests. However it is much more than that, we see healing, family, grief and a reconnection with nature. This was followed by a live panel featuring denim artist and storyteller Kerry and sustainable fashion advocate, Stella. The chat went beyond the film, looking at the emotional side of crafting, repair culture and that small changes can make big impact!

Then we reached our lunch break where Gemma from Eat More Good Food served up delicious vegan lunch boxes. The break open up more than just fuelling, it gave the chance to network and connect to others.

The afternoon was all about getting stuck in, we changed from sustainability to creativity. The LAC was turned into a number of workshops for everybody to get involved. We had line dancing led by Leah which got a bit silly, in the best way; creative writing, by former Stamford Poet Laureate Scott Coe talking about the feelings of the film and songwriting, where they wrote a Project Fashion Fixed anthem in one afternoon. (to be played on The Engine Shed stage...) And of course we had our usual sewing and zine workshops also! The goal from this was to get everyone together and proving we can DO from our learning. It gave a platform for people to see action which is imbedded in sustainability!

To wrap. up the day, we screened Six Inches of Soil, a documentary that follows three UK farmers and their journey on regeneration. The film showed how important soil is to our environment and the audience even had the opportunity to meet Colin Ramsay (the film's director) in a panel. He was alongside Ed from My Square Metre and Helen Fisher from We Are Carbon. This discussion touched on everything from food systems to biodiversity to why caring about the soil is actually caring about each other.

We set out to create a space for everyone on the day, with different ways of learning like film, music or connecting and that is exactly what happened. It was a very wholesome day and a reminder that sustainability isn't all about the end of the world and facts or figures. It's about the power of coming together to celebrate the good things happening. We are so grateful to everyone who came along and we hope you got something out of it.