FlourishFest 2024 Connecting our Community with Nature

Roots and Shoots community open days are much-loved annual events to which local Lambeth people flock and many travel to from further afield to connect with nature in the city. Celebrating the positive impacts of connecting with nature, with activities centered on wildlife, creativity, and urban gardening, Roots and Shoots FlourishFest took place on Sunday 19th May 2024.

Photos by Daniel Fraser

From pond dipping with Andre the pond expert to butterfly sessions with Butterfly Conservation’s Big City Butterflies, art workshops like bug drawing, cyanotype printmaking and chalk painting hosted by artists Lucy Gregory, Nanami Takeuchi and our trustee Martha Macdonald, there was something for all ages to enjoy. The event featured delicious tacos made by Spencer, a regular garden volunteer, with storytelling by our brilliant education staff Rachel and Joe, and a special new feature of our community events - beautiful live music, scattered throughout the site by Omam Dawn, The Wolfe Sisters, and Zackiel Lewis-Griffiths, which was such a hit we are sure to do again.

Learning about newts and dragonflies by the pond

Storytelling under (and in!) the oak tree

With such lovely warm weather, indoor activities with Enrich the Earth and Kalpana Arias were moved from the Main Hall into the gardens. In the Bubble Gate Garden, campaigners Simon and Meg from Enrich the Earth gave talks and advice on peat-free gardening and transforming green spaces with homemade compost with a visit from our horse neighbour Bill, and in the courtyard solarpunk eco-futurist Kalpana Arias hosted a workshop on guerilla garden planning and seed bomb-making. Sadly this time the brilliant Jason Williams aka CloudGardener was held up on the day by a broken down car on his way down from Manchester, but we’ll be sure to invite him back next year, we know our locals are very keen to hear from him!

FlourishFest was inspired by Roots and Shoots’ transformational story - from a polluted ex-industrial site into a place filled with beautiful, thriving nature-filled gardens and educational spaces. Its history illustrates that any site, no matter how degraded, can be restored by communities into places filled with life - a haven for people and wildlife alike. At FlourishFest we share the joy that our oasis provides people in the city - inviting Londoners to relax, enjoy, and take a breath amongst the foliage.

Read more about our Impact

Says Roots and Shoots director and founder Linda Phillips MBE AoH, “Despite the pollution and rubble, Roots and Shoots thrives on industrial London land, showing that with collective nurturing anywhere can be transformed into a place of beauty. We’re thrilled to invite our community to see what we do and to get inspired to transform their own gardens, balconies and community green spaces.“

Thank you to our wonderful staff, guest hosts and generous volunteers for helping make such a fantastic day out!